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Thoughts on LEGO Dimensions


Fush

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So yeah, I was actually looking forward to Dimensions, believe it or not. The absurd price tag was a huge turnoff, but I bit the bullet and bought it anyway.

I just finished the game. It wasn't the longest, but considering I played the entire thing straight through with no breaks, I think the length of the game was sufficient. So was it worth the price?

Eeeeehhhhhh. I did enjoy it, a lot, while I was playing. But now that it's over I'm really feeling the hole it blew in my bank account. Looking back on it, it just doesn't seem like there was that much game there. Sure, there are 15 story levels, which is good. But one of the biggest draws of the LEGO series, the huge roster of characters, is completely absent. You only get 3 characters in the base game, and the rest much be purchased. This doesn't really bother me THAT much- after all, that is kind of the point of the game. But lack of characters me lack of unique abilities, abilities REQUIRED for 100%ing the game. I dunno, I may be missing something, but it does not seem like you can 100% the story with only the base set. THAT is complete BS right there, and it is the biggest source of regret for my purchase. I was always quick to defend the game, saying that it's still a complete game without buying any of the expansions, but it seems I was mistaken. Then there are the hub worlds, which I had to waste my limited data on downloading an update for the game (on launch day!) to access, only to be told that I still can't access them because they can only be entered by a character from that series. Two of these worlds weren't even represented in the story!

Oh and on a similar note, though this isn't a huge deal but I feel it's worth mentioning. I felt like most of the franchises were only there for the sake of being there, and didn't really have any significant impact. For the most part it was "LEGO Batman, Doctor Who and Portal: The Game". They made a big deal about getting the original actors for a lot of the voices but very few characters had more than a couple lines of dialogue, and for that matter I'm pretty sure all the Ghostbusters's voice clips were taken straight from the movie. Again, not a HUGE deal, but I had to mention it.

I want to like this game. It's enjoyable, and just taking it by itself I really do like what's there. But to have SUCH a huge upfront price, only to have SO MUCH content that requires EVEN MORE payment to unlock, really takes away from the experience. Do I regret buying the game? Maybe a little. I don't regret PLAYING it, that's for certain, the time was well spent. But the money, not so much. I would love to recomend the game if it was but a little bit cheaper, or had but a little bit more content in it- but as it stands, it doesn't, so I really can't say it's worth it. I wouldn't say to avoid the game completely, but do think really really hard and make absolutely sure you want it before making the investment.

And that's my two cents, or rather, my 100 dollars. 

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It's 1:30 AM and I'm pretty tired, I didn't articulate my thoughts as well as I'd have liked but I had to get them down while they were fresh. I may come back and re-evaluate what I wrote once I've had some rest. 

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Nononono, you're not putting the right spin on it. If you say "... And buying expansions also adds content to the main story!", it just sounds like the expansion packs now provide even more value for your money! How neat is that???? :) :) :) :)

Enjoy your LEGO® Dimensions™ experience, and your lighter, thinner wallet!

(I'm trying really, really hard to not type up many paragraphs about both general game design and the toys-to-life business model right now)

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See? I told you fush, this game is basically cash cow simulator. And the expansions (honestly, they're really just lego's version of DLC) cost quite a bit too, considering they only come with one character, one level and one other thingy, (i dunno what it is) the cost of $20 is far too much for my blood. As a matter of fact, aren't LEGO TT Video Games $30 or $20?

Still though, if you add up the expansions and the game itself, its very expensive. And skylanders, while they did do the expansion pack thing, the worlds don't add to the story (i think) while this does, and i just have a problem with that.

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I have been kinda skeptical of Dimensions from the beginning. IMO, toys-to-life is a large gimmick anyway but some people have that money to burn, so whatever. I had no doubt it would be a good game, but exactly how it all worked with and without the expansions... yea, that's a bummer.

Oh and on a similar note, though this isn't a huge deal but I feel it's worth mentioning. I felt like most of the franchises were only there for the sake of being there, and didn't really have any significant impact. For the most part it was "LEGO Batman, Doctor Who and Portal: The Game". They made a big deal about getting the original actors for a lot of the voices but very few characters had more than a couple lines of dialogue, and for that matter I'm pretty sure all the Ghostbusters's voice clips were taken straight from the movie. Again, not a HUGE deal, but I had to mention it.

This is the most interesting part. I got the feeling later on as more themes were announced they were being added for the sake of having a LEGO version, but I wondered what role they would play. "LEGO Batman, Doctor Who and Portal: The Game" is intriguing. Based on all the promos and the order the themes were announced, I thought for sure it would have been "LEGO Batman, TLM, and LoTR: The Game". Huh.

I guess I will be looking up a walkthrough...

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I was rather peeved myself about the even heftier price tag for people in the UK (I don't want to think about what the folks down under will have to pay). It's already dropped from £100 to £80 on Amazon and it hasn't actually been released here yet.

Guess I'll stick with my original plan of waiting for its price to fall low. If I'm reading your review right, this game would be well worth the money if it was cheaper.

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Oh and on a similar note, though this isn't a huge deal but I feel it's worth mentioning. I felt like most of the franchises were only there for the sake of being there, and didn't really have any significant impact.

See, this is one of the things that bothered me the most about the concept. I've seen the game being praised as a story game, a game that gives a unique, quintessentially LEGO story and game where there was none before. But it's exactly like every other LEGO game, it just has several licenses at once instead of one. And I get to the Simpsons level and it's not like, "okay, here are the Simpsons and here's there contribution to the story" its "hey guys you like the simpsons right remember the simpsons? lol those wacky simpsons" in the background as you replay the lego movie videogame and lego batman 3.

(didn't buy the game, just watching a walkthrough, but it works out to be about the same I think)

Edited by Pereki
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I've had more time to think it over now. After the initial disappointment of "that's it?" wore off, I think I'm more satisfied than I was initially. That said, I think I stand by pretty much all of what I wrote here. I really, really like this game, but the price is just too high. I'm glad I have it, but I do believe that the cost is a valid reason to pass it up. There are a few things I would like to elaborate on, and a few comments here I want to respond to, but I don;t want to deal with trying to format a long reply with several quote in this terrible editor.

I'm going to play the game some more, see just how much I can do without any of the expansions. So far I've only done the bare minimum of the game, I haven't even bothered trying to get the minikits nor have I spent more than a minute or two in the three hub worlds that came with the base set. Who knows, maybe there actually is more content there than I gave it credit for.

Edited by Fushigisaur
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Good, concise review! Just out of curiosity, which platform did you get Dimensions for? I actually got the Wii U version, and let me tell you, the frame drops are real. ESPECIALLY when you're destroying stuff for studs.

 

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I also have it on the Wii U. I didn't really want to get into it, but yeah there are some performance issues due to system's lack of power. I've also noticed the frame rate drop at points, and some textures are ridiculously low-res... then there's Vortech himself. Compared to the footage seen in trailers, which I assume is from one of the more hihg-spec versions of the game, his body has a LOT less bricks in it, which honestly makes him look pretty lame. 

Another aspect of this version that warrants mention is that you can switch characters with the gamepad. Which would be a LOT more useful if the character-select screen could stay open and didn't close automatically after a few seconds without use. So you have to load it up again each time, which honestly makes it less convenient than just switching characters normally. Other than that (and off-TV play, which is standard in most Wii U games) the gamepad isn't taken advantage of, which makes sense since the game is multi-platform, but you still HAVE to use it! Player one can ONLY use the gamepad, and not the much more ergonomic Pro controller. Boo.

And that's everything pertaining specifically to the Wii U version of the game, I think. I still wanna address some other replies here, specifically regarding the franchise representation, but I don't feel up to tackling that right now.

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Starrocks923

Posted (edited)

I know I'm late to the party, but I got it for the Wii U along with the Portal Level Pack, Simpsons Level Pack, Laval, Nya and Zane Fun Packs.

I'm really enjoying what I can do so far. The initial disappointment of not being able to use certain character abilities quickly wore off when I realized I could bypass quite a few puzzles with my existing characters. Zane's Ninjacopter, for instance, can fly around and over barriers, which speeds up story levels. One particular Gold Brick I fondly recall collecting was in toxic sludge-I don't have a character who can walk through it, so I just jumped onto the pile, collected the Gold Brick and lost two hearts.

The Hub Worlds are really neat. They kind of have the feel of the story boxes from Indiana Jones 2, but come across as much more appeasing visually. The lack of characters to find in the Hub Worlds leaves a void when it comes to collectibles beyond Gold Bricks, which is filled by Hub World Renovations. Hub World Renovations are a fun way to spend lots of Studs fast. By paying a hefty price of Studs to the various NPCs in the Hub Worlds, the NPCs will use the Studs to rebuild structures destroyed by Lord Vortech's meddling with the dimensions. Some of them are simple renovations like building a "School of Fish", while others are as complex as rebuilding the City of Atlantis or Master Chen's Arena. These renovations occasionally open up new quests or allow you to collect more Gold Bricks.

I highly recommend this game to anyone interested in a LEGO TT game that changes things up in terms of gameplay with the Toypad-albeit at a significant price reduction.

 

Edited by Starrocks923
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