''Lego Marvel's Avengers'' is a

Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...

-themed

action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...

video game developed by

Traveller's Tales Traveller's Tales is a British video game developer and a subsidiary of TT Games. Traveller's Tales was founded in 1989 by Jon Burton and Andy Ingram. Initially a small company focused on its own content, it grew in profile through developing ...

and published by

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE; also known as Warner Bros. Games or WB Games) is an American video game publisher based in Burbank, California, and part of the newly-formed Global Streaming and Interactive Entertainment unit of ...

, for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

, and

OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

. It is the spin-off to ''

Lego Marvel Super Heroes ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes'' is a 2013 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 W ...

'' and the second installment of the ''Lego Marvel'' franchise. The game is based on the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

, primarily following the plots of '' The Avengers'' and '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'', with single levels based on '' Captain America: The First Avenger'', ''

Iron Man 3 ''Iron Man 3'' (titled onscreen as ''Iron Man Three'') is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Ir ...

'', '' Thor: The Dark World'', and '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier''. The game features characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as characters from comic books. Characters include

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

, Black Widow, Hawkeye,

Scarlet Witch Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...

, Quicksilver,

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

Ultron Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, and initially made his debut as an unnamed character in '' The Avengers'' #54 (July ...

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

, Winter Soldier,

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

Vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

, and War Machine, as well as some lesser known characters such as

Devil Dinosaur Devil Dinosaur is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as resembling an enormous, crimson colored ''Tyrannosaurus''-like theropod dinosaur. Created by Jack Kirby, the chara ...

and

Fin Fang Foom Fin Fang Foom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as an extraterrestrial creature resembling a dragon. The character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #89 (cover ...

. It includes the characters of the

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

, a superhero team; along with many others. The game was released on 26 January 2016 and received mixed reviews, with many calling it inferior to its predecessor.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to Lego's long-running series of franchise video games, with a focus on puzzle-solving interspersed with action. Players have to solve puzzles spread across the game environment to progress through levels. The game features New York City as the main large open-world hub, but also, for the first time, includes seven other movie significant areas players can travel to, including

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...

, Malibu, South Africa, The

Helicarrier The Helicarrier is a fictional flying aircraft carrier appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted as the crucial mobile command center, forward operations platform, and signature capital ship of the fictional int ...

, the Bartons' farm, Washington D.C., and

Sokovia The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise features many fictional elements including locations, weapons, and artifacts. While many of these features are based on elements that originally appeared in the American comic books publis ...

. These hubs also feature hundreds of side quests and bonus levels such as rescuing citizens in trouble and races. The main story takes up a fairly small fraction of the game's total "completion". While the game's story is predominantly focused on the first two ''Avengers'' films, there are single levels based on '' Captain America: The First Avenger'', ''

'', '' Thor: The Dark World'', and '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier''.

Characters

The game features over two hundred playable characters, with most characters (excluding the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

and

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

-based characters) returning from the previous game. While most of the characters are drawn from the

, some comic book characters like Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, Sam Wilson's Captain America appearance, Jane Foster's Thor form, and the

Young Avengers The Young Avengers are the names of two fictional superhero teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first team, created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, features numerous adolescent characters who typically have ...

members

Wiccan Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...

Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

Hulkling Emperor Hulkling (Dorrek VIII, also known as Theodore Rufus "Teddy" Kaplan-Altman) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a member of the Young Avengers, a team o ...

, and America Chavez are included as well. Director Arthur Parsons stated: "It's a celebration of everything about the Avengers. Comic books, movies, cartoons. It's everything you love about the Avengers in video games".

Development

Audio

Unlike ''

'', which used original voice acting, ''Lego Marvel's Avengers'' utilizes audio from the six films being adapted for the game, including voice and music, similar to ''

Lego The Lord of the Rings Lego ''The Lord of the Rings'' is a Lego theme based on ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. It is licensed from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. The theme was first introduced in 2012. The first sets appeared in 2012, to coincide with a re ...

'', ''

The Lego Movie Videogame ''The Lego Movie Videogame'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by TT Fusion. It follows the plot of the animated film ''The Lego Movie''. The game was published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and released alongsid ...

'', '' Lego The Hobbit'', and ''

Lego Jurassic World ''Lego Jurassic World'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by TT Fusion and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It adapts the plots of the first four films in the '' Jurassic Park'' franchise, and is part o ...

''. The game utilizes the archive audios from the actors in the films.

Clark Gregg Robert Clark Gregg Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing Agent Phil Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Iron Man'' (2008), ''Iron Man 2'' (2010), ''Thor'' (2011), ' ...

Cobie Smulders Jacoba Francisca Maria "Cobie" Smulders (born April 3, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring role as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014) and as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in the Ma ...

, Ashley Johnson,

Hayley Atwell Hayley Elizabeth Atwell (born 5 April 1982) is a British and American actress. Born and raised in London, Atwell studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made her stage debut in a 2005 production of James Kerr's translation ...

Michael Peña Michael Anthony Peña (; ; born January 13, 1976) is an American actor. He has starred in many films, including ''Crash'' (2004), '' World Trade Center'' (2006), '' Shooter'' (2007), '' Observe and Report'' (2009), '' Tower Heist'' (2011), '' Batt ...

, and

Ming-Na Wen Ming-Na Wen (; born November 20, 1963) is an American actress and model. She voiced Mulan in the animated film ''Mulan'' and its sequel, portrayed Melinda May / The Cavalry in '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020), and Fennec Sha ...

reprise their respective roles from the films and TV shows, and Marvel Comics co-creator

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

returned to voice himself.

Robbie Daymond Robert Daymond Howard (né Niles; born March 11, 1982) is an American voice actor who is mostly known for his roles in audiobooks, video games, and animation, best known for voicing Jesse Cosay in the second season of '' Infinity Train'', Spider ...

voices

A-Bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

Lou Ferrigno Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. (; born November 9, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles; and appeared in the documentar ...

voices himself and Greg Miller voiced

Aldrich Killian Aldrich Killian is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Iron Man'' vol. 4 #1 (Jan. 2005) and was created by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov. Guy Pearce portrayed a retooled ...

Downloadable content

Free PlayStation timed exclusive

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...

was announced. This included a character pack and a level based on the heist for the

Yellowjacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...

suit from ''

Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...

'', which was released on April 6, 2016, and a '' Captain America: Civil War'' character pack that was released at launch. A season pass was also available during launch, which gave players exclusive access to the "Explorers Pack", story levels and over 40 additional playable characters. These story levels were based on the ''

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, an ...

'' television series as well as levels focused on the comic versions of

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

, the

Masters of Evil The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in '' The Avengers'' #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years. Publicatio ...

, Captain Marvel, and

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

. A

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

character pack was also released on May 24, 2016, which saw the ''Civil War'' version of the character as a playable character.

Reception

''Lego Marvel's Avengers'' received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms, according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

'' Andrew Reiner gave the game 7.75 out of 10. ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' awarded it a score of 6.7 out of 10, saying "''LEGO Marvel's Avengers'' is great fun, but unfortunately restricted by sticking to the Marvel Cinematic Universe". ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ' ...

'' awarded it a score of 6 out of 10, saying "it's a fun mindless romp through a couple of interesting setpieces, but not a whole lot more than that when it comes down to it". ''

PlayStation LifeStyle Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male- ...

'' awarded it 7.5 out of 10, saying "some technical hiccups and the occasional unclear objective can hamper your progress, but these can all be overcome in a game that exudes a fun-loving attitude throughout". ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' awarded it a score of 7.0 out of 10, saying "if you've played a Lego game in recent years then you'll know what to expect: another familiar and fun adventure that you can enjoy with your kids". ''Hardcore Gamer'' awarded it a score of 3 out of 5, saying "while a decent action-adventure title, ''Avengers'' does little to innovate or set itself apart from a vast library of superior Lego games". ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...

'' awarded it a score of 52%, calling it "a half-hearted recreation of some fun movies, with almost nothing to offer over its predecessor".

References

External links