The Brick Connection – A novice Lego fan explores the great brick world of LEGO

Happy November, my fellow LEGO fans! (Still struggling with these creative intros.)

We have to talk about LEGO’s new video game, LEGO Dimensions.

And no, I don’t have the video game and I haven’t played it ever. Did you really expect anything else from me?

This is when it would be great to get some actual feedback from my readers. I know they exist! Or at least I know there are people who click on my blog URLs. I guess I can’t officially confirm if anyone actually reads what appears on their computer/tablet/phone screen. Except for my mom. Hi Mom!

LEGO Dimensions is a toys-to-life action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales that was released very recently on September 27th.

What is a toys-to-life video game?

I’m so glad I asked myself that. A toys-to-life video game is a video game that uses physical figurines or action figures to interact with the game.

Personally, I experienced this video game format firsthand that one time I played Skylanders with my 11-year-old cousin.

Again, I only played it the one time, but it seems the only thing you do with the figurines is place them on the pad thingy when you want to use that character in the game.

Feel free to tell me if there’s more to it than that, but my point is that LEGO’s toys-to-life game goes even further because you actually have to build stuff. What?! A LEGO product that involves building something?

Well of course. And that’s what makes this game so unique.

When you buy the game you get the starter pack, which comes with the following:

You also get to build the Batmobile, but the really fun part of that is that you can build and rebuild the Batmobile and every other vehicle associated with the game three different ways. It all depends on what type of vehicle you need for the game.

Check out this video from LEGO highlighting the building/rebuilding aspect, featuring the three lead characters of the game: 

So unlike other video games that allow you to lie out on the couch and not move for several hours at a time while playing, LEGO Dimensions makes you put down the controller and move around a little bit.

You could almost call it exercise.*

*This was a joke. Please take a break from playing video games to do actual exercise, at least 30 minutes each day. Or at the very least, play one of those dancing video games.

But Cori, won’t I run out of fun things to do with just the three minifigures and one vehicle I get in the starter pack?

No, you idiot! That’s why it’s called a starter pack. It’s just the start. In fact there are three different types of packs you can get:

Level Packs: Want more to explore? Expand the gaming experience with a level pack which contains a whole new mission-based game level, along with a minifigure, a vehicle and a gadget to build and use in-game.

Team Packs: Want the biggest collection? Get a dynamic pair of minifigures and a vehicle or gadget for each, all with their own unique in-game abilities.

Fun Packs: Want the best variety? Extra fun comes in each pack containing one minifigure and a vehicle or gadget.

FYI, those descriptions of the packs are from LEGO’s website. I don’t have enough interest in you to ask if you “want the best variety.” The point of the packs is to get different minifigures and vehicles to play with. This not only makes the game more fun and interesting, but is helpful in completing the game’s ultimate mission. That is because each character and vehicle provides a different set of skills and utility to complete the mission. And that ultimate mission is…

…to defeat Lord Vortech.

Okay, perhaps we should go back and get a little backstory.

Probably the most exciting thing about this game is that it combines characters from 14 different LEGO franchises. Those franchises are:

DC Comics
The Lord of the Rings
The Lego Movie
The Wizard of Oz
The Simpsons
Lego Ninjago
Doctor Who
Back to the Future
Portal 2
Ghostbusters
Midway Arcade
Scooby-Doo
Lego Legends of Chima
Jurassic World

That’s right, Doc Brown is joining forces with the likes of Scooby-Doo, Bart Simpson, and Wonder Woman. How cool and weird is that?!

Even cooler; there will be more franchises added in the future. Ummm...Star Wars anyone?!

So how did all these worlds come together? Well since I’m not writing a college paper, I have no problem just copying and pasting this summary from the LEGO Dimensions Wikipedia page:

On the planet Vorton in the center of the Lego Multiverse, Lord Vortech seeks the Foundational Elements, the cornerstones of time and space itself, in a bid to merge all the universes into one under his control. These elements, such as the ruby slippers and kryptonite, were scattered across the dimensions long ago, but gathered together at Foundation Prime can unlock the power to control the multiverse. To do this, he opens vortices in many different worlds, recruiting local villains to aid in his search for the Elements while imprisoning heroes pulled through the vortexes and damaging the boundaries between worlds, causing them to merge and characters to be displaced.

When Robin, Frodo, and Metalbeard are each pulled into the vortices, each unknowingly in possession of one of the Elements, Batman , Gandalf , and Wyldstyle all jump in after them. The three get pulled into the same vortex and appear on Vorton, where they decide to ally with one another and build a vortex generator of their own. Aided by Vortech's former minion X-PO , the three use the generator to travel the multiverse, hoping to find their missing friends and stop Vortech's plan from succeeding. Along their journey, they meet and assist the various heroes of the worlds they visit.

The Wikipedia plot description goes even further and I think basically spoils the ending of the game or at least one ending with a potential new beginning, but I won’t discuss that here. You can play the game to find out what happens.

But what a cool way to combine all these characters! And it’s not just the heroes of the franchises coming together. Like the description says, Lord Vortech recruits villains from each world to help him in his evil mission. Villains like the wicked witch or the Joker. That is just another awesome aspect of this game.

Check out this picture of Gandalf riding a hoverboard, Batman driving the Mystery Van, and more bizarre combinations:

The worst part about this game is how you obtain all these different characters and vehicles through the different packs.

You have to buy them.

Yes, as if video games weren’t already expensive enough. (The starter pack alone is $99.99). LEGO has for a long time loved the concept of taking all of your or your parents’ money by selling collections as separate individual products. Basically forcing you to buy every possible product related to a LEGO theme. And they’re at it again.

Series 1 packs for LEGO Dimensions will be released in multiple waves that have been planned out through May of 2016.

LEGO Dimensions doesn’t just have a vortex inside the game, it is a vortex. A vortex that sucks away all your hard-earned money. And even your unearned money. This vortex does not discriminate.

In fact when looking at reviews, the never-ending cost of this video game was the biggest complaint. But if you think about it, this is just typical LEGO. If you really want to complain to someone, complain to yourself for loving LEGO so much.

There is some good news though. LEGO apparently heard the complaints and was willing to do something about it. They added a feature to the game called “Hire a Hero.” By the way, they are able to add this feature and any future features because you are required to have an internet connection with the game. Through the internet they will be able to provide regular game updates. I suppose this might be an ability that lots of video games have these days, but I wouldn’t know because the last time I regularly played video games it was on a Nintendo 64.

Anyway, the Hire a Hero feature allows you to temporarily unlock characters that you don’t have in order to help you in your quest. This is important because like I said before, each character provides different skills that you might need along the way. Right now all wave 1 figures can be called upon using this feature at the necessary points within each level. You use the in-game stud currency to unlock the character. (I guess that’s like video game money.) You can read more about the new feature here. 

What else are people saying about this game outside of its cost though? Well, the reviews seem to be overwhelmingly positive, especially when you put aside the price. And what’s everyone’s favorite part?: The combination of your favorite franchises.

Check out this opening paragraph from IGN’s review of LEGO Dimensions:

There came a moment when Marty McFly, Chell from Portal, and The Wicked Witch of the West were all fighting a giant robotic Joker atop a building in Springfield when I stopped and wondered just what the heck was going on. But then again, I was having a complete blast watching it all happen.

And check out this line from GameSpot’s review:

There's an undeniable joy to be had in seeing Batman use the Bat Signal to defeat Sauron, or the Joker destroy the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, or the off-handed way the Doctor addresses Portal's GLaDOS as the "faulty A.I."

People love seeing worlds collide in this fun, adventurous way. For adults, playing this game is basically watching all your favorite childhood movies, comics, and toys combine for one crazy exciting story, and you get to be a part of it.

Most reviewers also liked the toys-to-life format of the game, particularly how LEGO’s way of doing it was unique. As one reviewer from The Guardian put it:

Very quickly, the unique strength of Lego reveals itself. While other toys-to-life games like Skylanders and Disney Infinity have mostly provided players with static action figures, this is a game that wants you to really play with the toys. Later models are reconstructed to track progress and reflect upgrades in game, and throughout, you’re never far from the next moment you switch thumbsticks for bricks.

I really liked how GameSpot’s reviewer described the interactive toys-to-life aspect:

[…]LEGO Dimensions takes things a step further. It requires you to almost constantly interact with the real LEGO figures on your base to solve in-game puzzles or avoid in-game obstacles, with the base having three different sections that light up depending on what's happening on screen. Wicked Witch of the West got Batman trapped in magical chains? Simply move the Batman figure off the red-colored area of the base to free him. Need to teleport a character to a specific spot within the level? Then move the real toy onto the appropriate color-matched spot on the base. Some of Dimensions' most complex puzzles and challenging bosses require a huge amount of moving toys around, making the game an extremely tactile experience. In LEGO Dimensions, sometimes you're manipulating real LEGO as much as you are holding a controller.

IGN’s review wasn’t as happy about all the interactivity though. He says, the “Puzzles didn’t challenge me mentally, but rather just became physical exercises in moving a toy onto a new spot of a specific color.”

I would agree that sounds like it could get tiresome, but as for the challenge of it all…well, it is a children’s game.

So that's my look at the newest LEGO video game, LEGO Dimensions. I gotta say, even though I didn't get to play the game, it was pretty fun just reading and watching video about it. I highly recommend going to the LEGO Dimensions website and watching all the videos about the game that include appearances by Joel McHale and Doc Brown himself, Christopher Lloyd. 

LEGO is going to be raking in the dough with this new foray. And releasing it just before the holiday season? Well, they certainly know what they're doing.

I hope some of you have gotten to experience this awesome game yourself or will be putting it on your list for Santa. I highly recommend it. And I know how much you all value an opinion of a video game from someone who can't remember the last time she touched a video game controller. 

Until next time...can someone explain to me why it was called Nintendo 64, when there weren't any Nintendos 2 through 63?

*Compliments, general feedback, and constructive criticism are welcome. Any haters that are gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate can go step on some Lego with their bare feet.*