keep writing about the “Lego” games? Reviews, features, news stories. The fact is that they’re omnipresent. Not writing about them is like a sports writer not writing about the Yankees. For while you can’t yet buy a “Little Big Planet” or “Uncharted” game for your PS4, you can buy THREE Lego games—“Lego The Hobbit,” “Lego Marvel Super Heroes,” and “The Lego Movie Videogame”—and a fourth is coming soon in the form of “Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.” We already wrote about Lego games we’d like to see (and one has come to fruition since writing that piece) but what about how to choose the best of what’s already available. With over four dozen Lego games overall and 16 licensed Lego games in the console generation, it’s getting overwhelming. Which ones are the best? Let us count them down, in chronological order. Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (2005-PS2) The one that really started it all has held up remarkably well almost a decade later (yes, that makes me feel old too).
“Lego Star Wars” tapped a generation right in its nostalgic heart, blending both the way that so many people feel about their favorite childhood toys and their favorite childhood movies. Wait, we can use the toys of our youth to recreate our favorite flicks? Where do we sign up? And the merging of Lucas concepts like The Force and building with Legos proved addictive. It actually made a degree of sense, unlike so many other nostalgic mash-ups. “Lego Star Wars” was one of those rare games that instantly heralded a multi-year franchise. You played it for an hour and you knew that someone who deserved a raise had really opened a toy box that would keep giving for years. It all started here. And it’s still so incredibly playable, unlike many games of its era. Sadly, a few of its immediate predecessors focused too heavily on gadgets in their puzzle solving and remained in the shadow of this game and the “Original Trilogy” follow-up and so “Lego Batman” and “Lego Indiana Jones” were near-misses.
The series wouldn’t really connect creatively again until… Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4; As with many of the best “Lego” games, the success of this one is ably assisted by the depth of the world that inspired its creation. J.K Rowling crafted such a fascinating universe that one could argue she did most of the work in terms of making this game a success. Just as George Lucas’ universe made a natural fit with Lego, so did the world of the boy who lived, a kid who used magic to solve problems in much the same way Lego aficionados create with their favorite toys. And another element that often distinguishes a hit Lego game was in place here as well with the deep character roster provided by the Rowling books and films. It wasn’t just a movie tie-in, it was a new way to play within the universe and stories of your favorite fictional franchise. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (2011-PS3) Again, the depth of the universe helps and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” games offered the developers at Traveller’s Tales a chance to provide gamers with a wide array of gameplay.
What I dug about “PoTC” more than most critics was the way it expanded the universe of the games by focusing on collectibles in a new way. Lego games are always about smashing things and grabbing things and pirates do a lot of both. This game also really expanded on the idea that different playable characters would have different strengths, weaknesses, and powers, resulting in more replay value than many other Lego games. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (2011-PS3) It all comes back around. While I’m one of the people who likes to consider the “Star Wars” universe closed as of the ‘80s and mostly can’t stand anything that has come out since the original trilogy ended, this game was shockingly fun. The folks at TT found a way to bring some of the magic of those first movies and the original Lego game into the new Lucasverse in ways that the creators of “Attack of the Clones” and the awful “The Clone Wars” movie failed to do. Nah but the action-driven focus of the “Clone Wars” series made for a more action-packed Lego game than usual.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes (2013-PS3/PS4) Arguably the best Lego game to date. Yeah, I said it. What I would call “Lego 2.0,” the new era of Lego games on the next-gen consoles like the PlayStation 4 started here and the folks at TT really delivered more so than in the too-straightforward “Lego Movie Videogame” and incomplete “Lego Hobbit.” And what “Lego Marvel” REALLY proves is that these games could exist without the source material of something like the “Star Wars” or “Harry Potter” films to drive their storytelling. New stories, beloved characters, great puzzle design, and tons of action. Brilliant, well-paced Avengers campaign Crammed with gags and spectacular set-pieces Fun new team mechanics suit co-op play Lots to see, collect and explore The old formula isn’t getting any fresher Best Deals for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Lego Marvel's Avengers Available on Xbox One (reviewed), PS4, PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii UThe parallels between the TT Games Lego series and the Marvel movie franchise are just too tempting to ignore.
On the one hand we have a series that has been throwing out two or more games a year for a decade, yet doesn’t seem to be losing its momentum. Sure, we wouldn’t rate either Lego Batman 3 or Jurassic World as high points, but they still weren’t bad and Lego Dimensions was an absolute smasher.On the other hand, we have a franchise that’s launched at least two movies every year for the last five years, and that seems every bit as unstoppable.The worst you can say about both is that there’s a danger that they’re growing formulaic – that audiences might get tired of baddie-bashing, bricks and puzzles in games or superheroes, smart one-liners and bombastic, city-smashing climaxes at the cinema. If so, Lego Marvel’s Avengers won’t do anything to slow the downward slide but, boy, is it fun in the right here and now.Related: PS4 vs Xbox OneWhere Lego Marvel Super Heroes gave us a whistlestop tour of the mighty Marvel comics universe, Lego Marvel’s Avengers narrows its focus on the cinematic universe – and more specifically on the films between Avengers Assemble and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
In fact, these two films provide the backbone of the campaign, along with a flashback to Captain America: The First Avenger and chapters sampling Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.This obviously means a fairly limited line-up of Marvel heroes during the campaign – something which might upset those who loved the wider range of Lego Marvel Super Heroes – but it’s hard to complain when the chapters are so fantastic, mining the best and biggest sequences from the movies for every ounce of spectacle, while finding rich veins of comedy from the best-known scenes. If you or your kids have come to Marvel through the movies, you’ll love what TT Games has done.Related: Best PS4 Games 2016Don’t go in, though, expecting significant changes to the formula. The mix of combat and skills-based puzzle solving is as familiar and welcoming as a home-cooked Sunday lunch, and what changes there are could be labelled as refinements. There’s a great new buddy-combo mechanic while fighting that allows two Avengers to team up for an impressive special move, while a few puzzles rely on stacking two heroes.
Both add to a game that’s best enjoyed played co-op rather than alone.New arcade shoot’em up mini games crop up from time to time, while the classic Hulk v Hulkbuster battle is staged ingeniously from two vantage points, making it stand out from a game that’s a little too dependent on simplified, Quicktime Event-style boss battles. Meanwhile, Tony Stark gets a new mechanic for switching between different Iron Man suits. All in all, though, you’ve seen most of what’s here several times before.Related: Best Xbox One Games 2016Early on this seems a serious weakness, but as the campaign unfolds you start to feel that this might just be the apogee of the current Lego formula. Each chapter is superbly paced, with you switching between groups of heroes so rapidly that boredom never gets a chance to creep in.Where some recent Lego games have struggled to define identities and roles for their protagonists, with too many similar characters with similar skillsets, Lego Marvel’s Avengers does a great job of setting up Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Agents Hill and Coulson, then making each one fun to play.
The puzzles are well-staged, too; smart enough to be challenging, but not so tough that you’ll need to grab an FAQ. Much like the movie Age of Ultron, it could have done with a few minutes less of The Avengers battling endless waves of Ultron, but even here the rhythm of battling, building and solving holds your interest.Tying in to the cinematic universe also benefits the visuals. The plastic minifigures and backgrounds have never looked better, but there’s a new confidence at work, restaging some of the biggest action scenes in perfect style, echoing the showy, sweeping camera movements and slow-mo pay-off shots. The fact that Lego Marvel’s Avengers pulls this off while making room for a stream of silly sight gags just makes it all the easier to love.Related: PS4 HDD Upgrade – How to upgrade your PS4 hard driveThis might be TT Game’s funniest Lego game in ages. Not only do those sight gags come thick and fast, transforming some of the darkest moments from the movies into cheap, knockabout laughs, but dialogue pulled direct from the movies – there’s an awful lot of it – gets mashed up with Lego imagery that always finds some nutty or surreal new twist.
Some of the dialogue doesn’t quite work in with new dialogue recorded especially for the game, thanks to weird shifts of tone and volume, but that’s something we can live with. Meanwhile, fans of pigs in Lego games are especially well catered for, while Stan Lee himself gets roped in as a recurring comic stooge. Frankly, watching Tony Stark shoved, squeezed and dragged into a succession of Iron Man suits is worth the asking price alone.For my money, this is the best campaign in a Lego game since the dynamic duo of Lego Batman 2 and Lego Marvel Super Heroes. And when it’s over you’ll still have only completed a fraction of the objectives and unlocked a relatively small number of the characters.This is where Lego Marvel’s The Avengers, like Lego Batman 2 and Lego Marvel Super Heroes before it, really gains its long term depth. Needless to say, you can revisit completed chapters with new heroes and villains, opening new areas or tracking down those sneaky optional objectives, but the game also gives you a lot of open world to explore.
Related: Xbox One tips and tricksIn fact, where the earlier games gave you one large urban setting – Gotham or Manhattan – Lego Marvel’s Avengers gives you Manhattan plus a bunch of other, smaller open worlds. Climb inside the Avenger’s Twinjet and you can make it to Hawkeye’s rural hangout, Ulysses Klaue’s abandoned shipyard, the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier or Asgard and solve more puzzles and track down more goodies there.It’s also here that the game’s universe expands, taking in small-screen Marvel heroes like Daredevil, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, plus a more expansive range of lesser-known Marvel stars. You won’t find Spider-Man or the X-Men – and not all of us get excited about umpteen Iron Man and Captain America variations – but if you like the sound of Moon Knight, Captain Britain, Black Goliath and Wendigo, you won’t go away short-changed. What’s more, new characters and missions are on their way through either free or inexpensive DLC.VerdictLego Marvel’s Avengers a fine game played solo, but it’s a fantastic family game, short on frustration, big on laughs and packed with stuff to think about, find and collect.
Serious Marvel True Believers might miss the more varied roster and exotic locations of Lego Marvel Super Heroes, but the new game has it beaten for action, spectacle and humour. Throw in a cracking set of free-roaming locations to explore, and you have another storming superhero hit. February 2, 2016, 8:54 am The main story took my 8 year old about 7 hours to complete, so an adult should whizz through it a bit quicker. That's only taken him to about 25% complete though and he's currently working through to unlock everything. It's a great looking game, and I think we only had to resort to a walkthrough for one puzzle in a Hydra lab. February 3, 2016, 4:15 pm My 4 yerar old son and I enjoy playing the lego games together. However, this title has been a little disappointing, as after so many games in the series you would expect them to have sorted a lot of the problems out by now.Unfortunately they haven't the platforming sections are frustrating due to the terrible camera angles used.