Last week, an “Iron Man” game came out aligned with the theatrical release of the “Iron Man” movie.

The movie did fine despite “GTA IV” pulling in $500 million dollars, but not much has been said about the game (though it seems that people are renting it).

Would the “Iron Man” game have generated more buzz away from its movie release but also away from the release of “GTA IV”?

Other movie games planned for this summer are sticking with the standard practice of coming out with the film. The “Speed Racer“ movie and game are out this week, next week is “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and later on this summer “Kung Fu Panda,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Wall-E“… well, you get the idea. Summer blockbusters typically come with video games in tow.

However, this got us thinking about the new “Batman” movie. In summer 2005, “Batman Begins” had a game published by EA and developed by Eurocom that was released day and date with the film. Then the movie sequel “Dark Knight” was officially announced in August 2006 and hits theaters on July 18. Yet so far, we haven’t heard anything about a “Batman” game for July.

Last May, IGN reported a rumor that EA tapped Pandemic Studios to create a new Batman title based on the “Dark Knight” movie. Not much else was known. On April 2, 2008, IGN confirmed the rumor but the information was then immediately taken down. Multiplayer reached out to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, but representatives would not comment on the status of the game.

Also, “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull,” which enters theaters on May 22 does not have a scheduled movie-based game. We asked Lucasarts why there isn’t a “Crystal Skull” game but received no response before press time. In 2005, an “Indiana Jones” game for next-gen consoles was announced, but no release date has been given. Meanwhile, “LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures” hits retail on June 3, but does not include the storyline from “Crystal Skull.”

Maybe the people behind the “Dark Knight” and the “Indiana Jones” games (as well as 2006’s “Superman Returns” game) know something we don’t.

Could licensed games benefit by not coming out day and date with the film?

Are movie-based games still relevant to gamers when the it comes out much later than the film, and perhaps tied to a DVD release?

Or does the game really miss out by not being released with the movie?

San Francisco — After making three “LEGO Star Wars” games, you’d think Traveller’s Tales would have it down pat by now.

But lightsabers and Batarangs aren’t quite the same thing.

“LEGO Batman: The Videogame” producer Loz Doyle told me at the Game Developers Conference last month that the team is still working on what the Wii version’s control scheme will be like. “We’ve been messing around with the different ways we can do the Batarang,” he said. “We don’t want people throwing their Wii-motes out the window. I can just imagine mothers calling us up. We are working on it.”

So while I didn’t a chance to see the Wii version of the game, Doyle gladly demo-ed the Xbox 360 version for me in a W Hotel suite, a block away from GDC.

With Doyle having worked on all three incarnations of the “LEGO Star Wars” games, I wondered what it was like for him to transition to a new IP. “It was quite strange at first because I’ve been doing ‘Star Wars’ since 2003 or something, so then I had to switch to a completely different universe and different characters,” he said. However, Doyle and co. were allowed more creative freedom this time around, since the games aren’t strictly based on movies like “LEGO Star Wars” was.

The game is broken up into 18 levels, with three different story arcs (six levels per story arc) featuring the standard two-player, drop-in/out cooperative play (online co-op play is available for the Xbox 360 and PS3). The stories were penned by Traveller’s Tales, with approval from Warner Bros. and DC Comics after they were written. “It seemed only natural that the over-arching story was a big breakout from Arkham Asylum,” Doyle said. “Once they broke out from Arkham Asylum, they break off into three groups, which enables us to have three stories that aren’t linked to each other.”

They weren’t inspired by any one medium: “I think everyone on the team has at some point watched all the films, the TV series, the animated series, read the comics,” he said. “We’ve got some massive Batman fans up at Traveller’s Tales, so that was really useful. But yeah, I don’t think we took particular inspiration from a specific film or TV show, it’s more that we kind of looked at a character, and we built the story up based on how that character would behave.”

While I didn’t get my hands on the controller, I did bombard Doyle with questions as he played through some early levels. Read on…

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It’s been a week of highs and lows here on the MTV Multiplayer blog’s coverage of “LEGO Indiana Jones.”

There have been triumphs and defeats.

And now, LucasArts, determined to make things right again has offered us a nice exclusive. Or, really, an evil exclusive.

Click below to see a full shot of the game’s very own version of Mola Ram, the bad guy from “Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom.”

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What the LEGO people and I had last Saturday was a failure to communicate.

My notes about “LEGO Indiana Jones” and my recollection of my interview with two LucasArts people who showed me the game indicated that the Indy game would support four-player co-op. That’s why I wrote that it did.

But on Wednesday I found out that the actual design plans for the game do not call for four-player co-op. That feature is not planned for the game.

A producer for the game has confirmed that. “‘LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures’ will feature the user friendly drop-in/drop-out two-player cooperative feature that players have come to know and love,” the game’s producer, Shawn Storc, said to me in an e-mail provided by LucasArts public relations. “However, we are not expanding this feature to a higher player count. I certainly do apologize for any confusion that has arisen; we must have been in a LEGO induced haze at the Collector’s Party.”

How could things have gone so wrong?

I’m told that the game will allow up to four character on the screen, but apparently only a maximum of two players can ever control the game and the characters on screen at once.

Multiplayer readers, I take great pride in the accuracy of my work. I would not have reported it as fact if I didn’t think I had it 100% solid, in this case from an official demonstration of the game. But, unfortunately, that was not the case.

UPDATE, 2/1: The following story erroneously reports that “LEGO Indiana Jones” has four-player co-op. This error arose from a miscommunication about the game’s features during an official demonstration that led to an inaccurate impression of the game. For more details, see this follow-up post. We regret the error.

I spent an hour this past Saturday exploring a room full of LEGOs, and getting a quick demo of “LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures.”

The meeting was at the Times Square Westin hotel where my last game demo was a week-early marathon with “Halo 3.” It was in a conference room where LEGO toys and LEGO statues stood (see some pictures below).

And amid all the toys, two LucasArts producers has a level to show in the LEGO “Indy” game. So I sat down to watch a yellow-headed LEGO Indy try to retrieve the idol and outrun a boulder. I was being shown the first scene of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” as re-done by developer Traveller’s Tales.

But I couldn’t just watch. I asked questions and learned about some other stuff too. Read on…

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What do we know about “LEGO: Batman,” the video game?

Other than the fact that it’s coming from Traveller’s Tales, the studio behind the “LEGO Star Wars” games — the last two games I finished at 100 percent?

We know Batman is in it, in LEGO form. And Robin. And the Joker.

But did we know that the Joker’s deranged psychiatrist Harley Quinn is? In LEGO form, of course.

We here at the MTV Multiplayer blog were notified of this by Warner Brothers earlier this week and have been authorized to exclusively show you proof.

This is what we’ve been told by Warner Brothers about the appearance of Dr. Harleen Quinzel’s villainous alter-ego in the game:

In the “LEGO Batman” video game, Harley Quinn will have the ability to walk a tight rope, perform super jumps and bypass security for all levels with guards in security booths. Harley Quinn appears in the Fairgrounds Villain level as well as one additional level yet to be announced… stay tuned.

See below for an exclusive gallery of LEGO Harley Quinn in action alongside the LEGO Joker …plus some new images of LEGO Batman and Robin and a LEGO crocodile! Or alligator….

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