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Lego Dimensions review

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    Lego Dimensions review

    I have been looking forward to playing this since it was first announced several months ago. The idea of playing with characters from many of Lego's different franchises and having them appear in one game and then in turn mixed up in different worlds is a very exiting prospect. I genuinely have a huge love of Lego and much to my girlfriend’s dismay, our flat is full of many, many model sets i have brought over the years. I am a Lego geek and not ashamed of it. So this game is very important to me.

    There is no getting away from the fact that at ?90 for the starter set (though i managed to shop around and got it for ?80) it is a rather expensive outlay, but this cost is not too bad when you consider that you get the game disc, the power base, three minifigs (Batman, Gandalf and Wildstyle, plus the Batmobile) but there are like 270 or so pieces of Lego which is used to build the portal. Naturally the cost doesn’t end here, you have to factor in that more money needs to be spent in order to access everything. Certain locked out level areas need various characters/vehicles that have a certain power/ability in order to unlock. This is very much the same way in which traditional Lego game levels work except rather than being able to unlock characters with these abilities you do actually have to pay for this. The model works in almost the same as other toy games such as Skylanders and Disney Infinity.

    These come in the range of fun packs, which are priced around ?15 and these contain one character and a vehicle/object. Team packs are priced around ?30 and these contain two characters and two vehicles/objects and finally there are level packs which again are priced around ?30 and these contain one character and two vehicles/items. These level packs also contain levels in which to play in (I have yet to buy any so can’t comment on them).

    One big difference for me personally is that unlike Disney Infinity/Amiibo’s which are static figures that perhaps only look nice. With Dimensions you are at least buying genuine Lego products, i.e. the figures and vehicles etc. can be taken apart and played with in the same traditional way as mainstream Leg. But there are a lot of these various sets and it can easily become costly to collect everything.

    As for for actual game itself, I have been playing the Xbox One version all week and I have enjoyed every minute of it. The gameplay is very similar as all the other Lego games that Travelers Tales have made, so anyone who has played any of these, expect the same sort of thing. But its fair to say that if your not a fan of previous Lego games this is not likely to change your mind.

    So far have only been playing through the main story, and it has been a blast, the script is genuinely funny. I can honestly say that very few games have ever made me laugh out loud as much as Dimensions. The combination of Gandalf, Batman and Wildstyle leads to some brilliant, and well written moments and comments between each other and the interactions with other famous characters within the game worlds. The voice acting is just fantastic and features a huge and very impressive cast list of actors reprising their respective roles such as Gary Oldman, Michael J Fox, Orlando Bloom, Peter Capaldi etc. Check out IMDB for the full cast, I am very impressed with this level of detail that Lego have gone into.

    The various mix of levels you get to experience are quite simply brilliant fun. From exploring the Wicked Witches castle from the Wizard of Oz, going through a Doctor Who stage, they are all brilliant fun. But my favorite stage so far is the Portal 2 one. It is both cleaver and the puzzles are genuinely taxing, a huge amount of thought has clearly gone into it.

    Another thing to mention which I wasn’t expecting is just how cleverly thought out the actual base station is. Unlike say the Disney Infinity base which does little other than allowing you to place characters/items onto it, with the Dimensions one it is actually a functional item. For example, the base features glowing LED’s that change colour which can correspond to solving certain puzzles something within the game i.e. the minifigs need to be moved around the base to solve puzzles, its hard to explain but it works in very cleaver manner.

    So far I have probably spent and good 12-15 hours and I have only been playing through the main campaign, I have not yet even begun to explore the open world levels of Gandalf, Batman and Wildstyle (LoTR, Gotham and Lego Movie). For me personally I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of my games of the year contenders. I doubt many will agree with me but I have not had this much fun in a video game for a long time, it is quite simply brilliant.

    As I said is not going to be cheap game in the long run, to buy all the content will cost a small fortune. But like other games of its type, you don’t have to rush out and buy everything at once, I personally and going to buy things as I go and spread out the cost. Just seeing Gandalf driving the Batmobile is hilarious. I cannot wait to explore the various other worlds that are available.
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    #2
    Nice write up, thanks. How big are the levels that each ?15 expansion/figure comprises, or have you not gotten far enough yet to say?

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      #3
      I haven't yet purchased any myself yet, I wanted to make sure i did actually enjoy the game before spending loads of cash The ?15 packs don't actually include any kind of extra levels/worlds they only contain abilities/items that can be used to unlock areas of levels/items within the game itself if you get me.

      For the moment the only level content packs available to buy are The Simpsons, Portal 2 and Back to the Future. Like i say i haven't yet brought any so can't say just how much and what content they actually have. But from what i have read, The Simpsons level pack for example is Springfield (not sure how big it is as i don't want to spoil it for myself) but i think its a open world Lego Springfield. Again from what i have read, the Portal 2 pack is said to be the most impressive one out of the three.

      Coming in November is a Doctor Who level pack, followed by Ghostbusters in January and a Midway Arcade level pack ( which I'm lead to believe will feature playable old arcade games from Midway)
      Last edited by gambit6613; 05-10-2015, 15:36.

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        #4
        I posted on the other thread looking for recommendations on a pack to get. I have BTTF, I will get Ghostbusters, and 90% sold on Doctor Who. I don't want to miss out on other genuinely great parts of the game, but Portal means nothing to me. I've read mixed impressions of the Simpsons otherwise I'd be jumping on that. Scooby Doo, I just love that mini Mystery Machine! No idea if the digital content is worth it.

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          #5
          Been playing for a little while now (PS3). Sadly my daughter takes very little interest (in contrast to Tearaway, which she always asks me to play for her before bed) so it's mostly relegated to whenever I have time.

          It's actually my first ever Lego game. I love the script and humour, but game wise it's a little bit too much plain sailing. Feels like going through the motions a lot of the time. It does make creative use of the toypad for puzzles (even if they are mostly inconveniences due to the solutions being laid out for you).

          Unfortunately the pad puzzles sort of work against the concept of using a variety of characters. I wanted to use the Marty McFly that I bought, but his skills are so far not of much use in the main game. Conversely the three starter figures (Batman/Gandalf/Wildstyle) are required for every stage. A lot of the pad use involves swapping characters around, and with three specific figures and a vehicle being pretty much required at all times, it means poor Marty just gets in the way. I always end up taking him off so I have space.

          A lot of the game is inaccessible too, but that was expected. I have the Doctor Who pack on the way too so we'll see how much that opens up. Loved the included Doctor stage.

          There are a few annoying errors too, the BTTF level includes three time jumps, but the random NPCs walking around spout out dialogue from the wrong time zone. A guy in 2015 was talking about new fangled CD players... a guy in 1985 was talking about the local blacksmith etc.

          Not sure it will have the staying power they are aiming for, unless they massively extend the opportunities for non-starter characters to be used. I will only be buying the figures I want for my Lego collection, not for the game.

          Comment


            #6
            Took a little break from this for Transformers Devastation, but I'm back in it now with the Doctor Who pack. I have to say, the Who stuff almost completely reverses my opinion - it's so amazingly well implemented, with a great deal of knowledge about the world of Doctor Who on display - I mean, they either researched it very well or someone was already a fan.

            The game is still fairly shallow but now the script and little neat touches are elevating it way up there. The crossover potential also started to really shine - random quote from Doctor Who when I put him in the Delorean - "I could have saved the universe three times already in the time it takes this baby to hit 88 miles per hour - quick, back to the TARDIS!"

            There was also the mother of all fan service when I had the Doctor in game as a non-active character, but I won't spoil that.

            In addition, the actual Who levels are beautiful to look at, and damn scary for what they are.

            It seems to vary wildly from IP to IP then... The Simpsons level (main game, not level pack) felt really thrown together and with not a lot of actual Simpsons stuff to it other than the locations, the BTTF level pack was woefully short... but Who has been incredible both in the game and in the level pack.

            I'm also starting to enjoy how my little band of toys can diversify to complete the tasks in game. I check the little info boxes and with what I am planning to buy I will actually get quite a widespread of abilities. So far I haven't had to buy anything that I'm not interested in just to advance in the game. HOWEVER, there are some IP specific abilities (Ninjago spinjitzu and Chima Chi) that will never be able to be done by characters not from that IP. And I have no interest in those. Luckily they added a 30 second hire-a-hero function that bypasses some of these restrictions if you pay in-game currency.

            Basically the only one of my guys that remains entirely useless is Marty McFly. His hover board is also pretty pointless once the Delorean can fly, but that is one that you really want to own just for the physical Lego.

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              #7
              Not exactly sure what's going on, but it's some kind of price war in the U.S. that has worked out great for getting some Dimensions sets.

              I had a preorder in Amazon for some of the January sets (doc brown, venkman, cyber man). Last week they announced a $10 off level packs (venkman) and $5 off fun packs (the other two) deal, so I made a new pre-order and cancelled the old one. Then this week they slashed the fun pack price by 50%, but left the $5 discount intact. So I am getting two brand new fun packs that retail at $15 for $2.50 each. Win!

              Wish I had ordered a whole lot more, but the $5 deal won't apply to new orders. Seems worthwhile to have redundant preorders sitting just in case this ever happens again though, lol.

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                #8
                Love the Lego games Darwock, but not sure I want to be making up real Lego to play this - is it time consuming? A hassle?

                Thanks,
                Tony

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                  #9
                  The portal from the starter set is pretty involved, but building it is not actually required if you don't want to. All the level pack kits are small builds and don't take long at all. The kits are actually a fair chunk of the appeal though, you might be surprised.

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                    #10
                    Thanks Darwork. Yep, think I'll enjoy this - just going to wait for a price drop on the main set.....hopefully!

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                      #11
                      Another blast from the past:

                      I've built all of the character, vehicle and stage sets I own barring one last one which is the Ghostbusters 2016 set. I have both the PS3 and PS4 versions for some reason but am cracking on with this on PS5 and so far it makes a nice impression (thankfully given the cost of entry still remains high after all these years). Gameplay wise it's definitely run of the mill Lego game stuff, nothing new at all barring the hot swapping of the physical discs for bosses etc but I am absolutely loving the crossover stuff. It just offers the makers so much more interplay material than they normally have, I'm very early and only just at the tail end of the first real stage which see's Wild Style, Gandalf and Batman chasing down the Wicked Witch in the Batmobile down the Yellow Brick Road.

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                        #12
                        I still have my largely sealed set to go through. I had to buy a replacement Gandalf as mine was faulty so couldn't even start the game... and I haven't tried to play it since!

                        I'm only really interested in playing the Portal levels.

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                          #13
                          So far now I've done:


                          -The Wizard of Oz
                          -Sonic
                          -The Simpsons
                          -Ninjago



                          levels of which the second of those was very well done. There's definitely a sense that the quality and even the interest of the devs varies with each theme. I'm hopeful the one I'm on atm will be a good one though

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