Lego DC Super-Villains is generally easy to pick up and play. There are a few minor control issues when dealing with a character that has multiple powers, but it’s nothing particularly frustrating. Puzzles are relatively simple, and the game features regular tips anytime the player might get stuck. Oct 20, 2018  Ultimately, Lego DC Super-Villains goes down as another cookie-cutter Lego game, and while there's still plenty of merry mayhem to unleash, it's the same kind of mayhem we've seen before. What should be as wild and riotous as the Clown Prince of Crime comes off as just another mild-mannered reporter.

Last year, the miniature plastic Marvel Super Heroes had their turn but now, it's time to be bad.

I've played through what feels like dozens of TT Games' Lego adventures ever since 2005's Lego Star Wars on GameCube. However, I'm always delighted to experience their new blocky tales even though they certainly haven't changed much over the years. When I first booted up Lego DC Super-Villains, I was surprised to see that you actually create your own character who, although silent, stars in the campaign. I made a goofy-looking fellow in a suit who shoots green lasers out of a blue popsicle because.. why not? Later in the story, there were enemies who looked like me which was kind of confusing but my popsicle helped clarify the situation. Anyway, along with your very own villain, you can play as a huge cast of classic DC characters, some of which aren't villains at all.

The basic gameplay is what you'd expect from a Lego game as you solve situations, battle foes (in this story, the good guys), and explore a large hub area. Some aspects that stood out to me about Lego DC Super-Villains are the combat and character abilities. Fighting folks is super-fun as the camera pans and tilts in cool ways which often makes it look like the Adam West Batman TV show. Meanwhile, you can hold enemies and beat them up in clever character-specific ways. For example, The Joker throws a jack-in-the-box which makes an enemy curiously examine it only to be punched with a spring-loaded boxing glove. It's silly stuff and the abilities are great fun to use as well. There are many returning skills from previous Lego games but it's still a ton of fun to make use of the varied cast's abilities to solve puzzles and progress through the often complex stages. Of course, playing in local co-op makes it even more fun.

There are plenty of stages to master in Lego DC Super-Villains and doing so will feel very familiar to anyone who has ever played a Lego game. That being said, there are some stand-out elements that I thoroughly enjoyed. For starters, the hub area isn't as vast as some other Lego games but everything is tightly-packed which makes exploration a treat. You'll compete in races, ride amusement park rides, take on quests and challenges, and even increase your wanted level which is a lot like the one in Grand Theft Auto. Another component that I thought was a blast is the boss fights. Some Lego games can have rather lame bosses but the ones featured here are intricate and a joy to defeat. The combination of innovative puzzles and satisfying combat elevate these boss fights to a higher level.

Although Lego DC Super-Villains is one of the best games in the franchise, it still mostly feels like a stereotypical Lego game. Aside from the few stand-out features, the overall gameplay mechanics, puzzles, and such will end up making you fatigued, especially if you recently played another Lego game. A couple of familiar nagging problems persist here, too; namely, glitches and confusing situations. Once, I got my vehicle stuck in an alley but needed it to advance so I had to quit and load my save again. When it comes to confusing moments, there is a handy hint system that shows you short clips of what to do next but it's sometimes not specific enough and triggering it seems to be rather random, too. For example, you may be wandering around an area not knowing what to do but that area could be where the hints won't trigger thus making the situation much more confusing to deal with. It can be frustrating indeed.

If you haven't played a Lego game in a long time then I highly recommend Lego DC Super-Villains. Its huge cast of fun villains, in-depth character customization, intricate hub, and satisfying bosses make it worth its weight in Lego bricks.

• + Making your own villain to star in the story is pretty awesome
• + Large cast of characters with cool abilities
• + Enjoyable hub area and boss fights

• - Doesn't do much to stand apart from the stereotypical Lego game
• - As usual, glitches can be a real downer
• - Even with hints, parts can be confusing

I’d have to imagine that after doing something for as long as Traveler’s Tales has made LEGO games, finding new ways to keep that thing fresh would be increasingly difficult. Now, as a well-documented creature of habit and collector of all the things, I’m able to put up a fair amount of stagnation when it comes to games, but eventually, even my patience wears thin. Such was the case with LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2.A combination of tired mechanics, a world map that felt like it was bored with itself, and a lackluster cast of voice talent who was going through the motions led me to give the game middling marks and question whether or not I had another one of these in me. Well, spoilers, I do, and as it turns out, the formula only needed a little bit of tuning and a whole lot of voice love to feel good again. And by good I mean BAD, as in villain bad. Cause this is LEGO DC Super-Villains.

So, how does it differ from its closet contemporary, LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham? Well, for starters, and as the name suggests, the majority of the game deals with the excellent roster of DC rogues.

Beginning during a breakout orchestrated by Lex Luthor, while The Joker and Harley Quinn execute a heist of some Wayne Tech items, the main crux of the story deals with the Justice Syndicate, doppelgangers of the Justice League from Earth-3, whose intentions are less than, despite their initial help in “busting” the escaped baddies.Unraveling their scheme proves to be the majority of the story, and while it’s not great, it works far better than the time spanning adventure that the Marvel Super Heroes went on. Part of the reason is the fact that we get to spend so much time with some of the voices that have come to define these characters over the years. Mark Hamill/Tara Strong return for more fun as Joker and Harley respectively, while Clancy Brown steps back into Lex Luthor’s finely-tailored shoes, and John Barrowman reprises Arrow’s Malcolm Merlyn. They even managed to get Michael Ironside back as Darkseid, and it’s been years since he played the lord of Apokolips. Add in some positively awesome work from the rest of the cast (including Kevin Conroy’s wonderful Batman), and Super-Villains is simply a joy to watch play out. Thankfully, some smart changes to the way LEGO DC Super-Villains plays helps elevate the standard LEGO gameplay.

The standard LEGO loop still stands; you enter a new area, break everything you can, and put together any pieces that are still jumping around. In a great quality of life change, items that can be broken into buildable pieces glow, and once broken, the floor glows to show you where you need to stand to build them. Such a small visual change worked wonders in removing a lot of the standard guesswork that would come with trying to get through LEGO levels. Traveler’s Tales also did a great job in not only spelling out when you have bonus studs available, gained from breaking henchman figs, but in clearing a lot of the endless waves of annoying henchman out.The largest change by far, though, comes in the inclusion of a created character in the narrative. Central to the story, you create a character that get included not only in the story cinematics, but is also super-useful in completing levels, both through the story and in free play.

It’s a little sad that the part is basically silent, in a classic silent protagonist fashion, but the interactions with the other villains and heroes, as well as the revelation as to how they fit into the story, make delving into the creation tools and getting lost in the endless options not feel like a waste of time.With all of the changes that worked, sadly the one that didn’t revolves around boss battles. Super-Villains features a lot of one-on-one battles, even going so far as to cordon off the area, so it functions like a ring. Most bosses have one or two attacks that they switch between, and when they miss, because they are super-easy to dodge, you attack them, take off one of their hearts, and rinse and repeat. There’s very little challenge to any of them, and also very little to them.

Even one that looked like it had a little more layered on top of it, kind of like a puzzle element, turned out to not even bother with it in the end. It’s kind of a shame, but given that the majority of fights are against the Justice Syndicate and not “actual” heroes, being able to just beat the hell out of them with the villains felt good. The open world, stretching comically over a vast distance, feels well-implemented, though attempting to get anywhere without using a flier or a speedster just isn’t worth the aggravation. I adore the way the cities are thematically connected, though, with Gotham being dark and gritty, while Metropolis is literally its sister city on a hill, brightly lit and always in the sun. The Halls of Justice and Doom are well-represented, and Smallville even makes an appearance. It also helps that the game look fantastic. Yes, each LEGO game has looked better than the one previous, but I am constantly amazed by just how much the developers are able to squeeze out of the toys and their accompanying look and style.While on paper the changes seem incremental - and if we’re being honest, they are - DC Super-Villains feels like a big step up and a welcome evolution.

I’m certainly feeling better this go round than I was at the end of the last, and am even planning some trips back in to clean up and collect what’s left to find. Plus, they got Mark Hamill back for The Joker.

That alone means it can’t be all bad. Soundtrack aside, LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is a comic fan's absolute delight. There is more then enough content and nods within the world and the roster to make the purchase worth it in my eyes. The formula itself may be old, but it never feels dated, and even though the new hub structure can be a bit intimidating and confusing at points, the structure is one that can be iterated off of. I say can be, like there's not going to continue to be a ton of LEGO games in our future.

I'm so silly sometimes.