Last year, Warner Bros. released Traveler Tales developed Lego Batman 2: DC Heroes, the sequel to the fairly average Lego Batman from a few years back, and they perfected that formula to a fever pitch. The game was incredibly charming, with some great, well thought out gameplay mechanics, and peppered with so many references to the DC universe, it was a delight to play through. Now, one year after the original game’s release, Warner Bros have gone ahead and, bafflingly enough, released a Wii U port.

That might come as a puzzling move to most at best, especially given that the original game was already released on Wii. Is Lego Batman 2 on Wii U a cheap cash grab, a poor port at best like so many others on the system, designed to just extract money from consumers? Or did the developers actually take the year long interim to perfect the game for the new hardware?

Let’s start right at the very beginning first, though. The premise of this game, as with all Lego games, is suitably silly and over the top. Based on multiple comic book men wearing spandex tights, and wrapped in a Lego exterior, the game, marketed as it is to children, was never going to be another Arkham Asylum or Arkham City anyway. However, DC Super Heroes is extravagantly, gleefully, ridiculously exaggerated, with little to no exposition provided to justify the team up of Lex Luthor and the Joker, as well as multiple DC super heroes teaming up with Batman and Robin.

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This decision to not provide any sort of context to the story or events happening in the game is in spite of a clear spike in the game’s production values. The entire game is now voiced, for instance, and it puts you in an open world that is a joy as a Lego themed playground to mess around in. Simultaneously, the graphics have an all new sheen to them, looking rounder, smoother, sharper, more defined, and just shinier.

Lego Batman 2 shows some clear reverence for its source material. Perhaps as much as the Batman Arkham games, developers Traveler Tales have packed this game with multiple easter eggs and infinite nudges and mentions of the expansive DC universe, going above and beyond the call and including multiple characters in prominent roles when perhaps most of the target audience doesn’t even know of their existence. It is a game that prides itself on its comic book heritage, and it is a game that tries to capitalize on it by trying to familiarize the newcomer to said heritage, and providing plenty of material for the veteran.

Take, for instance, the music. Utilizing both the classic John Williams Superman track that blends in seamlessly with the iconic Danny Elfman scored original Batman theme as you take control of the titular DC heroes and scale the rooftops of Lego Gotham, the music is sure to stir some nostalgia within any comic book enthusiast, especially a DC enthusiast.

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Lego Batman 2 is reverent about is source material, and it revels in that. However, contrary to the recent trend of moving towards the grittier, darker, edgier side of comic books, fueled in fact by none other than Batman himself, Lego Batman 2 is childish, cartooney, naive, with all the oodles of charm and the innocence of a Nintendo game, which works wonderfully well in this instance. And unlike most games, that manage to nail down charm similar to Nintendo games, but can never quite master the game design (an important part of what makes Nintendo games so appealing to everyone- including kids- in the first place), Lego Batman 2 has it all nailed.

I’ve spoken already about the open world city. I have spoken about the twist to traditional open world mechanics that the infusion of Lego conventions adds to the game. I have spoken about the developers going unexpectedly above and beyond what was necessary or required of them, including in this regard- the fully featured day/night cycle, the random weather, and the AI behavior are all testament to that. It is a compliment rarely given, but Lego Batman 2 is a gem of a game, expertly designed, such that it’s hard to really fault it for anything. And if the really discerning eye does catch anything perceptibly out of place, the game’s heart and its charm are sure to smooth out that frown on your face.

Returning to the open world- it’s the meat of the game. The story is, as remarked previously, unabashedly silly, but the game almost makes a conscious attempt to sideline it and quickly brush it off, racing to its conclusion (which can take a hefty dozen hours, by the way), before presenting you with the true Lego Gotham city, with hidden nooks and crannies, which can only be explored and unlocked by using the appropriate characters’ abilities, sometimes in conjunction.

There are additional villains to be hunted, there are free play missions that involve you saving the adorably trouble prone Gotham citizens, there are old story missions to be replayed with new characters. And if you’re just bored, and just want to muck around, you have a seriously enormous city to just wander about in. This game is massive, and by the end, you’ll probably have justified its value to yourself several times over.

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Oh, and as for the other characters: there’s Batman, of course, as there is Robin. And then there is Superman, in what is perhaps his best video game incarnation to date. There are also other Justice League members: Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, all the usual suspects. By the end, you’ll have a veritable army of superheroes marching around at your command, in all their Justice League glory.

All of this incredible game design- which after all, you can already experience on other platforms (including, as stated above, the Wii) for much cheaper, is well and good, but it is also complemented by some incredibly well done Wii U exclusive features that make this one a hard ask to pass over if you’re a fan of these games.

For starters, for instance, is full support for Off TV Play, which works better for this kind of game than you’d think. Hand the controller to your kid and let him play the game there, while you finally get the TV to yourself. for instance. There is also a really well done Lego City Undercover inspired map and always on menu on your Gamepad touch screen, which comes in handy in traversing the open world.

Of course, all of these neat new Gamepad features come at a cost- in what is increasingly becoming a trend with Wii U ports these days, Lego Batman 2 here does not have any of the DLC that the game has received on the other platforms over the last year. Of course, most children probably won’t know or notice the difference, and you might not even care if the Gamepad features are enough to compensate for you, but it is something to keep in mind, especially considering how uniformly good the DLC has been

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When you buy this game, you know what you’re getting: you’re getting all the varied and yet familiar gameplay concepts the Lego games have cultivated over the years repackaged in a new setting, a new scenario, with familiar properties, bundled in with lots and lots of charm. In that respect also, the Lego series resembles Nintendo’s brand of video game making a lot.

That is not praise to be lightly bandied about, and yet here I am, consciously having made that comparison twice in the course of this one review. But that is just how good Lego Batman 2 is. Charming and inventive, ridiculous and over the top, exaggerated and reverent, familiar and unexpected, Lego Batman 2 is that rare game that comes every once in a while that actually manages to transcend all demographics and appeal to everyone all at once.

This is a game that will obviously cater to kids, given they are whom it’s targeted to. This is a game that will appeal to lifelong DC comic book fans. This is a game that will appeal to us adults, given the sheer expanse and its cheeky boldness in incorporating gameplay mechanics hitherto only reserved for Rockstar’s ‘mature’ open world games. It’s a game that will appeal to everyone, all at once, without really compromising on what it wants to be at all.

Yes, it has released a year late, and since then, there have been many other Lego games for you to try, including the Wii U exclusive Lego City Undercover. And yes, if you were so inclined, you could get this game, and all its DLC, for an equivalent price (or less) on another platform. That in itself makes this a tough proposition to recommend. If the Wii U exclusive features are up your alley, though, and if you want to experience that Nintendo brand of charm on your new Nintendo console, by all means go for it. This is still a great game, even a full year later.

This game was reviewed on the Wii U.

Not much action in this week’s UK charts with London 2012 unsurprisingly taking the top spot again. Lego Batman 2 has taken the second spot, again, unsurprisingly considering there’s not a lot of new releases this month.

Mario & Sonic at London Olympics has taken the no. 3 spot, which shows that UK is under Olympic fever, and that’s something which should be expected.

Batman: Arkham City takes the no. 4 spot followed by The Amazing Spider-Man movie tie-in from Activision.

In another quiet week for new releases with most people on holiday or watching the Olympics on TV, the top four all remain the same.

In fact the Top 3 has now remained unchanged for three weeks with ‘Lego Batman 2’ (-20%) at No2 and ‘Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games’ (-9%) at No3. ‘Batman Arkham City’ (-20%) stays at No4 ahead of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ (+13%) which climbs 2 places to No5 (PC version new this week) guaranteeing a super hero/Olympics clean sweep of the Top 5.

Check out the full top 40 list below.

1. London 2012: The Official Video Game – Sega
2. Lego Batman 2: Dc Super Heroes – Warner Bros. Interactive
3. Mario & Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games – Sega
4. Batman: Arkham City – Warner Bros. Interactive
5. The Amazing Spider-man – Activision
6. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Bethesda Softworks
7. Battlefield 3 – Ea Games
8. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – Platinum
9. Dead Island Goty Edition – Deep Silver
10. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – Ubisoft
11. Fifa 12 – Ea Sports
12. Call Of Duty: Black Ops – Xbox 360 Classics
13. Mario Kart 7 – Nintendo
14. Super Mario 3d Land – Nintendo
15. Risen 2: Dark Waters – Deep Silver
16. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure – Skylanders
17. Grand Theft Auto Episodes – Liberty City – Rockstar
18. Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo – Mind Candy
19. Wwe ’12 – Xbox 360 Classics
20. Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 – Warner Bros. Interactive
21. Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean – Disney Interactive Studios
22. The Sims 3 – Ea Games
23. Sonic Generations – Sega
24. Skate 3 – Ea Sports
25. Rayman Origins – Ubisoft
26. Spec Ops: The Line – 2k Games
27. Kingdom Hearts 3d: Dream Drop Distance – Square Enix
28. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Activision
29. Need For Speed: The Run – Ea Games
30. Saints Row: The Third – Thq
31. Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning – Ea Games
32. Max Payne 3 – Rockstar
33. Grand Theft Auto Iv – Xbox 360 Classics
34. Lego Batman: The Videogame – Warner Bros. Interactive
35. Forza Motorsport 4 – Microsoft
36. Wii Music – Nintendo
37. Gran Turismo 5 – Platinum
38. Sniper: Ghost Warrior – Xbox 360 Classics
39. Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo
40. Sniper Elite V2 – 505 Games

We have this week’s UK charts for you, and no one expected Lego Batman 2 to be dethroned but it has happened, and by a game which currently seems to be really popular for obvious reasons. London 2012: The Official Videogame has taken the top spot this month. You can check out our review here.

Mario & Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games has taken the no. 3 spot, followed by Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Batman: Arkham City takes the no. 5 spot which is quite interesting and could be because of The Dark Knight Rises movie.

“There were also 4 new 3DS software titles launched this week of which 2 are Nintendo first party, also launched on Saturday 28th (New Art Academy & Freakyforms). However, it is only Nintendo’s ‘Pokemon Conquest’ on DS that makes the Top 40, in at No17 – the Pokemon brand is currently the 10th biggest unit shifter of all videogame brands tracked over the last 15 years,” reads the post on UKIE.

“For the record, the only new 3DS title to make the 3DS Top 20 was ‘New Art Academy’ at No9, one of the few titles that are exempt from PEGI ratings.”

Check out the top 40 below.

1. London 2012: The Official Video Game – Sega
2. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes – Warner Bros. Interactive
3. Mario & Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games – Sega
4. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – Ubisoft
5. Batman: Arkham City – Warner Bros. Interactive
6. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Activision Blizzard
7. The Amazing Spider-man – Activision Blizzard
8. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Bethesda Softworks
9. FIFA 12 – Electronic Arts
10. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance – Nintendo
11. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – Ubisoft
12. Max Payne 3 – Take 2
13. Mario Kart 7 – Nintendo
14. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure – Activision Blizzard
15. Dead Island Goty Edition – Koch Media
16. Battlefield 3 – Electronic Arts
17. Pokemon Conquest – Nintendo
18. Call Of Duty: Black Ops – Activision Blizzard
19. WWE ’12 – Thq
20. Super Mario 3d Land – Nintendo
21. Tiger Woods Pga Tour 13 – Electronic Arts
22. Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean – Disney Interactive Studios
23. Sniper Elite V2 – 505 Games / Mastertronic
24. Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo – Mind Candy
25. The Sims 3 – Electronic Arts
26. Spec Ops: The Line – Take 2
27. Rayman Origins – Ubisoft
28. SKATE 3 – Electronic Arts
29. [Prototype 2] – Activision Blizzard
30. FIFA Street – Electronic Arts
31. Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 – Warner Bros. Interactive
32. Just Dance 3 – Ubisoft
33. Grand Theft Auto Episodes – Liberty City – Take 2
34. Sonic Generations – Sega
35. Lego Batman: The Videogame – Warner Bros. Interactive
36. Saints Row: The Third – Thq
37. The Witcher 2: Assassins – Enhanced Ed. – Namco Bandai Games
38. Need For Speed: The Run – Electronic Arts
39. Forza Motorsport 4 – Microsoft
40. Dirt Showdown – Codemasters

We have this week’s UK charts for you and it’s not surprising that Lego Batman 2 has taken the pole position again, followed by London 2012: The official videogame of the Olympics – which btw is a pretty decent game as you can see from our review over here.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future soldier comes at no. 3, followed by The Amazing Spider-Man, which is the Activision movie tie-in game that has performed decently so far, and you can check out the review for that as well over here.

Here’s the analysis by UKIE:

‘Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes’ (-10%) holds on to No1 for a heroic five weeks in a row, which is more consecutive weeks at the top than any other title so far this year. The Olympics is a week away and in preparation sales of Sega’s official London 2012 game rise by 5%, keeping it ahead of ‘Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’ (+40%) which jumps 2 places to No3, boosted by a price drop. Activision’s two Top 10 titles ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ (-28%) and ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’ (-4%) take the next two slots at No’s 4 and 5 respectively.

In a quiet week, there is only one Top 40 new entry, Square-Enix/Nintendo’s ‘Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance’ new at No6. It’s the second biggest 3DS launch so far in 2012 (behind ‘Resident Evil: Revelations). Perhaps boosted by the cinema release of the new film, ‘Batman: Arkham City’ (+37%) climbs back into the Top 10 at No7 ahead of Sega’s second Olympic hopeful ‘Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games’ (+13%) which jumps 2 places to No8. The Top 10 is rounded off by previous All Formats No1s ‘Max Payne 3’ (+23%) at No9 and ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ (-15%) at No10.

You can check out the full top 40 list below.

1. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes – Warner Bros. Interactive
2. London 2012: The Official Video Game – Sega
3. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – Ubisoft
4. The Amazing Spider-man – Activision Blizzard
5. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Activision Blizzard
6. Kingdom Hearts 3d: Dream Drop Distance – Nintendo
7. Batman: Arkham City – Warner Bros. Interactive
8. Mario & Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games – Sega
9. Max Payne 3 – Take 2
10. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Bethesda Softworks
11. Dead Island Goty Edition – Koch Media
12. FIFA 12 – Electronic Arts
13. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure – Activision Blizzard
14. Sniper Elite V2 – 505 Games / Mastertronic
15. Spec Ops: The Line – Take 2
16. FIFA Street – Electronic Arts
17. Call Of Duty: Black Ops – Activision Blizzard
18. Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean – Disney Interactive Studios
19. Tiger Woods Pga Tour 13 – Electronic Arts
20. Saints Row: The Third – Thq
21. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – Ubisoft
22. Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo – Mind Candy
23. Battlefield 3 – Electronic Arts
24. Mario Kart 7 – Nintendo
25. Dirt Showdown – Codemasters
26. Rayman Origins – Ubisoft
27. WWE ’12 – Thq
28. Super Mario 3D Land – Nintendo
29. Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 – Warner Bros. Interactive
30. The Sims 3 – Electronic Arts
31. Mass Effect 3 – Electronic Arts
32. [Prototype 2] – Activision Blizzard
33. Diablo III – Activision Blizzard
34. Skate 3 – Electronic Arts
35. Need For Speed: The Run – Electronic Arts
36. Grand Theft Auto Episodes – Liberty City – Take 2
37. UFC Undisputed 3 – Thq
38. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary – Microsoft
39. Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning – Electronic Arts
40. Football Manager 2012 – Sega

Lego games have a formula that works. Take on an existing popular property, give it a Lego twist, wrap it up in oodles of charm, back it up with some solid if predictable gameplay mechanics, and then bam, you’re good to go. Whereas the amount of Lego games in recent years has gone alarmingly up, the quality has by and large never faltered. Except for when it has.

Lego Batman, released a few years ago, was one of the weaker entries in the ‘Lego franchise.’ For the sequel, developers Traveller’s Tales have enlisted not just the Caped Crusader, but also all of his DC cohorts, in arguably the best Lego game outing in years, that capitalizes on its inspiration, and really makes good on its underlying gameplay foundations.

The premise of the games is suitably silly and over the top. Based on multiple comic book men wearing spandex tights, and wrapped in a Lego exterior, the game, marketed as it is to children, was never going to be another Arkham Asylum or Arkham City anyway. However, DC Super Heroes is extravagantly, gleefully, ridiculously exaggerated, with little to no exposition provided to justify the team up of Lex Luthor and the Joker, as well as multiple DC super heroes teaming up with Batman and Robin. This decision to provide any sort of context to the story or events happening in the game is in spite of a clear spike in the game’s production values. The entire game is now voiced, for instance, and it puts you in an open world that is a joy as a Lego themed playground to mess around in. Simultaneously, the graphics have an all new sheen to them, looking rounder, smoother, sharper, more defined, and just shinier.

Lego Batman 2 shows some clear reverence for its source material. Perhaps as much as the Batman Arkham games, developers Traveler Tales have packed this game with multiple easter eggs and infinite nudges and mentions of the expansive DC universe, going above and beyond the call and including multiple characters in prominent roles when perhaps most of the target audience doesn’t even know of their existence. It is a game that prides itself on its comic book heritage, and it is a game that tries to capitalize on it by trying to familiarize the newcomer to said heritage, and providing plenty of material for the veteran.

Take, for instance, the music. Utilizing both the classic John Williams Superman track that blends in seamlessly with the iconic Danny Elfman scored original Batman theme as you take control of the titular DC heroes and scale the rooftops of Lego Gotham, the music is sure to stir some nostalgia within any comic book enthusiast, especially a DC enthusiast.

Lego Batman 2 is reverent about is source material, and it revels in that. However, contrary to the recent trend of moving towards the grittier, darker, edgier side of comic books, fueled in fact by none other than Batman himself, Lego Batman 2 is childish, cartooney, naive, with all the oodles of charm and the innocence of a Nintendo game. And unlike most games, that manage to nail down charm similar to Nintendo games, but can never quite master the game design (an important part of what makes Nintendo games so appealing to everyone- including kids- in the first place), Lego Batman 2 has it all nailed.

I’ve spoken already about the open world city. I have spoken about the twist to traditional open world mechanics that the infusion of Lego conventions adds to the game. I have spoken about the developers going unexpectedly above and beyond what was necessary or required of them, including in this regard- the fully featured day/night cycle, the random weather, and the AI behavior are all testament to that. It is a compliment rarely given, but Lego Batman 2 is a gem of a game, expertly designed, such that it’s hard to really fault it for anything. And if the really discerning eye does catch anything perceptibly out of place, the game’s heart and its charm are sure to smooth out that frown on your face.

Returning to the open world- it’s the meat of the game. The story is, as remarked previously, unabashedly silly, but the game almost makes a conscious attempt to sideline it and quickly brush it off, racing to its conclusion (which can take a hefty dozen hours, by the way), before presenting you with the true Lego Gotham city, with hidden nooks and crannies, which can only be explored and unlocked by using the appropriate characters’ abilities, sometimes in conjunction. There are additional villains to be hunted, there are free play missions that involve you saving the adorably trouble prone Gotham citizens, there are old story missions to be replayed with new characters. And if you’re just bored, and just want to muck around, you have a seriously enormous city to just wander about in. This game is massive, and by the end, you’ll probably have justified its value to yourself several times over.

Oh, and as for the other characters: there’s Batman, of course, as there is Robin. And then there is Superman, in what is perhaps his best video game incarnation to date. There are also other Justice League members: Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, all the usual suspects. By the end, you’ll have a veritable army of superheroes marching around at your command, in all their Justice League glory.

When you buy this game, you know what you’re getting: you’re getting all the varied and yet familiar gameplay concepts the Lego games have cultivated over the years repackaged in a new setting, a new scenario, with familiar properties, bundled in with lots and lots of charm. In that respect also, the Lego series resembles Nintendo’s brand of video game making a lot.

That is not praise to be lightly bandied about, and yet here I am, consciously having made that comparison twice in the course of this one review. But that is just how good Lego Batman 2 is. Charming and inventive, ridiculous and over the top, exaggerated and reverent, familiar and unexpected, Lego Batman 2 is that rare game that comes every once in a while that actually manages to transcend all demographics and appeal to everyone all at once. This is a game that will obviously cater to kids, given they are whom it’s targeted to. This is a game that will appeal to lifelong DC comic book fans. This is a game that will appeal to us adults, given the sheer expanse and its cheeky boldness in incorporating gameplay mechanics hitherto only reserved for Rockstar’s ‘mature’ open world games. It’s a game that will appeal to everyone, all at once, without really compromising on what it wants to be at all.

This is a game that represents what is undoubtedly an incredibly talented powerhouse at its very finest. Traveller’s Tales, take a bow. You’ve earned it.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.