Two of Simon Bishop's favourite things are together as one for the third time: Lego and Batman.
For: PS4, XboxOne, PC, PS3, Xbox360
From: TT Games
Four stars (out of five)
There may be some out there who scoff at the thought of playing a Lego game. They don't know what they're missing.
Lego games never fail to be both compelling and amusing in equal measures, and Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is no exception.
This time around, planet Earth is under threat from the dastardly Brainiac, who isn't content with just shrinking cities with his shrink ray - he has decided a nice shrunken Earth would look good on his shelf.
If you're one of those who has discovered the magic of the Lego games before, there's not a lot here that will surprise you.
You still go around bashing everything in sight and picking up studs.
There are still puzzles that require a particular character with a particular ability to solve them.
There are still the somewhat irritating collectibles you can't get until you've unlocked the character with the right ability to be able to reach them.
The combat is still a nuisance.
In this sense, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is effectively more of the same.
But hey, if it ain't broke, don't rebuild it.
It may be all of the above things but it is entertaining on so many levels.
The Lego games work the same angle Pixar films are famous for, where there are jokes aimed squarely at the young'uns but also some more ''mature'' humour nestled in there for the ''mature'' gamer.
It just works on so many levels.
The story will take you through various extremely well designed levels, all lovingly recreated in Lego form.
It just oozes charm.
Even though this is perhaps the 10th Lego game, it still brings a smile to your face.
They've stumbled on a golden formula (or should I say instruction manual?) on how to make great games, and they know it.
There are some new things introduced for Beyond Gotham though, never fear.
First up, TT Games has changed the way in which you change your character's ability costumes.
Previously where you'd need to find (or build) a changing station, this time you have the equivalent of a weapon wheel, from which you choose the ability set you require.
Thankfully, this removes some of the frustration of the previous games.
The other notable addition is the change of some of the hub worlds to be spherical planets as opposed to flat maps.
Slight navigation issues aside, these are a welcome addition.
They reminded me of the brilliant levels found in earlier Ratchet and Clank titles.
So should you go out and buy this?
All bricky Batsignals point to ''yes''.
