While I was at SDCC this year, I got the opportunity to play LEGO Marvel Superheroes, and I can report that it is a lot of fun. If you haven’t played one of the LEGO games, they are lighthearted action games set in popular franchises. (The first LEGO Star Wars is the best telling of the prequels I have seen so far.) These games also feature huge rosters of characters that you can switch at a moment’s notice. They are great games to play with kids, since they don’t really punish you for failure and have some great couch co-op.
The level I played, Sand Central Station, featured several heroes fighting their way through New York to defeat Sandman. Delightfully atrocious puns aside, the level was pretty cool. There were plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the various heroes’ powers. There were large barricades that The Hulk could demolish, obstacles that Iron Man could destroy with his rockets, and a few opportunities to use Spider-Man’s webs.
I had a good time trying out a small handful of the 150 or so characters. Particular standouts were Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Octopus. It was a ton of fun to stretch out and punch the daylights out of the henchmen as Mr. Fantastic. As Doc Oc, I just walked around on the arms and used them to pull robots apart. I am sure that there are gameplay reasons to play as these guys, but I didn’t care. I just had a good time.
One thing I am really looking forward to is playing the Deadpool level. From what I understand, most of this level takes place at Marvel HQ and features appearances by Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada, Editor-in-Chief Axel Alanso, and Comic-God Stan Lee(as playable characters!). No word yet on the powers of Axel and Joe, but Mr. Lee can sling webs and hulk out with the best of them. Just like in real life. While playing the game and attending the panel, I got the impression that this game is being made for all the right reasons. The LEGO games demonstrate a solid history of well-made games, and it was clear that the guys involved in this love the Marvel universe and wanted to do it justice. For crying out loud, they included Squirrel Girl.
