LEGO debuted its latest video game, "LEGO Dimensions," on September 27th. The toy-to-life game, which allows you to play simultaneously with characters from Batman, "Jurassic World," "The Lord of the Rings," and more, is going to be a must-have on children's holiday wish lists. While it's undeniably fun, parents are going to have to dig deep for this one. A starter pack for the video game, which comes with three characters, costs $100. While you can beat the game with the characters provided, there are plenty of locked items and areas you can't complete without other characters. 20 additional expansion packs, ranging in price from $14.99 - $29.99, were released at launch. Another 17 will trickle out in the coming months in several waves. In addition to the starter pack, if you were to purchase everything right now, there's $464.79 worth of "LEGO Dimensions" content available in stores. If you buy everything from now until next May, that will bring you to a grand total of $789.62 before tax.
Here's everything you'd have to buy to get the most out of "LEGO Dimensions." In total, 37 different playsets will be available over the course of the next year. The expansion packs are broken into level packs ($29.99), which come with a character, vehicle, gadget, and a new game level; team packs ($24.99), which come with two characters, a vehicle, and gadget; and fun packs ($14.99), which come with a character and vehicle or gadget. 20 expansion packs were released September 27. They include Homer Simpson and his iconic car. Homer will be available with his car, television set, and a new level. He has the ability to grow and have super strength along with sonar smash. A "Portal 2" level pack based on the game will come with character Chell. The set will come with Chell, a companion cube, and a Sentry Turret. It will unlock the "Aperture Science" level. If you're going to get a level pack, this is a good one to have handy, since Chell's the only character allowing you to create portals so far.
The "Back to the Future" level pack let's you play as Marty McFly. Not only does Marty rock out to his guitar but he also has the iconic DeLorean time machine and Hoverboard. You'll also be able to head to Hill Valley. The "Jurassic World" team pack let's you play as Chris Pratt's dino trainer, Owen, and one of his velociraptors. Owen and his velociraptor come with a gyrosphere and a member of the Asset Containment Unit who's responsible for keeping the dinos in check. Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are available in another team pack. The duo come with the Mystery Machine and a Scooby snack. 10 smaller "fun packs" are currently available, too. There's the "Wizard of Oz" Wicked Witch. The Wicked Witch comes with one of her blue winged monkeys and allows you to harness several abilities the main three characters can't like blowing up silver LEGOs and using mind control. Tech Insider was told this one was expected to be popular with collectors. A few "The Lord of the Rings" characters will be available.
There's a Legolas fun pack. It comes with Legolas and an arrow launcher. Gollum comes with Shelob the Great spider. Gimli comes with an axe chariot. There are also a few sets from LEGO's popular Chima set. Here's Laval and a mighty lion rider. Cragger and a swamp skimmer come in another pack. Eris and an eagle interceptor are also available. "The LEGO Movie" characters like Emmet are sure to be popular. He'll come with an excavator vehicle for digging. Benny will come with his spaceship. Good Cop/Bad Cop will come with his police car. There are also characters available from LEGO's Ninjago series. There's Zane and a ninjacopter ... ... as well as Nya and a Samurai Mech. Here's Jay and a stormfighter. In addition to Batman, other DC characters are available at launch including Wonder Woman. She comes with her invisible jet. Cyborg is also currently available. Actress Alison Brie reprises her role as Unikitty from "The LEGO Movie"
"Doctor Who" will be making his entry as a LEGO character! If you're going to get any expansion pack, this is the one. This will be the first time "Doctor Who" characters will be released in LEGO form. The BBC worked closely with developer Tt Games to make sure every detail of the character was perfect for fans. In addition to a LEGO version of the 12th doctor, voiced by Peter Capaldi, fans will also be able to play as every incarnation of the Doctor. Homer Simpson's son Bart will be part of a fun pack. Instead of his iconic skateboard, Bart will come with a gravity sprinter vehicle. Krusty the Clown will also come in a fun pack. Krusty will come with a clown bike. He'll have the ability to grow and clean up hazardous messes. Kai and Cole will be available in a LEGO Ninjago pack. You'll be able to play as Peter Venkman and the "Ghostbusters" gang. Venkman will come with a ghost trap, the Ecto-1, and a new level. The Joker and Harley Quinn should be another popular team pack.
The partners-in-crime will come with the Joker's copter and the Quinn-mobile. Sensei Wu will be available in a LEGO Ninjago fun pack. If you still don't have enough "Doctor Who," you'll be able to pick up a Cyberman and Dalek. Doc Brown and his time-travelling train will pair nicely with Marty. You'll have to wait until right before the release of "Batman v Superman" in theaters to get your hands on Superman. Aquaman will help flesh out the growing Justice League members in the game. Your "Ghostbusters" collection won't be complete without the Stay Puft marshmallow. Gamer Kid will give a nod to classic Midway Arcade games. Three sets are currently set for release May 10, 2016 in wave five. Lloyd will round out the Ninjago series. Batman nemesis Bane will join the DC Comics' villains. Finally, you'll be to get your hands on green ghost Slimer from "Ghostbusters," too.Television's self-service buffet has never been more diverse for Australian audiences and, at the same time, never been more complicated.
In addition to slabs of new content being pushed out by a handful of new "streaming" players, audiences must now contend with multiple screens, multiple subscriptions and a more complex navigation around who owns what. Streaming film and TV content is not new to Australia - services like Ezyflix and Quickflix have been in the market for several years, and the dominant pay TV platform, Foxtel, has already launched Foxtel Play. But this week the US-owned Netflix joined the Nine and Fairfax-owned Stan, and the Foxtel and Seven-owned Presto. Every course of Australia's long-awaited TV dinner has finally been served.As a group, they create a collective cost and audience share pressure which will, in time, change the shape of Australian television, either by accelerating the fragmentation of audiences, or by driving up the cost of acquiring content. For consumers, the benefits are manifest. It narrows, if not closes, the delay Australian consumers face for international content, though there is still much to be done on that front.
And the real cost of entry - around $10 a month - is genuinely low.The accompanying guide reveals some startling distinctions between the different services. At just $8.99 Netflix may be the cheapest entry point but its local library is comparatively lean - just 1120 titles, compared to 7110 titles on its US service - and its entry-level service is available only standard definition. On a per-hour basis, Stan boasts the largest library (approximately 7000 hours) for just a dollar more, and is delivered in high definition. Equally, Netflix is the only one of the three new players offering 4K ("ultra" high definition) content. And Presto is the only delivered solely in standard definition. What is more, a large slice of content has been acquired on a "non-exclusive" basis. That means, for example, that shows like Summer Heights High, Doctor Who, Absolutely Fabulous, The Good Wife and Ray Donovan are available on more than one platform. Equally, each has invested heavily in exclusive content, leaving real fans with some Solomon-like decisions.
Frozen, for example, is Netflix (and Presto). And The Lego Movie, in SVOD terms, to Stan.And Foxtel owns Game of Thrones, though it can be sourced later from both Quickflix and iTunes. With that in mind, and in response to consumer demand, Foxtel Play is offering the upcoming new season of Game of Thrones on a no-contract basis: that is, $25/month for the service plus $5/month for the premium drama add-on for three months. And it does include streaming rights to all of the preceding seasons.In a sense, that transaction illustrates the many, and explains perfectly how the new universe hopes to work. Consumers have much more power, but with that comes more paperwork. And a touch of caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. And the final realisation that the long-held notion of "all-you-can-eat" TV is something of an illusion. It is perhaps more correct to say we're now customers in TV's equivalent of a food court. (For a closer look at ease of use, streaming quality and data usage, click here)
What it does: streams films and TV showsPlatforms: PC/Mac, tablet, mobile, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fetch TVCost: three tiers, basic ($8.99), standard ($11.99), premium ($14.99); no contractQuality: SD (basic), HD (standard), 4K (premium)Screens: unlimited devices; 1 stream (basic), 2 streams (standard), 4 streams (premium)Total library titles: 1120 titles approx. of which 220 approx. are TV*.Total library hours: 5000 hours* approx.Key suppliers: Netflix (USA), Disney, Beyond Distribution, Warner Bros, BBC Worldwide, 20th Century Fox, NBC Universal, Village Roadshow, ABC CommercialKey content: exclusive rights to House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Bloodline, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Grace and Frankie, plus streaming rights to the films Frozen and Maleficent.Data consumption: 1GB/hour (standard definition), 3GB/hour (high definition), 7GB/hour (ultra high-def)ISPs offering unmetered data What it does: streams films and TV showsPlatforms: PC/Mac, smart TV, tablet, mobile, Airplay via Apple TV, ChromecastTotal library titles: 1250 titles approx.
Total library hours: 7000 hours approx.Key suppliers: Sony Pictures, CBS Studios, MGM, Village Roadshow, NBC Universal, BBC Worldwide, ABC Commercial, SBS (including World Movies), Viacom, TurnerKey content: exclusive rights to Better Call Saul, Dig, Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, Community, The LEGO Movie, the James Bond library, Wolf of Wall Street, streaming rights to Fargo, Breaking Bad, The Bridge, The KillingData consumption: 1GB/hour (standard definition), 1.5GB/hour (high definition 720p), 3GB/hour (high definition 1080p)ISPs offering unmetered data: None at the moment.(Stan is co-owned by Fairfax Media, the publisher of this website) What it does: streams films, TV shows and sport; streams linear pay TV channelsPlatforms: PC/Mac, smart TV, tablet, mobile (via Foxtel Go), Samsung Blu-Ray, Playstation, XBoxTrial period: 14 days free (no contract)Total library hours: 3250 hours approx.*Key suppliers: 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Disney, Paramount, Sony Pictures, NBC Universal, HBO, BBC WorldwideKey content: first-run on Game of Thrones and Walking Dead, Jane The Virgin, The Flash and The 100
, plus Foxtel "Originals" including Wentworth and The Real Housewives of Melbourne, plus up to 69 linear streaming channels including live sport. What it does: streams films and TV showsPlatforms: PC/Mac, smart TV, tablet, mobile, ChromecastCost: TV $9.99/month, movies $9.99/month, both $14.99/month (no contract)Trial period: 30 days free (no contract)Total library titles: 1200 titles approx., of which 100 approx. are TVTotal library hours: 4500 hours approx.Key suppliers: HBO, Foxtel Productions, Seven Network, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Disney, eOne, NBC UniversalKey content: exclusive streaming rights to Modern Family, streaming rights to Sons of Anarchy, Homeland, The Americans, plus Foxtel "Originals" including Wentworth, Cloudstreet, Love My Way, Tangle, Devil's PlaygroundUsability/interface: Basic, can be sluggish.ISPs offering unlimited data: Telstra Bigpond, Foxtel Broadband What it does: streams films and TV shows; transactional streaming ("stream to own");
DVD rentalPlatforms: PC/Mac, smart TV, tablet, mobile, Playstation, XBox, Chromecast, TiVoTotal library titles: 2300 titles approx. of which approx. 275 are TVTotal library hours: 7000 hours approx.Key suppliers: Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, NBC Universal, MGM, Disney, Lionsgate, eOne, HBO, BBC Worldwide, ITVKey content: transactional streaming ("stream to own") rights to Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, streaming rights to Orphan Black, Hung, Skins, True Blood, Entourage, The West WingData consumption: 1.5GB/hour (standard definition), 2.5GB/hour (high definition).ISPs offering unmetered data: None at the moment. What it does: transactional streaming (rental); "electronic sell through" (download to own)Platforms: PC/Mac, Samsung smart TV, tablet, mobile, ChromecastCost: rentals ($3.99 and up); download to down ($8.99 and up)Maximum screens: 5 devices; 2 streamsTotal library titles: 2000 titles approx., of which 285 approx. are TVTotal library hours: 6000 hours approx.