LEGO DimensionsAvailable on: PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Xbox OnePublisher: Warner Brothers Interactive EntertainmentDeveloper: Traveller's TalesPEGI Rating: 7+Players Offline: 1 - 2 If you're a LEGO Dimensions fan, you'll probably know that for "Year 2", as it's been dubbed, the series has taken a slightly different approach to most other toys-to-life games. Rather than release a fully fledged second game, the team at TT Games have instead decided to release a second year of expansion packs, adding a whole host of new franchises to the game via a series of Fun Packs, Team Packs, Level Packs and brand new Story Packs, from Harry Potter to Mission Impossible, and even the Powerpuff Girls. What you possibly don't know is that actually playing these new packs is a little bit trickier than before. While previously, any new content was automatically added to the game via a handy (if somewhat massive) patch that would automatically download before you can play the game, LEGO Dimensions now asks you to download the data for each new expansion individually - and that can mean a little bit of an extra wait before you get to go hands-on.
Here's how you do it. For Year 2, each new expansion pack has to be downloaded separately, whether you're playing on Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS4 or PS3. While you'll be able to play as your new character, and use their vehicles in-game without downloading anything in the way of extras, if you fancy playing through that character's adventure world, and/or associated levels, you'll need to download the required pack first. There are two main ways of doing this. The first is all but automatic - when you place a new character on the base for the first time, the game will pop up with a handy message, asking if you want to download the required pack: "To access all [figure] content, an additional download is required. Do you want to add it to your download queue now" If you have the space, all you need to do is press yes to start your download off - but if you say no, for whatever reason, you'll have to try plan B. Luckily, it's only a little bit trickier. First you'll need to head to the main menu, and the choose options.
From here, scroll down to the brand new option, "Add-on Content" This will open a brand new menu, where you can browse all the available add-ons. While any add-ons that were released as part of wave one will show up as "permanent", meaning you can't choose to install or uninstall them, at the bottom of the list you'll find the Year 2 expansions (or at least, those that have been released so far). If you want to download and install a new add-on, simply choose the pack you want to download, and then press yes on the next menu that pops up, which will take you to the online store. If you're playing on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 4 and Wii U, the only way to download these add-ons is by loading up the game itself, either through the add-on content manager, or by taking advantage of the pop-up prompt - browsing the Playstation Store or Nintendo eShop doesn't actually show any results. If you're playing on an Xbox One, however, you can simply browse the Xbox Live Marketplace to download all the add-ons before you even put the disc in.�
Needless to say, if you're buying someone some LEGO Dimensions Year 2 packs for Christmas, and don't want them to be disappointed come the big day, it'd be a great idea to boot up the game (on Playstation, Wii U or Xbox 360) or head onto the Xbox Live Marketplace (on Xbox One) and download the add-ons in advance. The file sizes, at the time of writing, are as follows: If you've totally finished a level/adventure world, and never want to go back to it again, you can choose to DELETE the OBSOLETE add-on from this menu, saving yourself some valuable hard drive space in this age of mandatory installs. As mentioned, you'll still be able to use the character in game, but you will lose access to their adventure world, and four player split-screen battle arena. If you're familiar with LEGO Dimensions, you'll know that the game's hub world is already fairly cramped. Littered with portals to take you to all manner of worlds, there wasn't really all that much room to squeeze in all the Year 2 content - and so, TT Games have build a whole new hub world.
Known as "The Shard", this brand new hub stores all the portals you'll need to access the adventure worlds for each of the 16 new franchises that'll be making their way to the game over the coming months. To access the shard, you have two main options. The first is that you can use the handy new terminal that's popped up next to the main portal - it's from here you'll be able to access the game's brand new levels, whether they're from level packs, or story packs, like the Ghostusters Story Pack, along with all of the adventure worlds. It's also where you can get your hands on the brand new four player split-screen mode. Alternatively, if you're already out and about, you can jump straight to the Shard at any time by keeping an eye out for the jump pad, located in-between the Ghostbusters and Lord of the Rings adventure world portals. Jumping on this will send you flying to the Shard, ready for a whole host of new adventures. And that's how you access all the newest stuff in LEGO Dimensions Year 2!
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below - if not, be sure to check back soon for our full reviews of the rest of Year 2! Lego Dimensions' second year adds Harry Potter, Adventure Time, A-Team UPDATE: 16 new franchises fully detailed. UPDATE 2.10pm A whopping 16 new franchises are joining Lego Dimensions for its second year, Warner Bros. has now confirmed.The full list includes franchises which have leaked, others which were rumoured, plus a couple of surprises:Ghostbusters (2016)Harry PotterFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Adventure Time Mission: Impossible The A-TeamThe Lego Batman MovieThe GooniesSonic The HedgehogTeen Titans Go!Lego City UndercoverKnight RiderThe Powerpuff GirlsGremlinsBeetlejuiceE.T. ORIGINAL STORY 9.15am Harry Potter, Adventure Time, Mission Impossible, The A-Team and the new Ghostbuster film are all headed to Lego Dimensions for its second year.Publisher Warner Bros. is set to reveal the game's second phase later today, but sets are already available to view on Amazon Mexico.The physical Lego toy/video game hybrid will get a new type of add-on, the Story Pack, which adds a half dozen new levels around a particular franchise.
Also included are a figure, vehicle and a new theme for the game's portal.The Ghostbusters Story Pack includes Melissa McCarthy's character and the Chinese restaurant from the film to sit atop your Lego Dimensions portal.And we've spotted that all characters now unlock both a game world and a battle arena for each franchise.So far, the other following sets have been revealed:Mission Impossible level pack - Ethan Hunt minifigure, plus in-game story level, hub world and battle arenaHarry Potter team pack - Harry Potter and Voldemort minifigures, plus in-game hub world and battle arenaAdventure Time level pack - Finn minifigure, plus story level, hub world and battle arenaAdventure Time team pack - Lumpy Space Princess and Jake the Dog minifigures, plus in-game hub world and battle arenaA-Team fun pack - B.A. Baracus plus in-game hub world and battle arenaOther franchises have also been teased, including Gremlins. We'll have the rest of the information later today. Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting