This holiday season, we wanted to look beyond just game reviews and take a look at what would be some cool stuff to buy. Y’know, for people you care about, totally not just for yourself. *Cough* We’re starting off this feature by talking about a franchise we adore, Lego Dimensions! Before you look back at the Lego events we’ve been to this past year I should note that this is NOT a paid advertisement. This is actually genuinely how I feel about the product.
Lego Dimensions is a platform really. The story mode is a lot of fun and comes with a ton of value for the base game’s asking price. Especially since right now many retailers have it on sale for Black Friday! If you don’t know, Lego Dimensions is a toys to life product that focuses on giving you physical figures to unlock those corresponding characters in your game. This is like Skylanders if you’re familiar with that franchise. Where Lego Dimensions differs, and how it gains a spot on our list, is the series Adventure Worlds.
Toys to life games can be an expensive investment. There’s always that locked area that serves as a pay wall. If you’re really interested in the game you’re playing, that’s not so bad. The trouble is you need a good return on your purchases. Adventure Worlds are to us one of the biggest features that add value. Basically ANY one figure from a series can open an adventure world. That means you don’t need the most expensive set if you’re into Adventure Worlds, you just need one figure from that series. So right out of the box you have Batman, Gandalf, and Wyldstyle from DC Comics, Lord of the Rings, and The Lego Movie, respectively. Each one of those characters opens an adventure world! That does mean if you do get the PlayStation exclusive pack with Super Girl, you’ll still only open the same DC Comics Adventure World though since she is from the same series as Batman.
What makes these Adventure Worlds so awesome is that they are free roam areas based on each series that are packed with side quests and puzzles to do. Being free roam worlds they actually have a movable camera you can control that follows the player around unlike the usual set camera in most levels that pans along with your gameplay. There’s even split screen co-op for this mode. You do need a figure to unlock each one of these Adventure Worlds but they are worth checking out. We’ll actually be streaming some free roam content this holiday season.
So what is worthwhile to pick up in the Lego Dimensions franchise? The new Harry Potter set features the sprawling countryside around Hogwarts during the winter for starters. These areas feel even more expanded than last years entries since they feature some indoor areas as well. Jurassic World features the new park itself with lots of explore around an area similar to the films setup. We still have others to try out but the main thing that always excites us is just ignoring the stories and diving into these free roam areas. Adventure Time has a fantastic and cell shaded Adventure World to wander around itself.
We’ll take a deeper look into these packs soon, but when you’re out and about this holiday season, it is something to think about. They do make a great gift since even the small packs can unlock some great content if it’s the receivers first from that series. A Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment rep did confirm with us that they plan to be in this for the long haul, so there are more sets on the way!
Lastly, one other thing that makes this content worthwhile is the simple joy of putting together Lego figures. Sure the mini figs themselves are basic as anything, but the additional vehicles and such you get with the game take a bit more time. After placing a character on the games portal, a lego stage of sorts that reads the figures base codes to unlock them in the game, you’ll even get on screen instructions for the figures that come with the packs. Even better, they can be rebuilt twice! So each vehicle can be remade into three different figures!
All things considered, for the cost you’re actually getting a decent amount of entertainment for your money here. Between additional in game goodies like vehicles, Adventure Worlds, Lego to build with, and little quirks like mini games or such that make some packs unique, there is a lot here! Not to mention the newly added Battle Arena’s that come with year 2 figures (you’ll know them by the yellow/gold bases they stand on, even on the box art). These are multiplayer stages, that can be played solo, that allow gamers to battle it out in various ways from objective challenges within a certain time limit, to capture the flag matches.
Lego Dimensions is worth looking into and even a year later it’s still a very relevant gift for 2016.
