I finally got a chance to play a few levels of Lego Batman over the weekend. Much like the previous Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones, this one is a lot of fun.

Since this is a Batman game, it is your task as the Caped Crusader to bring in escapees from Arkham Asylum. The villains are whose-who of Batman lore (Joker, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, etc.). Because of the array of villains, there has to be an array of heroes. You get to roll with Bats, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl and Alfred, the butler. There may some others, but like I said, I only played a couple levels.

It's a good combination of fun for children with a few adult-ish situations sprinkled throughout. If you played the other Lego series games, this one is more of the same gameplay style. Run around, beat up enemies, collect coins, put together Legos and answer puzzles.

Strategically, it leaves you a little wanting because it's fairly simplistic, but it's the kind of game you can sit down and play any time. The game did a nice job of mixing things up a little bit. While the majority of levels consist of running around, there are also levels where you drive cars and fly airplanes and helicopters.

If you didn't care for the other Lego games, this one probably isn't for you. That is, unless you're a Batman fan. The game does a good job incorporating a lot from the comic books and animated series (including the great theme song).

It is kind of puzzling, though, that this game didn't come out a little earlier in the year to capitalize on the success of The Dark Knight. Oh well.

From AP, which will be the easiest way for me to pull this in:

Warner Bros. takes a more lighthearted look at the Caped Crusader in "Lego Batman" (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation Portable). … THQ's "De Blob" looks like one of the freshest Wii games in a while. … Ubisoft sends its "Brothers in Arms" heroes back to the front with "Hell's Highway" (360, PS3, PSP) and "Double Time" (Wii). … Nintendo brings back two of its second-tier characters in "Wario Land: Shake It!" (Wii) and "Kirby Super Star Ultra" (DS). … Sony launches a new season of trivia challenges with "Buzz! Quiz TV" (PS3) and "Buzz! Master Quiz" (PSP).

I may be playing Lego Batman at some point this week. It should be fun, like the rest of the Lego games.