LEGO DC Super-Villains (PlayStation 4) Review

After a big jail-broken, the Justice League receives some unexpected help from their counterparts from Earth 3, the "Justice Syndicate." Any fans who have seen the wonderful Crisis on Two Earths, or have read any of the comics, will realise that these newcomers are not to be trusted. Known as the "Crime Syndicate" in their reality, this group is far from heroic counterparts, but actually more like evil twins. Sure enough, they immediately do away with the heroes, using a strange device to make them vanish into thin air and the only one to catch them in the act is Harley Quinn! Now, this "Justice Syndicate" is fooling the populous, saying the Justice League has left this team in charge.

Now, it's down to the DC Super-Villains to band together and uncover the truth to these so-called heroes - pulling together not just the Legion of Doom, but Rogues Galleries from across the DC Universe in a new original story with a surprising voice actor cast.

The Crime Syndicate here matches its 52 new iterations, meaning it's made up of counterparts of each of the major Justice League members. Superman has Ultraman, Batman has Owlman, Wonder Woman has Superwoman, Flash has Johnny Quick, Green Lantern has Power Ring, Aquaman has Sea King, Cyborg has Grid, and then the supporting members of Atomica - counterpart of the Atom - and Deathstorm - counterpart of Firestorm - round up this group of Antagonists.

It's not really possible to list the entire cast of Villains battling against them. The roster is a staggering 174 characters and unlike the recent LEGO The Incredibles, it's filled with characters that people will actually know and want to play as. It's not just limited to the Villains, either, as there are plenty of Heroes mixed in to play as, too. The majority of these characters are receiving completely new designs, whole new mini-figs that are really great and will leave LEGO collectors desperate to get their hands on the physical versions. The outfits take inspiration from various versions of the characters over the years, from Batman 66 to the New 52, and even the Rebirth iterations of the characters. There's a way to get hold of one of these fantastic new mini-figs already - buying the special edition of the game. This comes with a Lex Luthor in his Superman suit, based on the New 52 design.

The best part of that huge cast is the voice talent behind it. Most importantly, Mark Hamill is here as the Joker! Never mind Luke Skywalker, this is the quintessential Hamill role and the best Joker incarnation of them all. Joining him in top billing is Kevin Conroy back as Batman. This is a real treat for long-time fans. Not to mention Tara Strong as Harley, Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor, Michael Rosenbaum as Flash, and so many, many more. Fans of the animated films and series will be well catered for and the cast is then filled out with some superb actors, not to mention some surprise cameos from film and TV. It's worth the price of the game for the story and the performances alone.

Complementing this, the soundtrack has some licensed classics that really help to set the tone. The main theme, Wolfmother's "The Joker and the Thief," is a criminally underrated track that will get some much-deserved love much in the same way Borderlands gave a spotlight to Cage the Elephant. Then there are also the classics of Pat Benatar's "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", "I Fought the Law" by The Clash, and Blondie's "One Way or Another."

How does it play, though? Well, it plays like a LEGO game. Tt's LEGO titles have been around for so long now it would be impressive to find someone who hasn't played one before or at least understand the mechanics. Travel through stages, using character-specific powers to overcome special brick obstacles; simple enough to allow anyone to play, from the youngest gamer to the seasoned veteran. Those who like the LEGO formula will find plenty to enjoy and those who don't, will not find anything here to change their minds - down to the finer details. There's no big open world, more a series of hub areas split up into some of the most iconic areas from DC. These include Metropolis, Gotham, Arkham, Apokolips, and more. Scattered through these zones are 15 story stages that include even more major DC Comics locations. Then, as an extra bonus, just like how LEGO Batman had a few stages to step into the shoes of the antagonists, this time it means playing as the heroes - five stages to play as the Justice League.

Across these stages, there is the usual plethora of little extras to hunt down. There are 100 mini-kit pieces, five pieces per stage; there are 200 Gold Bricks to collect; and 20 Red Bricks. Most of these are best collected in free play mode after clearing the game and give a considerable lifespan. Not to mention, there's a Season Pass, which promises content for the upcoming Aquaman and Shazam films, not to mention levels and characters from Young Justice, Batman the Animated series, the DC Arrowverse TV shows, and more.