Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment looks to make up for the lack of any Dark Knight summer movie tie-in with this fall’s LEGO Batman: The Videogame. Developed by TT Games, which has had consistent success with LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones games, this title is shaping up to be the best Batman game ever. Who needs a movie license when you can get the adorable toy versions of Batman, Robin, the Joker and the Penguin?

“The goal with taking the Dark Knight into the world of interactive LEGOs was to give players the ability to experience the action from both sides of the law,” said Loz Doyle, producer of LEGO Batman at TT Games. “In addition to being able to play through 18 levels of gameplay as Batman and Robin, there are 18 villain levels that offer up a variety of bad guys, including The Joker, Harley Quinn and Catwoman.”

Anyone who has played the previous LEGO games will find a grittier, more realistic visual style and more interactive environments. Also diverging from those previous LEGO games is a combat system that replaces The Force with an upgradable wardrobe of special suits, which enable the heroes to literally walk on walls (magnetic boots), lay explosive traps (demolition suit), and fly through the air (glide suit). There’s also the trusty Batarang that’s great for taking out multiple henchmen with one swing. The Bat Computer can be used for research to invent new vehicles like the Bat Copter and advanced weapons like smoke pellets.



For those who like to be bad, a full roster of enemies (The Joker and Harley Quinn were shown at the GDC demo in an amusement park level) will be available to pillage Gotham City and toy with the caped crusader and his sidekick. Each villain has unique powers and weapons (Harley Quinn can perform super jumps to access new areas and pick through security systems) and their levels are more colorful and fun—at least in the amusement park. Players can actually spend as much time as they want playing the mini-games in the Midway area of the amusement park. In general, the LEGO games have always been great for replay value thanks to their jump-in/jump-out cooperative play and inventive locales.

Also on display at Warner Bros. E3 booth was Project Origin, the official sequel to Monolith’s first-person shooter, F.E.A.R. Since Sierra now owns the rights to that name, the developer changed the title of this sequel, but retained the intense action. They also brought the fighting outside from the claustrophobic atmosphere of the first shooter.



“In the context of the game fiction, Project Origin refers to an illicit genetic engineering program Armacham Technology Corporation (ATC) is running as part of a military contract,” said John Mulkey, lead designer of the game. The purpose of the project, codenamed Origin, is to develop psychic commanders that can lead squads of bioengineered soldiers telepathically.

The playable demo featured a very challenging engagement above ground in a war-torn city filled with snipers and heavily armed soldiers. Using cover is an integral part of this game, especially since the ability to slow down time is limited. This bullet time-style effect, which added a new dimension to multiplayer in F.E.A.R., comes in handy when engaging multiple enemies at once. The demo also introduced a mechanized suit that players can step into—once an electric line is moved away from a large puddle of water-- and use to mow down everything on screen.

As for the story, Mulkey said the game can be enjoyed by those who didn’t play F.E.A.R., but those who did will get nuggets of information throughout. And Alma, the possessed child who was featured in the first game, will be back.



by John Gaudiosi