With the huge popularity of Lego’s collectable minifigures and a strong line in video-games, the announcement of the Lego Dimension video-game-toy hybrid was a surprise only in that it had taken them so long to join the “Toys to Life” race. Lego Dimensions works similarly to the other toy-game hybrid products popularised by Skylanders in 2011, joined by Disney Infinity in 2013 and then Nintendo's amiibo in 2014. The game comes in a starter pack with some basic toys, the game disc and USB “toy pad” peripheral. By placing the minifigures on the Lego toy pad they are brought into the game. Progress is then automatically saved back to the toy ready for the next session. The initial experience can be expanded by purchasing Level packs for new themed adventures, Team and Single packs for more characters, vehicles and gadgets. While the Lego offering is more expensive than the others (£99.99 to get started on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 with additional toys and levels costing between £14.99 and £29.99), it is the first of these games to offer real toys rather than collectable plastic figurines.
There is genuine on the carpet play value here as well as the on-screen action. Additionally, Lego has managed to put together an extensive array of partner brands for the launch of the game in September. Along with The Lego Movie, Lord of the Rings, Oz, Back to the Future and Ninjago initially announced the full line up extends this considerably. Today Lego published (and subsequently removed) a set of build instructions for the expansion packs in the game that confirmed rumours that it will also include Doctor Who (based on Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor), Portal, Scooby Doo, Jurassic Park and The Simpsons. This is significant not only for the video-game but also the toys themselves as it will be the first time an official Portal or Doctor Who mini-figure has been released. In the game, the combination of the Portal Gun’s ability to traverse geography in unusual ways and the Tardis’ time travelling will make for some mind bending puzzles. The biggest challenge for Lego Dimensions is ensuring it offers young players (and older collectors) good value.
Although the price of entry is higher, Lego has successfully gone the high price high quality route with its physical sets for some time. One strength here is not limiting which characters are compatible with different parts of the game. This not only increases how much additional play-time is likely by adding a new pack, but also keeps the purchases simple for parents to decipher. It was seen as a negative of Disney Infinity that you could only use matching franchise characters in related play set adventures. However, Disney Infinity 3.0 also improves on this allowing any of its Star Wars figurines to be used in any of the Star Wars campaigns. It’s good to see three competitive products driving innovation and value, however it seems unlikely that the market can support all three indefinitely. The initial acceleration of Skylanders’ sales has slowed, with many families choosing just one Toys to Life game each year to collect. Choosing between Lego Dimensions, amiibo, Disney Infinity and Skylanders is no easy task, and will require considerable research to ensure the choice includes characters and brands important to your children.
Lego Dimensions' Portal 2 and Doctor Who expansions confirmedThe Portal 2 pack features protagonist Chell and her portal gun, plus a turret and laser block.Meanwhile, the Doctor Who set features Twelfth Doc Peter Capaladi and his sonic screwdriver, along with miniature versions of the TARDIS and K-9.It's the first time Lego has featured Doctor Who, although the BBC gave the green light to development earlier this year thanks to its fan popularity on crowd-sourced platform Lego Ideas.Finally, Lego's The Simpsons pack includes Homer holding a can of Duff, the pink family car and a TV set showing Itchy and Scratchy.New team packs - groups of extra figures - have also been shown off, including Jurassic World and Scooby-Doo. The former features Chris Pratt and one of his new raptor pack, while the latter features Scoob, Shaggy, a pile of Scooby snacks and a shrunk-down version of the gang's Mystery Machine bus.Many, many more Lego sets have already been announced, although most of the others are simple character packs.
Either way though, come 29th September there will be a lot of parents (and non-parents) having to dig deep into their wallets. Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting LEGO Dimensions Story Pack: Ghostbu... LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack LEGO Dimensions Video Game LEGO Dimensions Level Pack: Goonies LEGO Dimensions Level Pack: Sonic t... LEGO Dimensions Simpsons Level Pack LEGO Dimensions Level Pack: Adventu... LEGO Dimensions Portal Level Pack LEGO Dimensions Level Pack: Ghostbu... LEGO Dimensions Level Pack: Doctor ... LEGO Dimensions Level Pack - Midway... LEGO Dimensions Level Pack: Back to... LEGO Dimensions Level Pack: Mission... LEGO Dimensions Team Pack: Harry Po... LEGO Dimensions Team Pack: Gremlins LEGO Dimensions Team Pack: Joker an... LEGO Dimensions Team Pack: Scooby D... LEGO Dimensions Team Pack: Adventur... LEGO Dimensions Jurassic World Team...
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LEGO Dimensions Fun Pack: Wonder Wo... LEGO Dimensions Fun Pack: Nya (Ninj... LEGO Dimensions Fun Pack: Sensei Wu... LEGO Dimensions Simpsons Bart Fun P... LEGO Dimensions Fun Pack: Gimli (Lo... LEGO Dimensions Fun Pack: Legolas (... Bigger characters, bigger stories and bigger possibilities are what's in store for the new LEGO Dimensions universe. You will see lots of familiar faces including: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Goonies, Gremlins, Sonic the Hedgehog and more! And all will work with the existing LEGO Dimensions toy pad. Plus, you will also find a few new added extras like Battle Arena Gameplay. The first new wave of packs are available September 27 and include: -The Ghostbusters Story Pack -Adventure Time & Mission: Impossible Level Packs -Harry Potter & Adventure Time Team Packs -And The A-Team Fun Pack Experience a Toys-To-Life sensation like never before. For the first time ever, characters from all over the LEGO universe are joining forces to battle in worlds outside their own.