Lego Marvel Super Heroes
Lego Marvel Super Heroes is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows, and published by Feral Interactive for OS X. The game features gameplay similar to other Lego titles, such as ' and ', alternating between various action-adventure sequences and puzzle solving scenarios. The handheld version of the game by TT Fusion was released under the title Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril for iOS, Android, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita.
The game's storyline sees various heroes from the Marvel Universe joining forces to foil the schemes of Doctor Doom and Loki, who have also recruited a number of villains to aid them, and seek to conquer the Earth using the Doom Ray of Doom, a device built from the shards of the Silver Surfer's board called "Cosmic Bricks". Lego Marvel Super Heroes is currently the bestselling Lego video game of all time. A spin-off to the Lego Marvel series titled Lego Marvel's Avengers was released on 26 January 2016, and a sequel titled Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 was released on 14 November 2017.
Gameplay
Following the gameplay style of past Lego titles, players are able to control 180 characters from the Marvel Universe, each with their own unique abilities. For example, Spider-Man can swing on his webs and use his spider-sense while the Hulk, who is larger than the standard minifigures, can throw large objects, as well as shrink down into Bruce Banner to access computers. Galactus was chosen as the main antagonist in the game. According to game director, Arthur Parsons, and producer, Phil Ring, one of the main settings of Lego Marvel Super Heroes is a Lego version of New York City. In addition, a Lego version of Asgard was created.The creative team has also incorporated Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee in the game. He is a part of missions called "Stan Lee in Peril". He is also a playable character and has several of the other characters' abilities.
Players can also explore the Marvel version of New York City, though they can only use a specific character and access buildings after the campaign is complete. Side missions are narrated by Deadpool and take place in buildings with their own storylines. There are a total of 15 missions in the main single-player campaign, followed by 11 side missions.
Many of the main LEGO minifigure characters are based on their appearance from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tony Stark is modeled on Robert Downey Jr., Nick Fury is modeled on Samuel L. Jackson, whilst Agent Phil Coulson is both modeled on and voiced by Clark Gregg, Captain America is modeled on Chris Evans, Black Widow is modeled on Scarlett Johansson, Bruce Banner is modeled on Mark Ruffalo, Clint Barton is modeled on Jeremy Renner, Loki is modeled on Tom Hiddleston, Thor is modeled on Chris Hemsworth, and Maria Hill is modeled on Cobie Smulders.
Plot
dispatches his servant, the Silver Surfer, to travel through the universe in search for planets for him to consume. When the Surfer arrives on Earth, he is intercepted by Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D., and shot out of the sky Doctor Doom, who captures him, while the Surfer's board shatters into multiple "Cosmic Bricks". Having been warned about Galactus' upcoming arrival on Earth by an imprisoned Loki, Doom aims to build his "Doom Ray of Doom" using these bricks and defeat Galactus, before he and Loki take over the world. Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. also learns about the bricks, and Nick Fury enlists Earth's heroes to retrieve them before they fall into the wrong hands.The Sandman and Abomination, hired by Doom to retrieve a brick, hold Grand Central Station for it, but are defeated by Iron Man, Hulk, and Spider-Man. The brick is left in the Fantastic Four's care at the Baxter Building, but Doctor Octopus steals it, forcing Mister Fantastic and Captain America to pursue him. Aided by Spider-Man, they defeat him in Times Square, but he tosses the Brick to the Green Goblin. Tasked with retrieving it, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man infiltrate Oscorp to confront the Goblin, but he pits them against Venom, allowing him to escape with the brick.
Later, Iron Man and Hulk respond to a prison break at the Raft, orchestrated by Magneto, Mystique, and Sabretooth in order to release Loki. Aided by Wolverine, the heroes defeat most of the escaped inmantes, including Whiplash, the Leader, and Abomination, as well as Sabretooth, but Magneto and Mysterio release Loki and escape. Later, Captain America and Tony Stark go to Stark Tower so that the latter can get a new Iron Man armor after his previous one was destroyed by Mangeto, only to encounter Loki, the Mandarin, and Aldrich Killian, who turned J.A.R.V.I.S. agains the heroes. The duo restore J.A.R.V.I.S. to normal and defeat the Mandarin and Killian, but Loki escapes with Stark's arc reactor. After S.H.I.E.L.D. tracks the reactor's signature to a HYDRA base beneath the Empire State Building, Black Widow and Hawkeye investigate and discover that the Red Skull and Arnim Zola built a portal generator powered by the stolen reactor, which Loki uses to escape to Asgard. The Human Torch, Captain America and Wolverine arrive to help defeat the Red Skull, but inadvertently damage the portal generator in the process. Following Loki to Asgard with Thor's help, the trio discover that he enlisted the Frost Giants' help in taking over Asgard and stealing the Tesseract from Odin's vault. Loki unleashes the Destroyer amror upon the heroes, but they destroy it and retrieve the Tesseract, despite Loki's escape.
Wolverine takes the Tesseract to the X-Mansion for Professor X to analyze it, but Doom dispatches the Brotherhood of Mutants to retrieve it. The X-Men battle them and defeat Pyro, Toad and Juggernaut, but fail to prevent Magneto and Mystique from making off with the Tesseract. Tracking it down to Latveria, Nick Fury and the Fantastic Four attack Doom's Castle Doom and fight his Doombots and the Green Goblin, but Doom and Loki escape, though they leave the Silver Surfer behind, whom the heroes rescue. After S.H.I.E.L.D. tracks down Doom aboard an A.I.M. submarine, Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man attack it and defeat MODOK, sinking the submarine in the process, before capturing Doom with Jean Grey's help. However, Magneto brings the Statue of Liberty to life and uses it to save Doom and attack a Roxxon Industries power plant, stealing its nuclear core. Despite Mister Fantastic, Wolverine, and Hulk's attempt to stop him, defeating Mastermind along the way, Magneto deals with them and brings the Statue to the Savage Land, whereupon he uses the stolen core to power his space station, Asteroid M. Captain America, the Thing, and Storm arrive on the island and defeat Rhino and Mystique, but fail to prevent Magneto from launching Asteriod M into space.
Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man board the space station and defeat Magneto, before confronting Doom and Loki, who have finished building the Doom Ray of Doom. After Doom incapacitates Iron Man and Thor, Captain America, the Thing, and Storm arrive to help Spider-Man defeat Doom. However, Loki then reveals that he used Doom all along and actually built a flying pod, powered by the Tesseract, that will allow him to control Galactus and destroy both Earth and Asgard. After Galactus arrives to consume Earth, Loki mind controls him and has him destroy Asteroid M, though everyone aboard survives. Afterwards, the heroes form an uneasy alliance with the villains to defeat Loki and Galactus, ultimately opening a portal and sending them through it. As Nick Fury recovers the Tesseract, and Galactus and Loki end up in an unknown region of space, whereupon the former vows to exact revenge on Loki for using him, the heroes give the villains a head start to avoid capture. Later, with his board rebuilt, Silver Surfer recovers his powers and leaves Earth, promising to lead Galactus far away.
In a mid-credits scene, Fury oversees the repair of the Statue of Liberty, when the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive, having been called earlier by Fury to help against Galactus, but they arrived too late, though Star-Lord warns Fury that there is something else threatening Earth. Later, while having lunch with the construction crew, Fury encounters Black Panther, who was looking for his cat and tells Fury that the people of Wakanda are grateful to him.
Reception
Lego Marvel Super Heroes received generally positive reviews upon release. Among its strengths, reviewers cited its humor, variety of missions, characters, and open-world gameplay. According to review aggregating website GameRankings, Lego Marvel Super Heroes received an average review score of 84.00% based on 15 reviews; according to Metacritic, it received an average review score of 83/100 based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".Steve Butts of IGN gave the game a 9 out of 10, praising it for being: "the best thing to happen to Marvel games since 2006's ". He added, "it's a warm and witty, multi-layered approach to the brand that ties in hundreds of Marvel's most iconic characters, settings, and stories". Steve Hannley of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4/5, calling it "one of the best Marvel games this generation". Game Informer gave the game a 9 out of 10, while Polygon gave the game an 8.5 out of 10. GameZone's Matt Liebl gave the PS4 version a 9/10, stating "on a console filled with shooters like Killzone and Call of Duty, TT Games' Lego Marvel Super Heroes presents a nice break from the complex sports titles and intense shooters that overrun the console".
Though the game was generally well-received, it garnered some criticism, often regarding the frame-rate and the repetitive nature of the missions. Chris Barylick from GameSpot noted that, "Lego Marvel Super Heroes looks and sounds lovely, but its presentation quirks often prove distracting. Certain characters repeat the same lines of dialogue ad infinitum, which can get tiresome; there are only so many times you can hear Tony Stark proudly describe himself as 'Tony Stark...genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist' before it gets old". He also noted that "the frame rate occasionally drops, particularly upon entering co-op mode, and a small black box occasionally appeared in the air over my characters' heads towards the end of the game. At one point, my character would respawn directly next to his still-present corpse, while a boss fight against Red Skull had me wandering around the room for several minutes looking for scenery to smash before I realized I had encountered a bug and had to restart the level". Asides from the negatives, Barylick gave the game a 7/10, praising its humor, open-world and variety.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment President David Haddad has stated that Lego Marvel Super Heroes is the bestselling Lego video game of all time.
A sequel titled Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 14 November 2017.