I pretty much knew what to expect of LEGO: Marvel Super Heroes at this year’s E3. After all, I’ve slogged through all the franchises, from the LEGO Star Wars series that started it all off to new iterations like LEGO Batman 2 and LEGO City Undercover that now feature innovations like voiceovers and open world environments.
This isn’t a bad thing, mind you — it just gave me the freedom to see what Marvel’s heroes could offer to this already proven formula.
My time with the game revolved around three main Marvel heroes – Spider-Man, the Hulk and Iron Man. Each, as you’d expect if you’ve played a previous LEGO title, had their own quirks and special moves.
The Hulk towers over the other mini-figures (maybe he’s classified simply as a “figure,” unlike the rest) and has super-strength abilities that allow him to pick up and throw vehicles. Hulk can also perform a ground pound, freeing chunks of LEGO pieces from the world around him, in order to — you guessed it — lob them at enemies. There are limitations to his powers, of course; when fighting the Sandman, Hulk’s ground pound ability doesn’t work on LEGO sand; it just crumbles at his touch.
Iron Man is able to fly – he looks to control like Superman in LEGO Batman 2 — and fires repulsor blasts at enemies and at intractable items in-world. He’s got the same cocky swagger from recent Iron Man and Avengers films, though he’s not voiced by Robert Downey, Jr. In what will be respected by some and not others, the voice actor for Iron Man has tried to make the character his own, and hasn’t opted for a Downey-like impersonation. I’m all for that.
Spider-Man pops up later in the level, and his powers revolve around web-swinging — a cross between Batman’s rope-swing and Superman’s flight, I’d say — and his spider-sense, which highlights intractable items so that Spider-Man or other heroes can progress through the level.
All up, it’s standard LEGO fare; move to an area, figure out which abilities need to be used to continue on, and then rinse and repeat. Collectibles continue to remain a main feature in the game, as does swapping characters on the fly for their unique abilities. Those LEGO staples tend to get old for me — and fast — but thankfully the series is a witty as ever, which helps to balance it all out.
You can’t deny that the game is adorable and hilarious. Hulk encounters his arch-nemesis, the Abomination, and the two throw themselves into a Benny Hill-like punch on. The Hulk can also transform back and forth between his Bruce Banner or Hulk personas, and watching Bruce’s arms and legs pop from puny human to huge green thing never got old.
Traveller’s Tales has even made sure to fill the game’s relatively open world with secondary Marvel characters; if you’ve a good eye, you’ll appreciate that Damage Control gets called in to clean up the mess caused by Sandman.
In short, nothing about LEGO: Marvel Super Heroes should come as a surprise; the franchise is well-polished and will deliver the same open world experience of LEGO Batman 2, this time using Marvel heroes. A roster of over 100 characters has been confirmed, so it’s safe to say that Marvel fans are already drooling over the likes of this title already.
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