$20 Game of the Week: Lego Marvel Super Heroes

With Captain America and the X-men having made their way back into theaters last month, now is a good time to look at one of the finest digital adventures featuring Marvel’s pantheon of heroes and villains. Before licencing issues would force Marvel to disavow the existence of any property whose movie rights were controlled by Fox, and before the company’s gaming department chose to focus on free-to-play mobile games, Marvel fans of all ages were treated to an excellent look at the Marvel Universe, Lego style, courtesy of Warner Brothers and Traveler’s Tales. Waitaminute….Warner Brothers? As in DC Warner Brothers? Well it’s simple. Warner Brothers has the licence to publish Lego Games, Lego has a licence to make toys based on Marvel characters, so it was only a matter of time before this game was made, and it excels as both a Marvel game and a Lego game.

Loki and Doctor Doom have attacked the Silver Surfer, shattering his board into several pieces. Now it’s a race against time as Marvel’s heroes try to gather up the pieces before the bad guys do.Players will travel all throughout the Marvel Universe taking control of a who’s who in Marvel. You’ll take the reigns of everyone from Captain America and Mr. Fantastic to Wolverine and The Hulk, with many characters unlockable. If you ever played any of Traveler’s Tales’ Lego games, you’ll know what to expect: co-op beat-em-up-lite action with puzzles that make use of the character’s special abilities. There are over 100 playable characters (many of whom are unlockable), and each one is a treat for fans. Clark Gregg reprises his role as Phil Coulson, as he briefs you in between the levels.

There are Lego games based upon everything from Star Wars to Harry Potter. However, Lego Marvel Superheroes is one of the best Lego games of the franchise. It’s followup, Lego Avengers is also enjoyable. Hopefully it’ll be a matter of time before WB and TT gets wise and gives gamers Lego Marvel vs DC. well, a guy can dream right?