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LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES 2 (XONE)
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Publisher: Warner Bros.
Developer: Traveller's Tales. Released: November 2017. Genre: Action/Adventure. Other versions: X360; PC. Posted 28th November 2017. By Shane Battams © 2017 |
With the mammoth success of MCU films, it seemed inevitable that the world of Marvel and Lego would snap together again after 2013’s Lego Marvel Super Heroes (outside of the tepid Avengers tie-in in 2015). LMSH2 represents some of the most obscure ends of the long-running comics-brand to date, pulling from the likes of Black Knight to Kid Colt. But does it add up to another brick-built hit?
Things open with us witnessing the heroes of the first game celebrating their victory, until the universe of superheroes is thrown into complete disarray when Kang the Conqueror invades, splicing together multiple fragments of time and space into one whole. It’s up to the superheroes both from the past and the present to unite against this impending threat. It has to be said that Kang’s presence, voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, really adds to the story. Not only is his delusional grandeur hilarious, but his time-powers make for a wide spread of settings and characters, creating a lot of chances for fun and humour. It retains that silly, tongue-in-cheek quirk many love the Lego games for.
Everything takes place in Kang’s creation called Chronopolis, an amalgamation of several cities from multiple time periods. Familiar Marvel locales, such as Wakanda and Hell’s Kitchen (dubbed New York Noir), are mixed with the Old West, an Egyptian land and Medieval England. It’s incredibly varied, keeping the scenarios and locales feeling fresh. There’s dozens of characters to unlock too. Along with cinematic regulars such as the Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man and Captain America, there are a lot of lesser-knowns from Marvel’s earlier days, including Arizona Annie, Chipmunk Hunk, and Forbush Man to name but a few. That’s not to mention the character customiser, which also lets you build your own superhero, including assigning them powers. While there’s some odd absences (X-Men and Fantastic Four come to mind), the sheer breadth of Marvel oddities is great.
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The scenarios are varied, though the gameplay is admittedly on familiar territory. A set of twenty story missions are available, running the gambit of puzzle-solving, combat against mobs of baddies and some bosses sprinkled in too. The static cameras can lead to confusion during fighting, and some of the puzzles have obscured logic, but all the elements still work well. You can return to levels in Free Play, allowing you to use character-specific abilities to mop up collectibles. The open-world feels a lot more substantial this time though, as combined with the wide-spread of settings, there are collectable characters, side missions and random events. You can easily spend 30+ hours polishing off the game to 100%, so it’s not insubstantial.
It’s a great little multiplayer game too. Like Lego games before, you can play with another person throughout all the missions. The open-world, similarly, can be played in split-screen co-op. You can jump in and out of co-op instantly too, making it easy to pick up and play with others. There’s some extra flexibility too, as at certain points you can choose between missions rather than be forced on a specific path. It makes casual play better, though it doesn’t have any effect on the outcome of the game’s story. There’s also a fun little battle mode, allowing you to partake in four-player brawls including Capture the Infinity stone. It’s not super-deep, but it’s a welcome feature nonetheless, adding to the multiplayer fun.
It’s a great little multiplayer game too. Like Lego games before, you can play with another person throughout all the missions. The open-world, similarly, can be played in split-screen co-op. You can jump in and out of co-op instantly too, making it easy to pick up and play with others. There’s some extra flexibility too, as at certain points you can choose between missions rather than be forced on a specific path. It makes casual play better, though it doesn’t have any effect on the outcome of the game’s story. There’s also a fun little battle mode, allowing you to partake in four-player brawls including Capture the Infinity stone. It’s not super-deep, but it’s a welcome feature nonetheless, adding to the multiplayer fun.
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Marking one of the first Lego games to feature exclusively on eighth gen systems, LMSH2 feels like it is polished to a good sheen. Environments are some of the best looking the series has had to offer, the cutscenes are well animated and feature a nice use of soft-blurring, and the game runs well bar a couple of intense segments. It still can look a tad basic at times, but it is more polished which is a plus. But the audio steals the show, thanks to great writing, lots of comedic moments and solid music which keeps the action moving. The only downer is sometimes, the audio is poorly balanced, making it hard to hear dialogue over loud explosions or combat sounds. This means some of the jokes will go over your head, which is a shame.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 represents another fine addition to the ever-growing library of brick-based adaptations. It may reuse the formula to a degree, but makes up for it with the sheer variety of its obscure character inclusions, a great spread of settings and a more substantial sandbox. Add in the co-op and multiplayer options and you have a full-featured ode to comics’ lore. If you feel the formula is getting stale, this one probably won’t change your mind. But for fans of both Marvel and LEGO, it will prove another solid outing.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 represents another fine addition to the ever-growing library of brick-based adaptations. It may reuse the formula to a degree, but makes up for it with the sheer variety of its obscure character inclusions, a great spread of settings and a more substantial sandbox. Add in the co-op and multiplayer options and you have a full-featured ode to comics’ lore. If you feel the formula is getting stale, this one probably won’t change your mind. But for fans of both Marvel and LEGO, it will prove another solid outing.
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VERDICT
Visual: 7/10
Audio: 8/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Longevity: 8/10 OVERALL: 7/10 |