After the success that was LEGO Marvel Superheroes, TT Games teamed up with Marvel once again to allow fans to dive back into the brick universe. This time in LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, players will dive into the cinematic worlds surrounding the team of heroes sworn to protect the world. Of course, this changes how things play out in comparison to its predecessor, so let’s take a look at how it stacks up. From the very beginning you’ll see that LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is a different game from Marvel Superheroes. Sure, they both use LEGO figures and have tons of humor for fans of both universes to enjoy, but the world and missions structure has been altered. Where the previous game was an original story created to involve as much of the Marvel universe as possible, LEGO Marvel Avengers adheres more closely to the recent films. The game opens up with a shot-for-shot recreation of Avengers: Age of Ultron’s first scene (with a bit of laughs tossed in for good measure). The game keeps this up as it steadily jumps between the films in order to build wonderful missions for players to enjoy.
In particular, how they introduce missions from the movies is a highlight. Instead of just running players through the films as separate entities, flashbacks and other tricks are used to introduce missions from other movies. For example, when you first meet Captain America, you’ll be dealing with him as he is in the first Avenger’s move, but his memories allow you to dive into key moments from The First Avenger. However, only Captain America gets the full cinematic library treatment. Other stars have only their most recent works included such as Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World. This isn’t bad though, as it keeps the team-centered focus in play at all times. You are an Avenger and you will fight as one whether you like it or not. As is the case in most LEGO games, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers has a focus on co-op gameplay so there is never only one character on the screen. Most of the time, you’ll be teamed up with characters from the Avengers or Agents of Shield. It’s standard fare, but the new cooperative attacks (can be pulled of in single and multiplayer) make things exciting.
Every character can do these, but there are special ones that involve specific combinations. For instance, using Black Widow and triggering her team attack with another Avenger will launch her into the air to rain down bullets on her enemies while twirling upside down. The shift to slo-mo and the fact that it clears out pretty much everyone on the screen is a nice touch that keeps the momentum up. While the story is definitely focused on the Avengers, there are over 100 characters spanning the Marvel universe for players to unlock and use. Characters such as Count Nefaria, Crimson Dynamo, Fin Fang Foom, and other long lost classic heroes and villains return for some action. Of course you have your more popular characters like Jessica Jones as well in for the fight. LEGO Marvel’s Avengers seized the day and included classic fan favorites, obscure characters, and some that are just simple fun. It’s an amazing look into the long history of Marvel beyond what’s popular now, and an excellent way to introduce a new generation of fans to the universe.
The world in this latest entry isn’t a huge open world like the one before but, it isn’t super restrictive either. There are several hubs for players to explore in between missions if they so choose. At any time you can go to space and move to previously played missions or another hub. Each has its own secrets and fun activities, so it maintains the LEGO feel just on a slightly smaller stage. The mission areas themselves offer a bit more variety this time around as well. Switching between available characters was always a major component of the LEGO games, but things go a bit further this time. Sometimes you’ll switch not only between two characters, but each one will have its own specific play mode for that mission. The opening mission for instance takes place at the opening of Age of Ultron. At one point you will need to utilize both Captain America and Iron Man. Captain America sticks to the ground as he beats up minions and disables turrets; while Iron Man sticks to the skies, taking out drones and even collecting power-ups sort of like Resogun.
You can switch freely between the two as you please, using Iron Man to build up combos or gather health for Captain America who has a lot of enemies to deal with. It’s moments like this that keep LEGO Marvel’s Avengers fresh. But, it isn’t without its issues. There is a bit of trouble with some of the level designs that may prove to be frustrating for players. There are times when an animation will slide you straight off of a ledge and there’s nothing you can do about it. In fact, sometimes you can’t even switch while this is happening in order to preserve your hearts and your studs. This may not seem like much of a problem, but if you’re going for that True Avenger score, and you don’t have the Red Brick multipliers, these constant deaths will become the bane of your existence. Another issue comes in the form of button prompts. In LEGO Marvel’s Avengers it is often unclear whether or not you are to hold a button or repeatedly tap it. Certain major fights are just button prompts that continue indefinitely until you get it right, so this becomes an issue for younger players or those used to clearer directions.
While these issues can be frustrating, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is a solid addition to the LEGO universe as well as the Marvel one. Its more direct focus does nothing to water down the grand, and often times hilarious, experiences one comes to expect from the franchise. It may not add much that is new, but it is a prime example of why you shouldn’t mess too much with a good thing.Target marketing executives must be reading our blog. Last month, we reported on the striking, year-to-year similarities in the retailer's Black Friday ad formatting, pricing and deal promotion. Lo and behold, when we got our first look at their 2016 Black Friday ad last night, we were stuck by Target's attempt to shake things up a bit from previous years. It's not a severe departure from business as usual, of course. Most of the deals we predicted would be back are there, but there are some newcomers, some price changes, and a lot of switched up formatting. We'll take a deep dive into the deals in a second, but first, let's cover the basics of the sale.
Target is offering holiday shoppers a few rounds of savings before the big day. The first round of early access deals are available until the end of the day on November 10th. In a press release, Target confirmed that these deals would include: Check out this related deal through 11/10: The next round of sales, dubbed "10 Days of Deals," starts November 19 and goes until the 28th. According to the press release: "Guests will be excited to receive significant daily discounts on some of Target’s most popular product categories." More information on these sales is coming at a later date, so stay tuned for updates. Of course, the most serious deals to be had this month will take place November 23-25. While (as we predicted) doors to the Target Black Friday sale open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, shoppers can get Black Friday doorbuster deals online beginning early on Thanksgiving morning. We've said it before and we'll say it again: this year more than ever before, there's no reason to leave your house to shop Black Friday sales.
To figure this out, let's take a look at the first page of the Target ads from 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 all in one place: As we can see, first-page formatting hasn't changed much from year to year. There's the iconic Target logo in the upper left corner, a TV deal in the right. But while 2013-2015's other deals are pretty much the same, 2016's ad swaps out some of the tried and true first-page deals for new ones: For example, we predicted we would see multi-colored Beats Headphones priced around $97 in this year's ad. Instead, likely due to the iPhone 7's removal of the headphone jack, the headphones featured on page one are Powerbeats wireless earphones for $89.99 (usually $199.99). Combing through the ad, it doesn't look like the corded over-the-ear Beats headphones are on sale at all, although we do see a $119.99 (down from $299.99) deal on wireless Beats Solo headphones on page nine. The future of music is here, and it's wireless. We also usually see a deal on a Nikon CoolPix L-series camera for $99, which you can see in the image above in the 2013-2015 ads.
Not only does this camera deal not appear on the front page, it's nowhere in the ad at all. The deals in this year's ad are still impressive, even if they've retired a couple classics. Here's what's back, what's better than before, and what's brand new: Xbox One S 500GB Console + Battlefield 1 or Minecraft bundle -- $249.99 + $40 Target gift card (was $299.99) Last year's similar bundle was priced at $299.99 + a $60 gift card, so this is a $50 year-over-year price chop on one of the hottest gaming systems on the market. With the gift card, the net price of this bundle comes down to $209.99, which is about $100 cheaper than any Xbox One S console bundle we've ever posted on our site. Finding Dory and Star Trek: Beyond on Blu-Ray -- $10 (was $27.99) We've seen this Blue-Ray deal for a few years running now. Two newly released movies at a hot price. Last year it was Pitch Perfect 2 and Jurassic World. 50" Hisense Smart Ultra HD 4K TV -- $249.99 (was $599.99)
Last year's deal was the same price for a slightly bigger (55") but lower resolution TV. The $249.99 price for a 4K Smart TV is a sign of the changing times, and ever-evolving technology. 4K for this price last year would have been unimaginable, but here we are! Fitbit Charge HR -- $89.99 (was $129.95) Not the lowest price we've ever seen on this item (we posted a one-day-only deal on it just this Tuesday for $70), but still the lowest price Target's ever offered it for. A great gift for anyone looking for a tool to help them jumpstart their New Year's resolutions. Hoover Quest 700 Robotic Vacuum -- $199.99 (was $349.99) Robotic vacuums have been around for a while, but they're almost always upwards of $300 or more. The lowest price we've ever found for one was a $280 iRobot Roomba 620 at Kohl's back in October. While not a Roomba branded vacuum, the $200 price point is appealing, and its front-page position in the ad suggests Target execs think it will be a hit with consumers.
iPhone 7 -- $0 down + $250 Target Gift card (Verizon, AT&T and Sprint) As we predicted, Black Friday is already shaping up to be a great time to buy the new iPhone. $0 down + a $250 gift card? If you've been considering an upgrade, why not get paid to do it? Samsung 37" Bluetooth Streaming Sound Bar with Wired Subwoofer -- $82.99 (was $199.99) This item has been priced at $87.99 for the past five years, so the $5 price cut is a welcome change. As we usually see these going for $100-$200 during the rest of the year, this is a great price for this item. Nintendo 3DS Super Mario Edition -- $99.99 (was $149.99) As the Pokemon special edition 3DS was priced at around $300, this is a welcome surprise. Combine this deal with Super Smash Bros and various Pokemon games on sal for $25 each (they're usually $40), and you'll have one very happy -- and quiet -- child come the New Year. Razor Scooters -- $18 (was $29.99) This is a deal Target's busted out for the past five years and counting.