Pros & Cons
-
- Simple but engaging combat and puzzle-solving.
- A light, whimsical story.
- Tons of Marvel characters, both popular and obscure.
- Incredibly fun open-world gameplay.
- Custom character creation.
-
- Repetitive story mode.
- Loose vehicle controls.
- Lack of difficulty may turn off some gamers.
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes($3.99 at Amazon) is a near-perfect blend of three wonderful childhood staples: comic books, video games, and, well, LEGO. Steeped in Marvel Comics goodness, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes puts players in the role of a superhero team (a wonderful mish-mash of over 100 comic book characters) tasked with recovering all-powerful Cosmic Bricks that are scattered around the globe before top-tier baddies such as Loki, Dr. Doom, and Magneto get their hands on the cubes. It's a threat level worthy enough to warrant developer TT Games plopping the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, The Avengers, and other favorites into one excellent, family-friendly superhero romp. It's one of the best PC games there is, for both kids and adults.
Marvel Blocks
The latest LEGO title features difficulty-free button mashing combat, light puzzle-solving that requires you to deftly use the characters' unique skills and abilities, and tongue-in-cheek writing/voice acting that doesn't take itself too seriously (and in a surprising move, Gregg Clark reprises his Agent Phil Coulson movie/TV role). LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is family-friendly fare; even some of the Marvel Universe's deadliest villains (Red Skull and Thanos, for instance) have a likeable, hammy, non-violent charm. It's difficult to pull off "evil" in a world where everyone resembles cute, walking fire hydrants. You can even build custom heroes and outfit them with other heroes' parts (such as Wolverine's claws) for extra fun.LEGO Marvel Super Heroes features a story mode that's best played in short bursts—the gameplay is overly reliant on rushing a villain's lair and downing minions to thwart an evil plan. As a result, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes' main mode has an element of sameness when played at length. That said, making your way through story mode unlocks the free play mode that drops Marvel's finest in an open-world environment not unlike the underrated LEGO City Undercover. This is where LEGO Marvel Super Heroes shines. You explore a massive New York City, tackle side missions, and unlock tons of characters, including lesser-known ones like H.E.R.B.I.E. and Howard the Duck. Unfortunately, controlling vehicles isn't nearly as tight as controlling characters. Loose car and ship handling makes steering an unnecessary challenge.
Make Mine Marvel
2006's Marvel Ultimate Alliance is often cited by both critics and fans as the best Marvel Comic-based video game—and I agreed with that sentiment until LEGO Marvel Super Heroes entered my life. The game has a handful of small issues, but none egregious enough to ruin the playful comic book heroics. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is one of the most smiling-inducing games of the year, and should be on the want-list of every comic book or LEGO fan.
Best PC Game Picks
- How to Combine and Organize Your Game Libraries With GOG Galaxy
- How to Get Better Graphics on Old PC Games
- How to See Your Frames Per Second (FPS) in Games
- How to Play Games on an Old, Low-End PC
- More PC Game Reviews
- More from TT Games