The latest entry in the string of licensed LEGO video games has finally been released and this time Marvel’s mightiest heroes have assembled on a smaller scale with their own bricked-down digital version of themselves. This is the second Marvel-themed LEGO game and while the formula might be getting a bit old, that doesn’t make it any less fun. The latest game is a certified hit.
The series basically has a license to print money and Metro reports that LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is the 8th LEGO title to become an all-formats number-one game in the United Kingdom. The game is the first new title to top the UK charts this year, knocking down Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Given the success the company has seen since kicking things off more than a decade ago with LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, this comes as little surprise.
According to Kotaku, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is the 18th game in the action-adventure series developed by Traveller’s Tales and very much falls in the same wheelhouse as the previous titles, both for better and for worse. Many of the games tend to follow the same format of style and gameplay, which, while charming, fails to bring very much to the table in the way of originality or innovation. However, given that these titles are largely geared toward children, they can hardly be expected to pushing the boundaries of video game advancement.
The game brings more than 100 fan-favourite characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the LEGO world along with some of the more obscure superheroes (and supervillains) from the Marvel world. These include the latest character to play Ms. Marvel (and first Muslim to headline her own comic book), Kamala Khan, along with the rodent-wrangling Squirrel Girl.
The worlds of the Marvel comic books and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have become so massive that it can be intimidating for new fans to try and wade through the number of characters and stories that are out there. The video games provide a great way for the company to help acquaint fans with its properties in advance of the movies. That way, folks aren’t going into each movie or book with no idea of who these people are or what’s going on. The LEGO games also appeal to families and all-ages audiences while, on the flipside, Marvel has courted more mature, casual audiences through the variety of themed games available on Betfair. On this platform, some of the publisher’s biggest names in comics, such as Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers, along with lesser known characters like Elektra and Blade are used in a casino setting.
Marvel clearly hopes that these games will help to familiarise fans with characters such as the Black Panther, who will make his debut in the highly anticipated upcoming MCU film, Captain America: Civil War. The movie is set to come out on May 6 of this year. As for the next licensed LEGO game, it’s set to take us back to a universe far, far away for the first time since 2007 with LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It’s scheduled for a June 28, 2016 release.