Tie-in video games seem to come standard with summer blockbusters. The lack of a game inspired by “The Dark Knight,” the highest grossing summer movie ever, reeks of the type of ridiculousness you'd expect from The Riddler.

Almost three months later comes “Lego Batman: The Videogame,” which clearly doesn't follow the mythos of Christopher Nolan's films. The soundtrack consists of Danny Elfman's unmistakable compositions from the 1989 Tim Burton movie and the 15 villains are plucked from almost 70 years of Batman's comic book history.

Still, it's freaking Batman. Together with the klutzy show-off Robin, the Dark Knight slips as fittingly into the Lego action-adventure formula as one of his suits. And in “Lego Batman” he has a lot of suits.

This strategic element replaces the character-specific abilities with which players advanced through the “Lego Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” games. Instead of swapping control over Indy for the high-jumping Willie or the tiny Short Round, players must find a Batsuit that gives him gliding abilities or a Robin suit that magnetizes his feet for walking on metal surfaces from any angle.

“Lego Batman” adds this new system to the series' familiar mixture of beat-'em-up melee combat, puzzle solving and platforming. Batman and Robin both have Batarangs with which they can hit multiple targets - sort of like how Batman took out a handful of Red Circus Gangbangers in “Batman Returns.” Simply waving a cursor over targets with the analog stick maps out the weapon's path with some speed, but it's not a smart method for attacking thugs at close quarters.

Confronting foes with fisticuffs turns into button-mashing before long. Most of the Joker's, Penguin's and Riddler's minions are beaten with one or two punches and barely put up a fight. But the enemies come in scant bursts, so the risk of boredom is rare.

In between the combat, players figure out the way forward by busting apart much of their Lego environment and piecing together vehicles, switches and ports at which Batman and Robin can switch suits. The difficulty of the puzzles and platforming hovers at a modest degree of challenge well within the skill level of children and the enjoyment level of older players. Several hard-to-reach Lego pieces await the more ambitious players, who can also wreak havoc on Gotham with the villains in order to unlock additional secrets.

The few vehicular levels place Batman and Robin in the Batmobile, Batwing and other weaponized craft for action that replaces the more thoughtful play of the on-foot levels with fun, if brainless destruction sprees. As the supposed protector of Gotham City, Batman sure breaks a lot of stuff in this game.

In the vein of its “Lego” predecessors, “Batman” presents a collection of voiceless cut scenes telling the story of the villains' escape from Arkham Asylum. Though humorous, the scenes lack the familiarity of the film moments that the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” games cleverly spun. “Lego Batman's” cinematics also fail to match the psychological depth of “The Dark Knight,” but Batman can't always top himself.

David Wilcox

253-5311 ext. 245

david.wilcox@lee.net

If you play

Game: “Lego Batman: The Videogame”

Score: B+

Parental rating: E for everyone 10 and older with cartoon violence

Developer: Traveller's Tales

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Platform: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC

Price: $49.99

Play: Single, co-op

The final boss: Fans of “Lego” games and Batman will find much to love about the Caped Crusader's plastic adventures.