We got a code for the game to be played on the PlayStation 3, but you can get this game for pretty much any current console or PC. This is a game that, unlike the previous LEGO Marvel game, focuses on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes utilized a lot of different characters and had a plot that was set after The Avengers film, with a couple of references to it, but was still very much separate. This game has players going through events of the several Marvel films, ranging from Captain America: The First Avenger to The Avengers: Age Of Ultron and points in between.
One of the things that makes this game interesting is that it uses dialogue from the films. This means Chris Evans is heard as Captain America. Additional dialogue is peppered throughout the game and often the original actor will reprise their role. This is nice, but at times the audio sounds as if it is taken directly from the movie, as in, the background noise is still there. Was developer TT Games given the individual separate audio files or did they have to strip them off a Blu-ray?
So how is the game? It’s LEGO, so you know it’s kid-appropriate, and there’s going to be some humor. Sadly we aren’t getting a chronological presentation of the plot. This means the story is disjointed and for players who haven’t seen the films it can be a bit confusing. My 12 year old has seen most of the films in question, but not all of them yet. The younger kids in my house have not seen any of them. Want to guess who was confused at times during the game? All of them.
And the characters. Of course since this game focuses on the Marvel cinematic universe, there are certain properties that are missing. Spider-Man, X-Men, Deadpool and the Fantastic Four are absent. Instead we get a roster filled out with a bunch of other heroes that didn’t make the cut in LEGO Marvel’s Avengers. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but some of the younger kids will be disappointed (my 5 year old still doesn’t understand why Spider-Man isn’t present). However, I think the character count in this game is overall larger than in the previous LEGO Marvel title, so there’s that.
This might also be one of the shortest of the recent LEGO games. This feels weird, considering how many movies there are to draw from.
Despite the problems LEGO Marvel’s Avengers presents, I still recommend it, though with some caveats. The first is if your kids haven’t watched the films, they might need some help understanding what is going on and why. The second is this is a game for those who like LEGO games. Our household likes LEGO games and can be a bit … forgiving. We see the flaws and still find enjoyment. There are flaws in this game that might be difficult for some to get past, and that’s alright. Cars 2 was a popular film, but many regard it as inferior to most other Pixar offerings. The same could be said about LEGO Marvel’s Avengers. It’s not bad, it just isn’t as good as the previous offerings.
Oh, and apparently on the PS4 there is an exclusive level and some characters. This is disappointing since we got a code for the PS3 version of the game.