Lego Marvel's Avengers
PlayStation 4
I have played a large number of these Lego games in my life. I used to like these games a lot, but over the past few years I’ve found that my patience for them has just about worn out. Sure, each game does something a little bit different from the one before it, but all in all, aside from the themes, each iteration of the Lego series is pretty much the exact same thing.
Why did I order this from GameFly if I wasn’t enjoying Lego games anymore? Good question. I wasn’t even trying to order this game, actually. I had Lego Avengers super low on my queue (I’d say around 10th or 11th in line), and I planned to keep it there until I was able to check some higher priority games like Doom, God of War, and Red Dead Redemption 2 off of my “to play” list. I am not sure why they sent Lego Avengers to me when there were a ton of other games above it that were labeled as “high availability."
Oh well. It is what it is. Despite the initial disappointment, I was still riding an Avengers high after seeing Endgame last month. I was a little excited to go back and play through a Lego re-imagining of the older Avengers movies. Would I enjoy this, or would it turn out to be just another uninspiring Lego game? Read on to find out.
Story:
For the most part, this game follows the events of the first two Avengers films. To try and keep things fresh, the story is told out of order. The game starts with the Avengers battling to take back Loki’s scepter from Hydra (as seen in the beginning of Age of Ultron). After you complete the level, the game flashes back to the first Avengers movie where it tells the story of Loki’s scepter and its journey. You play through the events of the film, then jump ahead in time to Age of Ultron, post-battle. There you play through the events of the rest of the movie until the end credits begin to roll.
The game is not over, however, as three levels from other Marvel movies open up. These levels tell stories taken out of Captain America: Winter Soldier, Thor 2, and Iron Man 3. Once you beat them, the game is over, unless you want to go back and collect everything you missed, which I never feel the urge to do in a Lego game. From the looks of it, there are loads and loads of DLC you can add to the base game, but seeing as how this was just a quick rental for me, I didn’t bother with any of that.
Gameplay:
Lego games are always easy to pick up and play, as I am sure they are designed with kids in mind. You jump, you punch, you smash the shit out of everything around you, you collect things, you solve puzzles, and you assemble broken Lego pieces to create key items to help you advance to the end of the stage.
In this game, each stage opens with funny Lego animations that reenact classic scenes from the Avengers films. Once the scenes are over, you take control of your character. Chances are, this character will be accompanied by two or three side characters. You can switch back and forth between characters with the push of a button. Different characters have different attributes – for example Iron Man can shoot explosives to knock down walls that can’t be destroyed with normal attacks. Captain America uses his shield to put out fires. Hawkeye shoots grappling hook-like arrows that can open doors, pull out-of-reach switches, or drag boxes or other movable items towards you.
Each stage is filled with character specific puzzles, so you are going to need to switch back and forth between characters quite often. One gripe I had with this game is that the answers to its puzzles aren’t always readily apparent. It happened quite often where I would completely clear out a room, and there would seemingly be nowhere for me to go. Turns out, 90% of the time there was something I had to break, but wound up missing because it had blended in with the background. Or there would be Lego pieces to assemble lying on the ground that just looked like regular debris. Or I would need to be using a specific character at a specific location to activate a button prompt.
The game does give you little hints as to what to do next, but oftentimes they are completely useless, as they try to point you in the direction of a secret item you can’t even get to yet. Other times, the hints were spot on and very helpful. But yeah, I got stuck quite often and would have to turn to the internet for help. A game designed for little kids has never made me feel so stupid!
Story mode is pretty simple and short. I didn’t keep track of how long I was playing, but I would be shocked if you told me it took me more than eight or nine hours to get through the base game. And most of that was probably me getting stuck and wandering around not knowing where to go next. Once you finish story mode, you can go back and play all the levels you’ve already played, but in free mode where you can pick any character, regardless of whether or not their appearance makes sense according to the movies. The more you play and the more stuff you collect, the more characters you unlock. Remember, different characters all have different powers and abilities in this game. If you are a Lego completionist, you are going to want to play through all the levels multiple times, using different characters to unlock everything there is in a single stage.
I definitely don’t have time for that. I have never even come close to getting 100% on a Lego game. I just want to play through the main storyline and move on to the next title. I do normally enjoy these Lego games, but I am not nearly dedicated enough to play through any of them multiple times.
Graphics:
This is a very fun, sharp, and colorful looking game. The stars of the game as far as graphics go are definitely the characters. I like how they adapted the designs of all these classic Marvel characters and put them into Lego form. Some of them are just flat out adorable. If you are a fan of the Avengers movies, you are probably going to be charmed by these characters.
The levels are pretty diverse and interesting to look at. I wouldn’t say that anything looks TOO good, however. I think this game could have easily been made on a PS3 and you wouldn't be able to tell much of a difference. I’m not knocking the game’s look, just that there is only so much you can do graphically with these Lego games.
Sound:
When I first turned the game on and heard that classic Avengers theme song start to play, that is when I knew I was going to love the game's music. I wasn't wrong. From beginning to end, you are going to recognize many different musical scores pulled directly from the MCU, and they are all magnificent. For seasoned Lego vets, you will recognize all the familiar sounds of the series. The sounds the studs make when you destroy something and they hit the floor. The sound it makes when you pick them up. The sound it makes when you assemble Lego pieces to build something new. All of these classic Lego sound effects make their return here, and they all sound better than ever.
I don't know exactly when the characters started talking in Lego games, but they talk in this one. The voice acting is pulled directly from the movies. There is a lot of chatter in this game, so it is nice to be able to hear Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, and so on. It really makes you feel like part of the action. I haven't done any research, so I may be wrong, but some of the voices didn't sound like the original actors. I am wondering if some people refused to lend their voice to the game, or there was some kind of legal reason they couldn't appear here. Or maybe I am just losing my mind. I swear, some of the voices didn't sound quite right.
Speaking of the voices, while I for the most part enjoyed them, they did sound a little fuzzy at times. I understand that a lot of the quotes used in this game were pulled directly from the movies, and oftentimes during the movies when people are talking there is music or other things happening in the background. The makers of the game had to blur out that background noise, so the voices would fit what was happening in the game. I understand that, but it still screwed up the audio quality of the voices. Most of the time they sounded okay, but other times they would sound tinny, fuzzy, or really super quiet. It was a valiant effort, but incorporating the characters' voices into the game didn't quite work.
Overall:
What more can I say about this game that I haven't said about every other Lego game that I have played? Not a whole lot. If you have played one Lego game, you have played them all. Each game is the exact same thing, but with a new skin. Whether or not you are interested in playing the game depends on how much you are devoted to the theme, and your overall enjoyment of the Lego series.
If you are an Avengers fan, and you aren't completely burnt out by Lego games, you will love this. If you love Lego and eat up anything Lego related that hits store shelves, you will love this. Outside of that is where things start to get murky. Even though I haven't played a Lego title in over a year, as soon as I fired up this game and started playing through the first level, I was all like "and here we go again." I know I sound like a broken record, but each Lego game is just SO SIMILAR. Even though I love the Avengers, I just could not muster up enough enthusiasm to truly enjoy this game.
I like the game's music and sound effects. I like its graphics and presentation. It is definitely a very polished game. Whether or not it is any fun is debatable. I think this is definitely a "to each his own" type of game. To me, it felt like I was just going through the motions the whole time I was playing it. I think the fact of the matter is, I just can't get excited for Lego games anymore. At the same time, I understand their appeal and I can see why other people would love this game. But for me, it's a no, dawg. I definitely need to take a Lego break and wait another ten years or so before I play another one of these again.
Final Score:
C-
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