It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly made the LEGO Star Wars games such a giant hit. Was it the simple pick-up-and-play mechanics? Perhaps it was the lack of any real death penalty, thus making it accessible to everyone? Or was it the hilarious pantomime humor? Reliving all the greatest moments from the movie without the dialog made for some hilarious results. Who can forget the “I am your father” scene from the second game done without the voice acting? I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t played, but it may very well be one of the funniest moments ever in gaming.

Now the team at Traveler’s Tales are back to tackle another iconic franchise, and this time, it’s everyone’s favorite hero with an attitude, Batman. With the resurgence of comic books and the wildly successful Dark Knight film gracing theaters across the land, Batmania has certainly been kicked into high gear. We recently got a chance at E3 to sit down and spend a little time with Batman’s LEGO alter ego, and it’s looking more and more like this game may actually be able to recapture the magic brought on by LEGO Star Wars.

Unlike the previous LEGO licensed games, the story for Batman is completely original, rather than being based on movie scripts. The development team has said that this gave them massive creative freedom to open up the Batman universe and really involve all the characters and storylines they could want. In this case, all the criminals Batman has dutifully put away over the years escape from Arkham Asylum in a massive jailbreak and begin terrorizing the streets once more. Therefore, it is up to Batman, Robin, and bonus hero Nightwing to round up the villains and put them back behind bars where they belong. When the story says all the villains escaped, it means all of them. Thus far, Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Bane, Clayface, and Poison Ivy have all been confirmed, with even more to be revealed as the game’s release draws closer.

Actually, the game allows you to not only fight the baddies, but jump into their shoes and mix it up as well. We got to see two villain levels, one featuring the Joker and Harley Quinn, while the other showcased Mr. Freeze and the Riddler, and both may have actually been more fun than the hero missions. The Joker and Harley spent their mission trying to kidnap Commissioner Gordon, and to get to him they had to maneuver their way through a dilapidated carnival and fight off the police along the way. Of course, they aren’t about to play fair like Batman, so when it came to dispatching police Joker was happy to pull out his twin LEGO uzis and pick off his foes from afar, or get up close and personal with a jolt from his killer joy buzzer. Mr. Freeze and the Riddler showed a similar flair for the dramatic, with Freeze encasing enemies in block of ice before smashing them to bits, and Riddler using mind control to grab certain enemies and turn them against their own kind. It’s very clear that the developers have been focusing on the villain missions from the start, and they’re getting just as much TLC as any of the hero levels.