With "The Dark Knight" one of the summer's top movies, it's no surprise that the next "LEGO" video game is "Batman."

Unrelated to the movie, "LEGO Batman" pulls from Batman's extensive comic book history, using well-known characters such as Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler and The Penguin, and lesser-known characters (except to comic fans) such as Killer Croc and Clayface.

"LEGO Batman" has the same core gameplay as the previous "LEGO Indiana Jones" and "LEGO Star Wars" games. The characters and environments break apart into smaller blocks when attacked.

Because this game, however, is not based on a movie, the storyline is original. The villains have broken out of Arkham Asylum, and Batman and Robin travel around Gotham City to stop their evildoings.

As with all the LEGO games, one of the goals is to collect as many LEGO "studs" (the game's currency) as you can. In addition, other collectibles are hidden throughout levels. Collecting everything unlocks more characters and other special features.

Once a level has been finished, it becomes available for freeplay, in which players can switch between characters at will. Each of the characters have their own special abilities, and freeplay is the only way to collect everything.

Batman and Robin each have five different suits they can wear. For example, Batman has a gliding suit, a sonic suit that allows him to break glass and a demolition suit for using bombs.

The villains are even more varied. Some can walk uninjured through toxic goo. Others are super-strong. Poison Ivy can poison enemies, and Mr. Freeze can, well, freeze them.

The villains are really the best part of the game. After you've played through a story chapter using Batman and Robin, you then can play through a parallel story from the villains' viewpoint. It's a fantastic way to extend gameplay.

Unfortunately, "LEGO Batman" seems to be riddled with glitches. Most of them are minor and are easy enough to ignore, but others are game-breaking. During my first boss battle with Man-Bat, he disappeared when I almost had him defeated. Literally, he just disappeared. I couldn't finish the battle and had to restart the entire level. No game should ship with a glitch that bad.

While I liked it, I didn't enjoy "LEGO Batman" as much as previous LEGO games. Believe it or not, I think part of the reason is because it wasn't based on a movie. There weren't any spoofs of classic scenes for me to anticipate, so my attachment to the story was greatly diminished.

Overall, though, "LEGO Batman" is fun to play, even if the formula is starting to get a little stale. If you've enjoyed the LEGO games until now, you'll probably enjoy "LEGO Batman."

However, "LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga" remains the best in the series.

LEGO Batman

By: Warner Bros., for Xbox 360 (also for PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, DS, PSP, PC)

Rated: Everyone 10+

Cost: $49.99

Score: 7.5/10