Tonight at midnight $465 worth of LEGO Dimensions product goes on sale. How much does one need to pay to have a good time? Let our buyer’s guide be your...guide. LEGO Dimensions, taken as the whole of the first series of starter and toy kits, is the priciest total game release of the year. Skylanders Superchargers kept launch releases relatively short and sweet, and Disney Infinity 3.0 is definitely playing the long Star Wars game. But not LEGO Dimensions. Along with the priciest starter kit (not counting Superchargers special Dark Editions), Warner Bros. is releasing a trio of Level Packs, two Team Packs and a whopping 15 different Fun Packs. What does that all mean? (Prices may vary based on retailer and promotions)Now that we know the basics, what do you need to play? A single $99 starter kit for PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Wii U goes quite a long way. The kit includes the game itself; the game’s portal platform, which connects to your video game console via USB, as well as the bricks needed to construct it;
three minifigures—Batman, Gandalf and Wildstyle; and a miniature Batmobile that can be rebuilt into three different configurations, as with all of the game’s accessories. With the starter kit you can experience the game’s complete single player (or local co-op) story mode from start to finish. There will be collectibles you cannot unlock due to them requiring a power the three included figures do not have, but the basic game is all there. The three minifigures will also grant access to three of LEGO Dimensions’ free-roaming Adventure Worlds, basically expansive themed playgrounds filled with challenges and secrets and fun. The DC Comics, Lord of the Rings and LEGO Movie Adventure Worlds are accessible with just the starter kit. You don’t need to purchase every single toy in order to experience all of the in-game content available for LEGO Dimensions at launch. Just a little over half. To gain access to every Adventure World and special level along with the main story, you’ll need the following: The grand total for this complete content unlock is $285.
Still a lot, but it’s no $465. What’s missing from the unlocking all the content list? If you go that route then only 12 Fun Packs stand between you and complete mastery of your LEGO domain. I know this, because that’s exactly how many kits are in my Amazon order. With five waves of sets scheduled between tomorrow and May of next year, not all content from LEGO Dimensions will be available at launch. The Doctor Who Level Pack arrives on November 3. Until then, no Doctor Who Adventure World for you. Same for Ghostbusters, the Level Pack of which is due out January 16. And finally the Midway Arcade Level Pack isn’t arriving until March 15. If the inspired Midway Arcade level from the main game is any indication, untold riches await in the Adventure World. I’ve fielded many questions since running the game review earlier today about what sort of extended gameplay comes with each Level Kit. Between the three launch Level Kits—Back to the Future, Portal and The Simpsons—I averaged about a half hour of gameplay in the included levels.
Mind you that’s without attempting to unlock secrets or gathering collectibles or hitting that bits goal. I’d say a dedicated player could squeeze an hour or so out of each. Generally there’s more to do in the figure-unlocked Adventure Worlds than in the Level Pack levels. Unfortunately for Portal, there is no corresponding Fun Pack, so the Level Pack is it. Here’s a brief rundown of the three. Portal: Chell returns to the Aperture Science testing facility to go another round with GLaDOS, aided by the mildly villainous in an adorable sort of way Wheatley. The level is a series of testing chambers, culminating in a good-old Chell Vs. GLaDOS showdown. Easily my favorite of the three. Back To The Future: the level here follows the story of the movie in the most skipping stone of ways. We follow Marty from Doc Brown’s garage to the mall parking lot. From there we go to the past, where we’re immediately tasked with hooking up wires to the clock tower to power the DeLorean’s trip back.
We make it back, and that’s it. The whole thing played out in under 20 minutes, so maybe that hour was a generous estimate for this set. Disappointing content, but great music. The Simpsons: Homer has to make it from home to a chili cooking contest, where he eats hallucinogenic peppers and goes on a vision quest. It’s trippy in a very Simpsons sort of way. I think I had more fun playing with Homer’s powers (belching and hulking out) and driving about the family’s pink car than playing through the story, but fun was definitely had. If you’re planning on getting a bunch or all of the sets, make sure you have a container for the extra bits. There are always extra bits. I used a tiny wooden chest got from the dollar store for my birthday one year. Repeat after that large, bolded bit right above this sentence. The LEGO Dimensions starter kit is packed with fun things to do, and I don’t foresee a shortage of sets in the long run. Start with that, and then collect other bits that interest you as you go along.
Treat yourself or your loved ones with a new character here, a Level Pack there. Hopefully this has been a helpful guide, and you’ve got a better idea of what enjoying all LEGO Dimensions has to offer means to you and your wallet. or follow him on Twitter at @bunnyspatialEnter the characters you see below Sorry, we just need to make sure you're not a robot. For best results, please make sure your browser is accepting cookies. Type the characters you see in this image: - 3 years 1 month ago Welcome to the Treasures section for LEGO The Lord of the Rings. This page displays the name and image for each item, along with any special abilities they impart as well as the levels in which they are located.LEGO Dimensions is the latest game in the growing toys-to-life genre. Like Disney Infinity, Skylanders and Amiibo, LEGO Dimensions is a rather complicated beast with different release dates and prices. This article intends to clear up some of the confusion so you can decide if this is the right toy-to-life game for you.
LEGO Dimensions, as stated above, is a toy-to-life game. As such, you can expect some similarities with other games in the genre. The main difference here is that LEGO Dimensions makes use of the popular LEGO brand for all its characters and levels. When you first pick up LEGO Dimensions you’ll get a copy of the game, three character figures (Wyldstyle, Batman, and Gandalf), a vehicle (Batmobile) and the Lego Gateway, the portal that brings your toys to life. LEGO Dimensions is also unique in that it has its own story, which doesn’t require the purchase of other characters. On the planet of Vorton, the evil Lord Vortech plots to acquire the Foundational Elements, which would grant him power over the LEGO multiverse. To do this, Vortech opens numerous portals across the multiverse, recruiting different villains to help in his scheme. After the portals accidentally suck up their friends, Batman, Wyldstyle and Gandalf team up to travel the multiverse and put a stop to Vortech’s plans.
Yes, LEGO Dimensions is in fact a LEGO game. You still press Square to attack, Triangle to swap between characters and each character has their own unique ability. Studs are still the main source of currency and can easily be found by smashing LEGO objects. If you love the LEGO games than most likely you’re going to love LEGO Dimensions. Of course, there are some differences. While previous LEGO games have had a menagerie of different characters to choose from, you will be limited in LEGO Dimensions to what you’re willing to buy. You’ll start out with Wyldstyle, Gandalf and Batman and will only be able to play with other characters if you shell out extra cash. Now you won’t need these other characters to play through the story, but there is extra content available if you happen to purchase Level Packs. The big difference between Dimensions and past LEGO games is the LEGO Gateway. This portal allows for up to seven characters and vehicles to be placed on it and thus playable.
The Gateway is also instrumental in solving many of the puzzles. For example, one type of puzzle involves painting the world in red, blue and yellow. Characters on the left side of portal are blue, right side characters are red and the character place in the center is yellow. Another changes the size of the characters depending on where they’re placed on the portal. They’re fun and kooky, but maybe a little too complex for younger children. There are a lot of characters and worlds in LEGO Dimensions, though not nearly as many as Disney Infinity. Here’s a breakdown of every franchise represented in-game: The Lord of the Rings (Warner Bros.) The LEGO Movie (Warner Bros.) The Wizard of Oz (Warner Bros.) The Simpsons (20th Century Fox) LEGO Ninjago (Warner Bros.) Back to the Future (Universal Studios) Midway Arcade (Warner Bros.) Scooby Doo (Warner Bros.) LEGO Chima (Warner Bros.) Jurassic World (Universal Studios) These are the just the beginning franchises and more are likely to arrive over time.
Speaking with Warner Bros. at E3, the publisher confirmed that they are actively speaking with other film and game companies about getting more characters and levels in the future. If you have a favorite franchise, Warner Bros. is committed to bringing it to LEGO Dimensions. Now, there are a few properties that are off-limits. Though Warner Bros. has released LEGO games for Star Wars and Marvel, it is unlikely that either of those properties will make it into LEGO Dimensions. Disney Infinity and LEGO Dimensions are direct competitors making it unlikely that we’ll see any crossover. We also won’t see any film properties with an R rating, or any games with an M rating. What we might see are platform exclusive characters. Warner Bros. aren’t opposed to working with Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo on bringing exclusive characters to each platform. It would be cool to see Sackboy on PlayStation, Banjo Kazooie on Xbox and Mario on Nintendo, for instancce. The different packs will launch in a series of five waves between now and spring 2016.
The Starter Pack, which is the most important piece of LEGO Dimensions, launches September 29 on PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PS3 and Xbox 360. A series of Level, Team and Character packs will launch the same day. Wave 5, which launches May 10, 2016, will be the end of current LEGO Dimensions support, at least until the inevitable sequel arrives next fall. Click here for a breakdown of the five different waves. As you can expect, LEGO Dimensions is not going to be cheap. Just getting your hands on the Starter Pack is going to make a serious dent in your wallet. Here’s a breakdown of the different costs for each packs: So yeah, it’s going to be quite a bit of money. For comparison’s sake, here’s a breakdown of Disney Infinity’s cost: Neither are cheap and the mileage you get out of LEGO Dimensions might hinge entirely on how much money you’re willing to put in. These games are fun, but they’re not cheap. Now that is the million dollar question and it’s going to be difficult to answer.
This game is going to appeal to little kids because it’s LEGO and the fact that it is essentially a LEGO game on steroids means it’s going to be easy to pick up and play for anyone who has enjoyed a LEGO game released in the past few years. Traveller’s Tales has crafted a cohesive storyline that can be played without having to pay for extra characters, which means that this could potentially be the cheapest toy-to-life game available, as long as you don’t buy more characters. Cost is still going to be a huge problem, especially since the extra characters will add to the overall experience. Finally, we don’t know what LEGO Dimension’s endgame content is going to look like. Disney Infinity has the robust Toy Box to play with once the Play Set campaigns are complete. As far as we know, LEGO Dimensions doesn’t have any mode like this. For now, LEGO Dimensions looks promising and small children are going to love it. Everyone else may want to wait and see how it compares to Disney Infinity and Skylanders.