LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes

For some the LEGO games are a guilty pleasure, indulged in between bouts of Call of Duty, while for others its simply they represent the perfect opportunity to sit down with all the family and enjoy a game together. Fusing sly humor with a transparent love for the source material, the series has almost come to assume a genre identity of its own in recent years.

LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes is next up for the touchscreen treatment and it doesn't pull any punches when it comes to content. This is a round-up of all the great and good from the DC universe, from Wonder Woman to Superman, and there are 80 playable characters to unlock during your journey to prevent Lex Luthor and The Joker from finishing off Gotham City once and for all.

Everything you'd expect from the series is to be found here, and in abundance too. Every room is a treasure trove of dextrous navigation and playful puzzles, whether that's decoding the order of a series of actions from visual clues, or building exciting new LEGO contraptions to reach previously inaccessible platforms.

As fans of the series would expect, there's a huge amount of replay value to be had from the $4.99 asking price, with new characters and abilities allowing you to unlock whole new aspects of levels. The huge range of superpowers available from the DC universe has given the developers an open goal - and they've rushed towards it gleefully.

It's a game that looks impressive too, and the care and attention lavished upon character models, their personalities and the ingenious puzzles shine particularly on the latest Retina-enabled iOS devices - the framerate may not be as super-slick as other titles, but the payoff of having characters come to life with so much flavor seems like a fair trade-off.

Unfortunately, there's one aspect to the game that will be all too familiar to mobile LEGO die-hards. While we wouldn't deny that improvements have been made in the area, the control scheme is still a frustratingly fussy thing. Combat in particular can be fiddly as you attempt to maneuver into position and deliver a connecting blow. Precision positioning can also be tricky, although a tap-to-move system alleviates some of the pain. That there are in-app purchases associated with this five-dollar title is also a bit of a shame.

Still, if you managed to overcome any of the control scheme shortcomings in previous touchscreen LEGO games, then you have nothing to worry about in this latest release. In terms of content, characters, and all of the many charms the series has become famous for, Batman DC Superheroes delivers one of the better mobile LEGO experiences.

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Download LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes (iOS)