Reviews

Lego Marvel Avengers - Xbox One Gaming Review

Posted on: 2016-02-09

You can play as all your favourite Marvel heroes, which I do believe there are up to 200 characters to unlock so this game will keep you busy if you?re aiming for 100% completion.

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Lego games had a certain charm that has been tarnished over the years because of the overabundance of games. What started out as a charming idea where you have Lego versions of popular films has become a bit of an annoyance. The main problem is that originally it was presented with no speech so it was like a silent slapstick comedy film, where they would have to convey the situation with props and gestures. Now they just rip the dialogue straight from the films and it’s very weird having these serious situations play out with Lego representations of characters. I’m not saying that it’s completely lacking in the fun department because it is fun, however there is a lack of innovation with the Lego game formula which makes me sigh every time a new game is announced. Let’s go into more detail about it.

Lego Marvel Avengers lets you partake in several different Marvel movies; the first two Avenger films (Obviously), first two Captain America films, Thor: The Dark World and finally Iron Man 3. You go through each locale from the different films beating up bad guys, collecting Lego studs, other collectables and building objects to help you progress.

If you’ve played any Lego game in the past 10 years then you’ve played this one. You go around the level collecting studs, which acts as currency and the scoring system for the game. You do all this until you reach the end of the stage which gives you a results screen of what you have missed. You can play as all your favourite Marvel heroes, which I do believe there are up to 200 characters to unlock so this game will keep you busy if you’re aiming for 100% completion.

After finishing some levels you’ll be dropped into an open world hub. What this means is that you can complete side activities or just explore the area looking for secrets to help you unlock more characters. In my opinion this game does not need an open world hub because it ruins the flow; it’s just another box to tick when it comes down to the generic action game formula.

When you unlock more characters in the game you can go back and replay levels that you have finished and find more secrets or other ways of finishing the level. It’s nice to have this inclusion because it adds longevity and different play styles for the player to experiment with.

Graphics are beautiful for the most part with its environments such as the introduction of the game where you’re being chased in a snow covered forest with fantastic weather effects. However, the game can look really bland at times. Some areas, like one of the open world hubs, have a really boring and drab look to them which makes me want to get to the next mission quickly. The character models are well detailed; it’s what I expect from a Lego game where they actually look like Lego characters so it ticks the right boxes in that department. It looks the part.

Now let’s talk about a few nit-picks that I have with this title. The first is the combat: Lego games still can’t get combat right and this game is no different. The problem with the fighting is that you can’t tell if you’re hitting enemies because the attacks lack impact unless you’re playing as The Hulk. I wish they had focused on the combat more because it’s what you’re doing for most of the game. Another problem with the game is that the way forward in levels can be really hard to find because some visual cues are really hard to spot in the chaos.

Lego Marvel Avengers is enjoyable, but doing the same repetitive missions over and over again sucks all the enjoyment out of it for me. I would say give it a go, but do not expect anything mind blowing because it’s the same Lego game you played on your PlayStation 2 10 years ago.

3/5

Reviewed by Sam Coles for 365Bristol.com - The leading events and entertainment website for Bristol

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