The Lego games have seen so many licences in it’s history, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and more. They even have crossed genres by introducing us to Lego Rock Band and the collectible Lego Dimensions. Titles are getting bigger and super-hero franchises are growing massive. The latest Lego Batman featured almost every character in the DC Universe. Lego took a different approach with the first Lego Marvel Super Heroes game. Instead of focusing on one particular hero the game focused on a large number of heroes all battling Loki and Dr. Doom. The game was funny, had massive open worlds, and showcased a lot of variety with characters.
Taking place 4 years after the events of the first game, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 sees tried & true formula returning with an even larger cast of characters alongside counterparts from different worlds.
In Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, Kang the Conqueror has been traveling through time stealing large cities and mashing them all up together to create “Chronopolis”. This allows players to not only play as the superheroes the know and love but some alternate, more obscure versions of superheroes that they might know about. Having Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Gwen, and Iron Duck (Howard the Duck wearing Iron Man armor) join The Guardians of the Galaxy or The Avengers make for some great team-ups.
The formula for Lego games hasn’t changed much over the years. Enter a world, smash as much as you can, beat up the bad guys, collect Lego studs. Repeat that over and over again until you have completed the game, then go back in and replay levels you already played with new unlocked characters to reach areas and hidden surprises that you previously couldn’t get to. When the game started my wife, Tifa, and I were playing co-op as the Guardians of the Galaxy. There was so much chaos happening that we didn’t know what we were doing and we couldn’t find each other in the level. Things only got more chaotic as more enemies started to show up. After the initial stages things tend to slow down a bit but there were definite moments of frustration trying to see what was going on. At one point I just kept mashing attack until there were no more enemies on screen.
As mentioned before the amount of characters in this game are staggering. Players will be able to play as so many characters that the game almost begs for it to be played co-op so that every hero is played at least once. Each super hero has their own set of moves and players won’t have any shortage of things to try. Spider-Man can swing from a web, Iron Man can fly, and Star-Lord puts on his headphones and dances to Redbone’s – Come and Get Your Love. Let me tell you this, watching Lego Star-Lord get his groove on while he’s dancing around to music is one THE CUTEST things I have seen in a Lego video game. As in every Lego game, controls are good, but slippery. Heroes will miss their jumps and slide around environments.
Environments are incredibly detailed and aren’t all made out of Lego. While it’s a welcome change it does seem a little strange. All the heroes look amazing, glossy, and toy-like. A new addition to Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 are some of the customizing agents. You can create a new hero from scratch using items you have collected, or you can swap some powers around. It’s like being to able to create your own What If comic character.
The audio is clear and crisp. There are some neat sound changes that happen like Iron Man’s voice sounding tinny when his mask is down. Star-Lords tape deck has that vintage crackle like the recording came from holding a tape deck next to a radio. You can clearly tell that the team has put a lot of work into the game and the franchsie of Lego Marvel Super Heroes. For the collectors out there, there is so much to look out for. In addition to collecting a predetermined number of studs in level, there are areas that can’t be accessed during the campaign. As with previous Lego games there’s a hub that will let you choose levels so players don’t have to finish the game before going back into levels.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 is a fun game that builds on previous design aesthetics and gameplay. If you are a fan of Lego games, and were a fan of Lego Marvel Super Heroes you will enjoy this game. It’s humorous, action-packed, and filled with more Marvel Super Heroes than the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movie. If you’re looking for a nice game for both adults and kids this is one title you’ll want to pick up.
