Since when did Lego become so popular? In attempt to further their bid for world domination, the head honchos at Brick Headquarters have added another installment to their popular Batman video game franchise with Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. But will the same plan of attack work the third time around, or has the charming Lego factor run its course?

Beyond Gotham, as the title suggests, takes Batman and shoots him out of his dreary hometown and into outer space, blowing the doors off the DC Universe and opening up the game to all the classic (and not-so-classic) characters the publisher has to offer. But this isn’t any galactic vacation for the Dark Knight. Up in the cosmos, trouble is brewing, with Braniac attempting to capture the Lantern Rings and destroy Earth. Batman must enlist the help of the Justice League and various other characters to put a stop to Braniac’s plan.

This expansion was the next logical step in the overarching storyline in the series, and it allows gamers to explore new environments, including the different Lantern worlds. It can, at times, feel like a Lego Star Wars game, especially when shooting up bad guys from inside a spaceship, but DC has always had sci-fi leanings (Superman is an alien, after all), so it’s really not that big of a stretch. As always, the Lego theme is the building block (sorry, couldn’t help myself) of the game, putting gamers in situations where they will have to “build” their way out of trouble and construct different tools that enable them to progress. And, of course, there are the gazillion Lego coins to collect and lose every time you inadvertently walk off a cliff.

Ultimately, Beyond Gotham is a love letter to fans of the DC Universe and everything related to Batman. There is a plethora of characters (150!) to unlock and play as, some of which you will immediately recognize and others you will have to be a total fanboy to know. You’ll run into famous faces from all different mediums that, at one time or another, had a part in creating the legacy of Batman, including none other than the incomparable Adam West. Each surprise character also has his or her unique superpower to show off.

With its already established appeal to a younger demographic and newfound success at incorporating personalities that have been around since before Woodstock into its products, Lego has seemed to crack the code and gained itself an audience that has no age limit. It’s time to finally put up the white flag and let Lego take its place as the next world superpower ~ and that might not be such a bad thing.

By Jason Savio

For more, visit legobatman3beyondgotham.com.