Platform: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Windows PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Release: January 26, 2016 I entered into Lego Marvel’s Avengers with some trepidation. Last fall’s Lego Dimensions successfully shook up TT Games’ 12-year-old Lego formula by adding real-world bricks to the mix and mashing up a broad range of disparate pop culture properties. You could build the Mystery Machine on your coffee table and put Homer Simpson behind the wheel, snap together the Weighted Companion Cube from Portal and make Doctor Who manipulate it, create Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet and have it piloted by Marty McFly. It was creative, funny, engaging, and fresh. I was concerned that going back to a regular old Lego game based on a single piece of pop culture with no real-world models to build would feel like a step backwards. And it kind of does. But while Avengers – the second Lego game to be based on Disney’s juggernaut series of Marvel Cinematic Universe films – does indeed feel somewhat slighter than Dimensions, I’d forgotten just how good TT Games is at capturing the spirit of the franchises it both celebrates and parodies.
There’s plenty here that will put smiles on the faces of players both young and old — including a surprising amount of recorded dialogue from Marvel overlord Stan Lee (“Excelsior!”). And while Avengers does little to change the core Lego game formula – which is now 20 games strong – it nibbles around that recipe’s edges just enough to avoid coming off as a rote clone of games that have come before. The changes start with the structure of the story. Rather than just chronologically retell the tale of the two Avengers films, the narrative combines scenes from half a dozen different Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Fans will instantly recognize such scenes as the snowy opening sequence of the second Avengers movie, Captain America’s showdown against Red Skull, and the helicarrier set piece battle from the first Avengers film, only now they’ll be seeing some of these sequences as character flashbacks rather than in chronological order. And since this is a Lego game, you can expect more comedic catalysts for important events.
Watching Bruce Banner get coaxed into his Hulk form not through rage but by getting sacked actually made laugh out loud. And Agent Coulson’s mystery alien weapon from the first Avengers film doesn’t fire a piercing burst of energy, but instead a red boxing glove on a spring, freeing the audience to giggle a little more heartily at his dying words, “So that’s what it does” – which, like much of the game’s dialogue, were lifted directly from the film’s audio. You can also expect significantly fewer puzzles than what we were given in games like Lego Dimensions or even the Lego Harry Potter series. Nick Fury and company are presented occasional brainteasers, but they’re generally pretty easy. Solutions frequently flash onscreen prior to the puzzle starting to let us know which buttons to press to enter a code on a panel or where to look to find a hidden object with a scanner. Clearly, TT Games believes – right or wrong – that kids interested in super heroes would rather spend their time beating up bad guys than solving riddles.
To that end, a bit of attention was lavished on how the game’s 100-plus characters take down their enemies. Just hammering buttons will usually do the trick, but players can also choose to tap the circle button to make their characters perform signature moves, individually or in tandem. They take a few seconds to play out, but they’re often pretty satisfying – like when the Hulk picks up Iron Man and wields him like a laser gun. Even minor characters, like Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill, have their own unique takedowns (which, in her case, involves tossing a bad guy high into the air and casually watching him plummet back down to the ground). However, if you’re looking for tweaks more substantial than some fresh finishing moves and a clever way of retelling a story set over multiple films, then Lego Marvel’s Avengers may not do the trick. As with every other game in the series, the bulk of your time is still spent smashing everything in sight, occasionally constructing something new from the leftover bricks – a car, a weapon, a computer panel – that will let you clear some sort of obstacle.
You’re also still meant to replay finished levels with different characters in order to find all of the hidden goodies that are inaccessible the first time through. And between levels we’re given the same set of side activities we always get, such as customizing Lego minifigure characters and spending Lego studs to unlock special abilities (the quicker you buy the attract-studs-from-afar Red Brick, the better). As with pretty much any Lego game (except perhaps Dimensions), what it really comes down to is whether you’re tired of the Lego game shtick, whether you happen to be a fan of whatever pop culture property TT Games happens to have on tap, and whether you have someone to sit beside you on the couch so you can play and laugh together – these games are always much more fun experienced with a friend or family member. As for me, I’m not quite yet done with the formula, I happen to love the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I’ve got a 10-year-old daughter who loves playing games with me.
That’s the perfect mix to have a lovely time with Lego Marvel’s Avengers.40 new characters and 5 new levels for LEGO Marvel’s Avengers are now available on Mac! Grab the Season Pass via in-app purchase on the Mac App Store or on the ...Feral Store: - Masters of Evil Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil face off against the Avengers in a classic battle from the 1960s! - Captain Marvel After an exploding alien machine grants her amazing super powers, Carol Danvers becomes the interstellar Super Hero known as Captain Marvel! - Black Panther In a re-telling of T’Challa’s origin story, the Black Panther battles to save his mother from the villainous Klaw! - Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange travels to the Dark Dimension to fend off a duo of formidable foes! - Agents of Shield The team find themselves in a dangerous position after failing to make peace with the Inhumans! As an added bonus, customers who purchase the Season Pass will also receive: - Explorer Character Pack Explore new frontiers with this character pack featuring Space Iron Man, Scuba Iron Man and the infamous Iron Skull!