Um, Lego Batman

So I'd already posted that trailer the other week. Hey, I'm getting old. To make up for it I took a listen to the recording I made of the producer talking at GDC. Annoyingly I couldn't hear anything he said, only the hypnotic voice of the aging reporter who worked for Boy's Life. Was there going to be a Man-Bat character? Possibly. What I could recall was there are going to be 18 heroes and 18 villains, which, given a quick scan of Batman's past enemies, could include any number of freakish assailants. I'm going to bet Man-Bat is in there. I mean, Killer-Croc is already a given.

Beyond the jump: the trailer and a word on the way co-op works.

What's interesting about the success of Lego Star Wars, perhaps, is that most of the kids who play it don't give a damn about the films. Even Jon Smith, the lead designer on those games and on Batman, told me that his own kids watched the movies a couple of times and then never looked back. It does seem a little like Lego have realised that it's the parents who actually hold the wallet when buying games: tap into their youth with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman, and you sell games, whether the kids give a damn about the franchises or not.

When I had a look at this being played at GDC, and what was most interesting is that the perspective is tied down to a largely 2D plane. I'm not sure I would have even noticed if the producer hadn't pointed it out, but it allows the camera to continuously pan back when co-op players get far apart, meaning you should never "lose" someone off camera when you're playing together. Little tweaks in design like that give me every confidence that Lego Batman will be better than the Star Wars games.

GameTrailers, to the thanks-cave!