Gamertell Review: Lego Batman: Gotham City Games for iPhone, iPod Touch

Title: Lego Batman: Gotham City Games
Price: $4.99 (sale price)
System(s): iPhone, iPod Touch*
Release Date: December 10, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Warner Bros. Entertainment (TT Games)
ESRB Rating: Not rated.
Pros: Plenty of minigames, some cute comic book style graphics with a Batman story. Additional unlockable minigames.
Cons: Not anything like the console games. Several minigames that will frustrate the crud out of you due to sluggish controls or overly cramped screen space.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb down; 78/100; C+; * * 1/2 out of five.

Put all expectations out of your mind right now that this is anything like the console games. It is not an action, peg gathering multiplayer game.

Instead, this is a collection of several familiar single-player minigames covered in cute Lego slash DC Comics style Bat-skins that range from challenging and fun to simply frustrating.

Biff! Bam! Minigame Action!

Most of the minigames in this title involve either the touchscreen, the motion controls or a combination of both. The games also vary between vertical and horizontal orientation with a brief warning to make certain you are at least facing the right way. For some games, however you might as well hold it any way you want.

The first minigame is a system-tilting/screen-tapping Batarang game where you hit glowing practice targets as they approach the screen, avoiding innocents and scoring well enough to move on tot he next minigame. After that you get a variety of games that include ye olde 9-square picture puzzle, plug the holes in the pipes with your finger(s), catch the falling pegs (a la Kaboom!), pinball, shuffle bowling, whack-a-punching bag (a la Whack a Mole), a space shooter and a the classic shell game complete with betting.

Each f the games is put into the context of a semi-animated comic book style story featuring batman and various villains, Naturally, the games all center on batman somehow defeating each villain’s nasty attacks. As you complete the minigames, others unlock that become available after the main story-based game is completed via a Gotham City touch map.

Tripping Through Some Bat Guano

As I mentioned, you need to put aside the thought that this is anything like the console games. There are not any platformer elements, mid-level puzzles, Batgrappling or character swapping. Right there will be the first major deterrent for fans of Lego Batman game franchise and was initially a downer for me. To its defense, it’s not promoted as being related to the console games except by name.

With that aside, the minigames are split pretty evenly between being rather enjoyable and completely miserable.

Most of the games that utilize the system’s motion controls have delayed reactions that will cause you to miss oncoming objects. Even those that give a simply tapping option, such as the miserable “Batarang Skill Shots” opener, are too slow to allow comfortable accuracy.. The helicopter level is equally annoying, with sluggish controls that will have you crashing into a building more often than successfully scooping rows of pegs.

In the middleground are games that are executed well enough but not especially inspired or are simply not always well played on a touchscreen. The busted water pipes game, for example, requires you to hold one, two or three fingers on the screen at the same time. That means you’re be covering most of the screen, often making it impossible to see the next break or two. The punching bag and picture puzzle games can be mindless distractions for some but can also be found as various freebie games.

There are, however, a few saving minigraces. The space shooter, for example, can be fun once you get used to the controls (and you ship doesn’t get glitched into a corner). The pinball and shuffle bowling (physically slide a Joker-themed shuttle across a slippery, bumper-sided board to collect pegs, avoid obstacles and holes and knock down batman pins) games are also quite enjoyable and definitely worth several replays.

Also to the game’s benefit is the cute comic book story, which is cute enough to watch, though you can tap through it if cute cutscenes are not your bag.

Not a Complete Bat-Tastrophy

Even though Lego Batman: Gotham City Games is an example of a game that is better than the sum of its parts, it barely breaks an average rating. The few games that are fun are certainly worth replaying while the annoying games need only be played one or two times until you get through the story or do well enough to unlock another, better minigame. The graphics are definitely enjoyable and the partially animated cutscenes for the main story are cute and well constructed.

Make sure if you do get this, it is on sale.

Don’t miss the photo gallery with more than 100 screen caps.

Photo Gallery [Gamertell] Purchase [iTunes]