Video Game Review: LEGO Marvel's Avengers Comes With No Strings Attached

Developer TT Games
Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Distributor Ster-Kinekor
Where we got our copy Provided by Ster-Kinekor
Genre Action-adventure
Game modes Single Player, Co-op
Players 1-2
Reviewed on Playstation 4

Available on Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PC, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One

BiPolarBear

Published February 15, 2016

There are quite a few things nowadays that we can regard as gaming constants. Every year we know there is going to be a new Call of Duty, a new Assassin’s Creed (well not this year) and there is going to be a LEGO game based on a hit movie franchise. Now we’ve had quite a few LEGO games over the years with LEGO Marvel’s Avengers being the latest in the series. While we are quite well acquainted with the series, does LEGO Marvel’s Avengers have anything special on offer or is it tied down to its’ roots?

If you’ve played a licensed LEGO game before you know what you’re getting yourself into here. You’re going to play through the critical moments of The Avengers films with a LEGO aesthetic and a little more humour. LEGO games are as straightforward as they come and, while there are those who frown upon this, that’s a good thing. It plays to strengths and TT Games understands its target audience. TT Games have been doing this for a while and so you best believe they know what they’re doing, and LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is no different.

From its opening moments you are thrust into the world of Marvel’s Avengers. Starting with the opening scene from Age of Ultron, you’re thrust straight into the action of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even though one would expect this to be a pretty strong start for the game since it worked for the movie, it didn’t quite feel right and could almost put one off the game entirely. Fortunately enough however the game quickly picks up as you play through most of the Marvel Phase Two films. If you enjoyed the films you won’t be able to find fault with the games storyline as they are almost exactly replicated with a little bit of humour added in.

The game also follows on with the trend set by previous LEGO games as it borrows most of its’ sounds from the Marvel Films. While this shouldn’t really be a problem, it does often feel out of place. This doesn’t really detract anything from the game, but the jarring effect it has does come as a bit of annoyance. It doesn’t help that certain lines of dialogue become softer than everything else going on in the game which just feels very iffy. While there are these small audio issues present, it still manages to be pleasing on the ears for the most part and having the movie’s epic scores playing during pivotal moments give the goofy LEGO aesthetic a pretty epic feel.

It’s impressive that TT Games are able to take LEGO and seemingly blend it into more realistic imagery to create good looking environments. While this may seem like an odd thing to appreciate, it does a lot for the environments and overall presentation of the game. It ends up making environments realistic enough while still pointing out to players what they are able to interact with. This is a pretty important balance for TT Games to strike given their target audience and they haven’t managed to disappoint yet.

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Even though we’re wearing a somewhat new dress this time, we’re still doing the same dance in LEGO Marvel’s Avengers. The gameplay itself hasn’t really changed in this latest iteration. You’re still going around beating on everything in your sight until you build something or use the right ability to get further in the level. It’s not incredibly deep and at times can get rather frustrating, but that’s no reason to write the game off. It still manages to be a fun way to spend your time.

At the end of the day, while it’s nothing new and it has its issues, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is still an enjoyable experience. Even if you find the main story levels to be rather lackluster, the game does offer other ways to have fun. There are a fair number of open areas where you can just run around and make use the characters abilities to find collectibles and even other Marvel characters. It is an absurd amount of fun running around the Manhattan or Washington D.C. areas and just seeing which characters you run in to. You might end up rescuing some S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits for Luke Cage or looking for a cat informant for Moon Knight. The open areas are where LEGO Marvel’s Avengers really comes in to its own and it’s a shame that it loses a lot of that enjoyment by mostly focusing on the Phase Two films.

I’ve got no strings

To hold me down

To make me fret, or make me frown

I had strings

But now I’m free

There are no strings on me

So what do we have at the end of the day? Well, while it definitely has its flaws, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is still a really fun game to play. Whether you’re going at it solo a dragging a friend along, there is a lot of fun to be had with the game as long as you give it some time. While it certainly lacks the depth that some gamers look for, it more than makes up for it in fun. If you let yourself just get caught up in the absurdity that the LEGO games offer then you really can’t go wrong here. The only major issue here is, and this is really because it is still a kids game, that before you can even start the game or even change settings you’re taken to a DLC screen. While it’s understandable why this is done, it can still end up being a little exploitative. In any case, if that’s the biggest flaw the game has, it can’t really be all that bad. So if you’re looking for a bit of a fun time, you could do far worse than LEGO Marvel’s Avengers.

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There are quite a few things nowadays that we can regard as gaming constants. Every year we know there is going to be a new Call of Duty, a new Assassin's Creed (well not this year) and there is going to be a LEGO game based on a hit movie franchise. Now we've had quite a few LEGO games over the years with LEGO Marvel's Avengers being the latest in the series. While we are quite well acquainted with the series, does LEGO Marvel's Avengers have anything special on offer or is it tied down to its' roots? If you've played a licensed LEGO game before you know what you're getting yourself into here. You're going to play through the critical moments of The Avengers films with a LEGO aesthetic and a little more humour. LEGO games are as straightforward as they come and, while there are those who frown upon this, that's a good thing. It plays to strengths and TT Games understands its target audience. TT Games have been doing this for a while and so you best believe they know what they're doing, and LEGO Marvel's Avengers is no different. From its opening moments you are thrust into the world of Marvel's Avengers. Starting with the opening scene from Age of Ultron, you're thrust straight into the action of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even though one would expect this to be a pretty strong start for the game since it worked for the movie, it didn't quite feel right and could almost put one off the game entirely. Fortunately enough however the game quickly picks up as you play through most of the Marvel Phase Two films. If you enjoyed the films you won't be able to find fault with the games storyline as they are almost exactly replicated with a little bit of humour added in. The game also follows on with the trend set by previous LEGO games as it borrows most of its' sounds from the Marvel Films. While this shouldn't really be a problem, it does often feel out of place. This doesn't really detract anything from the game, but the jarring effect it has does come as a bit of annoyance. It doesn't help that certain lines of dialogue become softer than everything else going on in the game which just feels very iffy. While there are these small audio issues present, it still manages to be pleasing on the ears for the most part and having the movie's epic scores playing during pivotal moments give the goofy LEGO aesthetic a pretty epic feel. It's impressive that TT Games are able to take LEGO and seemingly blend it into more realistic imagery to create good looking environments. While this may seem like an odd thing to appreciate, it does a lot for the environments and overall presentation of the game. It ends up making environments realistic enough while still pointing out to players what they are able to interact with. This is…

Video Game Review: LEGO Marvel’s Avengers Comes With No Strings Attached

2016-02-15

BiPolarBear

Not just another brick in the wall

Total - 6

60 6

Blocks

It's not going to be the deepest game you'll play this year, but it's worth the time for the fun it offers. By now you should know what you're getting yourself into with LEGO games so none of this review should really come as a surprise. If you were looking forward to this then you should definitely pick it up and if you had your eye on it, you could do far worse.

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BiPolarBear

Gaming Author at Geek Node

The best person to offer the worst opinion. Paul's interests include adding 100 hour JRPGs to his backlog and dark walks through dungeons. You'll probably find him rambling on about old man Nintendo or that crazy newfangled eSports thingy.