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Published in Gaming

Lego Batman is a surprise hit

by on24 September 2008

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Sales better than originally expected

The new multi-platform Lego Batman game that was developed by Traveller’s Tales and distributed through Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment was released yesterday and already word is reaching us that sales are much greater than originally forecast.

Speaking with a source this afternoon while picking up our copy for the Xbox 360, we were told that pre-orders of the game had far exceeded expectations. Our inside man told us that they had pre-orders for over 80 copies of the game which is available for a variety of platforms and many others who chose not to pre-order had been calling all day trying to latch on to a copy.

Our insider said that when Lego Batman was announced he didn’t really expect it to do much, based on the rather warm reception to the Lego Indiana Jones, which was a surprise sleeper hit as well. Still, with the movie that was released earlier in the year and the level of interest in Batman at higher than normal levels we should have expected sales to be more robust.

As for the game itself, it features many of the same sorts of platformer puzzles that we saw in the previous Lego Indiana Jones release, with the twist of being able to play both as either the hero or villain. Lego Batman looks good and injects just enough humor to keep it from being too campy, but keeping the fun and intensity level high. While some of the game play is repetitive by nature, it is still a great co-op game, as the different abilities of the characters really lend the game to co-op play, rather than switching between characters in the one-player mode.

According to our source, supplies of the title should be good and you should not have any trouble finding it. What might present more of a problem is trying to choose which platform you will buy the game for if you happen to own multiple systems. While the game play might be graded by some as a bit formulaic, the fact is that it is fun and different from many of the other titles that many other players normally play. While it was released a bit early this could work into the title’s favor, as it could be a surprise hit that winds up on want lists this holiday season.

All of the interest in Lego Batman could spell very good news for developer NetDevil, who has been working on the Lego Universe MMO that is currently in development. Many have questioned the possible success for the Lego Universe MMO, but if they can capture the magic of Lego Batman, it could be, in fact, quite successful.

Last modified on 24 September 2008
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