I was initially going to tease this review with some kind of "holy blockheads, Batman!" line, but, aside from being kinda lame, it occurred to me that Robin's idiosyncratic exclamation was probably popularized most by the campy '60s TV series starring Adam West or the animated "Superfriends" series of the '70s -- which a fair amount of the game's intended target audience probably hasn't seen. But like the rest of the licensed LEGO games to date -- starting with LEGO Star Wars and the recent LEGO Indiana Jones -- LEGO Batman: The Videogame works on multiple levels. It's colorful and simple enough for kids to mash their way through most of it, but there's enough in the way of slapstick comedy, sly puzzles and tons of extras to keep it interesting for gamers of all ages.

A big difference between LEGO Batman and its predecessors is that it doesn't re-tell the story of any specific film(s). This was probably a good decision, as none of the "Batman" movies (with the possible exception of the recent "Dark Knight") come close to the "Star Wars" or "Indiana Jones" films in terms of iconic set pieces ripe for parodying. Instead, you have a generic "everyone's broken out of Arkham Asylum!" scenario, split up into three episodes focusing on the Riddler, Penguin and Joker hatching separate madcap schemes. If anything, the game feels most indebted to the '90s animated series, with Danny Elfman's 1989 "Batman" score as the soundtrack.

Otherwise, LEGO Batman doesn't change what isn't broke. You control little LEGO-ized versions of Batman and Robin, running around a LEGO-ized Gotham City beating up thugs, solving puzzles and taking on an endless parade of supporting villains like Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Two-Face. As usual, there's no spoken dialogue: cut-scenes are all played for slapstick humor, and many produce a good laugh or two. While there's plenty of combat, it's mostly simple button-mashing without consequence. If you die, you lose some coins and continue from the same spot. So it's your ability to solve the game's numerous puzzles that dictates how fast you progress through the game.

Since the LEGO games have always been designed around two characters playing as a team, the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin make a natural fit. If playing solo, you can swap between the two characters at any time, and the computer does a solid job of controlling your teammate. Both have the ability to fire Batarangs at far-off objects, and each can gain additional abilities (needed to solve puzzles) via special suits scattered through the levels. Among them, Batman has a demolition suit to blow up metal objects and a glide suit to jump long gaps, and Robin can pick up a magnet suit that lets him walk up metal walls or a technology suit that allows him to hack certain control panels and control remote objects. The only downside to these suits is that they telegraph the game's punches to some degree: When you see a magnet suit, you know you're going to need it for a puzzle pretty soon.

LEGO Batman also includes controllable vehicles as a regular part of the game, which keeps the general routine of "beat stuff up, solve puzzle" from getting monotonous. Each five-chapter episode has one chapter fully focused on vehicles, one land, one sea and one air. The vehicles are drop-dead easy to control, but these missions can sometimes be vague in telling you what you need to be doing, especially in the flying missions, where your duo control differing aircraft with special abilities that aren't immediately apparent. As a result, it's not uncommon to find yourself flying around aimlessly for a while, unsure what you're supposed to do to advance.