Lego Marvel Super Heroes Review

With Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes came a much higher bar for the Lego games.  It introduced voice acting (featuring the likes of Troy Baker as Batman and Clancy Brown reprising his role as Lex Luthor) as well as fully scripted cutscenes that replaced the pantomimed movie moments from previous installments.  The game also boasted an explorable Gotham, brim with familiar locations such as Wayne Tower, the Batcave, and Ace Chemicals.  Now Lego Marvel is here to showcase its impressive powerset, and as one guy's opinions of the Lego franchise go, it soars above the rest.

Lego Marvel takes a lot from Lego Batman 2; an open world, voice acting, an original story, and a myriad of beloved characters.  But Lego Marvel doesn't just execute these aspects; it cranks them up to max speed and sets out to fix previous problems that have plagued past games.  Exploring the Marvel version of New York is a smooth sailing experience with plenty of sights to behold.  Placing the mini-map on screen was a much needed addition and helps to easily navigate missions, gold bricks, and side-quests scattered about.  Both the flying and driving have been improved dramatically, though they can still be on the finicky side.  I believe the flying is more intuitive than it was in Lego Batman 2, with Superman handling like a giraffe riding a bottle-rocket, but I can see how some players may still be unsatisfied with the controls.  After a few hours, however, I was effortlessly zipping around New York as Iron Man, Thor, and Dr. Strange like it was forcefully irradiated into my genetic code.  Lego New York is also a lot more interesting to explore than Lego Gotham, not only offering eye candy easter-eggs, but letting you participate in many of these popular locales through the story and side missions.  Its one thing seeing the X Mansion on the map; its another thing entirely to be able to play as the X-Men and save the mansion from burning down while stopping the Juggernaut.

The story is also designed with fun in mind and I had a blast with it.  Don't forget, this is a Lego game we're talking about; if you're expecting Game of the Year performances or script that's going to knock your socks off, you're playing the game wrong.  Traveler's Tales knows that their primary audience is still children, but they also understand that parents will usually be the ones handling the second controller.  They do a great job of making the game accessible, funny, and enjoyable for both demographics, filling the story with cheesy dialogue and slap-stick humor that will put a stupid grin on your face.  Some may find the jokes and character banter groan worthy, but I tend to see it as part of the charm.  The main adventure itself also takes you through many of Marvel's beloved locales, taking on some of the top notch villains like Magento, Dr. Doom, and Loki as they band together to do...well...evil things.  Voice acting makes a return and you'll recognize many of your favorite characters being voiced by their animated series counter-part, which is always fun to hear.  If you're willing to sit back and enjoy the bad jokes, you're in for an enjoyable ride straight out of a Marvel mash-up comic.

One aspect, above all, really makes this game shine, and that's the characters.  And, oh man, are there characters!  I've logged in enough hours to unlock all but one, and I think I counted 132 character slots, plus the 8 DLC characters, plus a ton of different skins and costumes (some which even function entirely differently, like Phoenix v.s. Jean Grey, and Iron Man Mark I v.s. Iron Man Mark VII) and you have over 150 playable characters.  With 150 characters, you can expect to see the majority of your favorites (though there are a few missing that I'd like to see more than Howard the Duck or Gwen Stacy).  While some of the big-figs, such as Hulk, Juggernaut, and The Thing can feel a bit identical, most of the heroes have unique animations and move-sets.  All the characters also have the exact powers you'd expect them to have; Iron Man flies, shoots rockets, can charge up a Uni-beam, and fights with his repulsors.  Thor can zoom around the skies, summon lightning, throw his hammer, and use his powerful strikes to break down walls that only big heroes can bust open.  Everyone brings their own feel and it'll keep you playing for hours as you scour the map for new characters to unlock, curious to test out their might.

Mechanically, the game has a few issues.  Like all Lego titles before it, the AI is useless.  You teammates stand around taking punches, occasionally defending themselves, which only further exemplifies Lego Marvel as a couch coop title.  You might also find yourself getting stuck in some level geometry, wedged into an area you accidentally jumped into.  There are also some infinite death loops where you fall off an edge only to respawn in free fall and die again and again and again.  My game also frozen on me at some random points (usually during loading screens or boss fights), but this was only when I had been playing the game for over 2 hours or so.  But, again, this is a Lego title we're talking about; this is really nothing new, and while it certainly performs better than past games, its still a shame that these problems persist.

Though overall, the experience is a grand one.  The locations, the diverse roster, the free roam, the references, and the Stan Lee cameos all make for one solid title; certainly the biggest and best Marvel themed video game I've ever played.  If you hated the previous Lego games, this one certainly won't change your mind, but Marvel fans would be doing themselves a favor by picking this title up.  If you've ever wanted to hover around a city as Magneto or sling across buildings as Venom, now is your change.  Excelsior!