Lego Dimensions Starter Pack – Playstation 4 (1000620738) 200

Foreword

Having played through (and loved) lego batman 2/3 with my daughter, i discovered lego dimensions when looking for our next coop lego game. . Lego dimensions isn't like all the other a lego games before it, in that you don't play through the main story, unlock the free play, then go back and play through the levels unlocking secrets or playing through the open world unlocking heroes and doing random quests. Well, actually it kind of is. Sort of. The lego dimensions starter kit ships with everything you need to play the game; machine specific software and hardware and non machine specific playable lego heroes/vehicles. The hardware includes a game pad (for placing your various heroes/vehicles) and three main story heroes (gandalf, wylde style, batman and the batmobile. By placing and removing heroes on the game pad, you bring and take them in and out of the game. . The game begins with a few cutscenes that explain the plot, then it's into the game. Well, that's if you call playing some of the game, then stopping to build a lego portal and at another point, the batmobile getting "in the game". Yes, there's lego building to be had here. Some may love that, others may not. The main story mode consists of following the three main heroes on their adventure through various dimensions. Each dimension in the story mode represents a separate open world which can be accessed through a gateway in a hub world. However, not all open worlds are represented in the story mode. Sounds confusing? wait till i try explain to explain the lego sets available for the game. Dimensions in the game consist of popular franchises such as; lord of the rings, wizard of oz and the simpsons. The main story mode can be played through in around 12 hours (give or take), depending if you try to find all the extras or just truck right through it. . After the main story mode is finished (or before if you want), gamers can access any of the open worlds. (long pause). Provided they have a lego hero tied to that franchise. Since the game starts with wylde stlye, batman and gandalf, you can access open worlds of the lego movie, dc comics and middle earth. To access any of the other open worlds, you need to purchase lego packs that come in several flavors. First, there's the fun pack. The fun pack includes a hero and a vehicle. Then there's the team pack. The team pack includes two heroes and two vehicles. Next are the level packs. Level packs include one hero, two vehicles and a 1 level story to be played. Finally there's the newly added story packs. Story packs include one hero (the new lego batman has two), two vehicles, a new lego portal to be built and replace the starter one, and a 6 level story. All packs gain access to the corresponding franchise open worlds (ex. The wicked witch allows access to the wizard of oz), but the fun pack would be the cheapest entry in. Throughout the entire game, any heroes and vehicles you have purchased can be used at any time in any dimension in any combination (with a max of 7). So, if you were to buy the scooby-doo team pack when you first purchased the game, you could use scooby, shaggy or the two included vehicle alongside the three main story heroes as you played through the main story. . Now, whereas the fun pack and team pack just unlock more open worlds and add more playable heroes/vehicles, the level and story packs provide a story line, cutscenes and a few bonuses (like secret areas). Most of the level/story packs follow movie or tv show plots. In the back to the future level pack, you play through an abbreviated version of the first movie. And such is the case with most of the other level packs. The story mode promises a play through of the entire movie it represents. Currently there are only two available (ghostbusters 2016 and fantastical beasts) and i have not seen either movie or played through either story pack, so i can't say how true to the movies they are. (also, as of this review, the lego batman story pack will be releasing within a few days). A level pack can be played through in around an hour, so i'd suspect story packs (with 6 levels) could be played through in roughly 2-3hours). . Now, if the above wasn't enough info to ingest, here's where things can get tricky. And expensive. I've already mentioned that heroes from separate franchises are needed to unlock each open world that corresponds to that franchise. What i have yet to mention is that every hero and vehicle in the game also has specific abilities attached to them. And why is that significant you ask? well, while playing through the main story mode with the three main story heroes, you may encounter say, a silver object that can only be broken by a hero/vehicle with that ability. Guess what? none of the three main story heroes or the vehicle have that ability. Now, the main story heroes have every ability needed to finish the main story, so don't fret about that. But as you play through the main story, you may be left wondering, "what was behind that silver door? if i had the drill ability, what secret could i have unlocked? i wonder if there's anything in that water? i wish i could dive". In fact, in a very early main story level, you could unlock a special area if you only had the "destroy silver" ability. And that is the marketing genius of lego dimensions. You (and/or) your kids will never be satisfied with just the base starter pack. Wave after wave of new heroes and vehicles are being released, each with new and different abilities. Many abilities are overlapped by different heroes/vehicles, but some, oh yes, some can only be found in one hero. Here's looking at you unikitty with your "rainbow build" ability. If you're that person who needs to unlock every secret, find every last gold brick, and you can't sleep at night until you 100% the game. Cha-ching! get ready to spend some greenbacks. . The game itself is pretty top notch, make no mistake. The main story mode is quite engaging and you'll gladly give up hours of your life playing it. And most of the open worlds will steal away your free time as well. However, other than the level and story modes, that add extra spice and life to the game, the open worlds felt somewhat like a novelty to me that would wear off after some time. Most of the open worlds are gorgeously constructed with much detail and special touches. You'll probably relive the lord of the rings all over again, as the music cues when you run through hobbiton for the first time. But once you've seen and done all there is to see and do, there's not much reason to revisit an open world. All the open worlds i've been to so far have all included the same types of "quests". There are the time trials which involve driving/flying through a course of rings, the go find/fetch particular items, defeat x amount of enemies, and various climb, swing, push, change size puzzles. Also peppered about are many, many challenges that can only be solved using certain abilities. If you only have a handful of heroes, you're going to be passing by a lot of gold bricks and other items, not to mention cutting down the time needed spent in that world. Here again, the power of the pocketbook enhances your gameplay and ups the fun meter. . Now for the nuts and bolts. Remember that stupid algebra class in high school? the one where your had to figure out: if a farmer sells 100 apples for a $1 a piece and with each dime price increase, he sells 5 less apples. At what point does he make the most money? i'm gonna tell you that at $100 an apple, that farmer ain't making no money. The "list price" for dimension is $99. 99, but you'd be hard pressed to see any retailer selling it for that. They've figured out that it's not going to sell well at that price point and besides, they'll get your cash with the packs. I've seen dimensions hover around $50 most of the time. And at $50, if you never purchased another fun pack, it'd still be worth the price of admission. You get three lego heroes and a vehicle, 8-12 hours playing the main story (which is really good), and three really cool open worlds to explore after beating the game, adding another few hours to the experience. Plus you can go back and play any level of the main story at any time. Entertainment money well spent, if say. . Next comes the tricky part though. Do you buy additional packs? do you need to see every open world? fun packs, team packs, level packs and story packs all range from $5-$50. Right after christmas (or winter festival if that's your thing) i found a retailer who, er. Has buys that are the best, selling all lego dimensions packs for 50% off. It was perfect timing for me, as i had recently purchased lego dimensions and knew i was already going to spend a week of grocery money getting the dr. Who packs. I was able to buy most of the packs i wanted. Since then, several packs i didn't buy at the time have dropped even further in price. The simpson's level pack was originally $30. Then it dropped to $15 after christmas. And currently it can be found in online store for around $8. My personal opinion is that no one should pay list price, nor should you have to if you shop around a little. At $30, any level pack is just too much. Most only take about an hour to complete, and if you're just looking to access the open world, the fun packs are usually the cheaper alternative. As well, the list price of $50 for a story pack is overpriced (same price as the game), however the apple sellers have figured out the algebra and you'll usually find those priced at around $30. Maybe too pricey for some, but just right for others. I passed on the ghostbusters 2016, but preordered the lego batman movie story pack (it's our thing, remember? ). . As a final thought, just an observance. The first series of the game introduced 14 franchise "dimensions" and now many more have been added for the second series. Of these, a many are from the 80's. Titles such as; back to the future, scooby-doo, midway arcade (a whole bunch of 80's arcade games), ghostbusters (the original), the simpsons, the a-team, knight rider, the goonies, beetlejuice, e. T. And gremlins. Several other franchises are from over a decade ago (or there abouts); lord of the rings, sonic the hedgehog, wizard of oz (way over a decade) and mission impossible. If you add them up, almost half of the franchises are from the last century. Ok, that sounded a little dramatic. Another perspective: if you have children who are now 10-15 and playing this game, they were zero-5 when then some of these franchises were first introduced, and you were like 10-15 when the first eleven i mentioned graced screens across the us. Maybe the execs at warner bros are pure genius in trying to introduce a whole new generation of kids to reese's eating aliens who light cigarettes with their fingers. Or maybe the polls show that parents play video games as much as their kids, or better yet. With their kids. Or maybe, wb really doesn't have a great stable of franchises to draw from and they're just reaching for what they got. It's just an observance that's hard to overlook. . Tommy - "gee mom, i saw this really hip black trans-am driven by a guy wearing tight leather pants on tv land the other day. And the car talked and everything! i wish they'd put that into a video game. That would be rad! ". . Mom - "we can only dream tommy. (sigh) so, did i ever show you the tiger beat poster i had on my wall as a teen? what a dreamboat. ". . It's just funny to me, playing dimensions with my daughter and trying to explain about non cg movies, a time when cartoons were only seen on saturdays and video games were only 2d. You know, the dark ages. . To be fair, there are plenty of new franchises that will thrill and amaze, dazzle and befuddle even the youngest among you. . Happy adventuring. . P. S. Just a hint, if you buy the game, don't fool around building the heroes and vehicles using the in game instructions and staring at the screen. Just google "how to build x" and have some fun sitting around the kitchen table with the kids, or your cats (if that's your thing). This is a no judgement review. Best LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack - PlayStation 4 as-of ( Apr 2021 ) | Warner Home Video Games-Console Video Games Review Featured LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack - PlayStation 4 Lego characters from a mix of some of the best brands in the universe join forces and battle in worlds outside of their own. a dark knight, a wizard, and a lego master builder traveling together down the yellow brick road is just the beginning.. By purchasing additional expansion packs, players can grow their collection with a variety of their favorite brands to create even more crazy combinations.. Bring up to seven vehicles and/or gadgets into the game all at once by dropping them on the lego toy pad for the most exciting and action-filled game around.. Players can let imagination guide their solo journey or have a friend join the adventure with co-operative, drop-in/drop-out play.. Lego dimensions is a system of play that offers continued compatibility - everything bought today or expanded with tomorrow will continue to work. .