LEGO Marvel Avengers review: just another brick in the wall

It’s time for another LEGO game from developer Traveller’s Tales in the form of Lego Marvel Avengers. This time, the company is releasing a second Marvel Comics-themed title, which is only good for audiences, right? Well, not really.

Marvel has taken a different approach to this new game. Instead of an original tale, it recounts both of the Avengers movies as well as some of the titles in between. The game’s stages are compact versions of different scenes from the films, such as the farm in Age of Ultron. Yes, that ghastly, lumbering piece of filmography made it into the game, which really sets the tone for how boring the game can be.

Much like LEGO The Lord of the Rings, Marvel Avengers uses dialogue ripped straight from the movies, which is probably a decision made to keep everything feeling like the films it’s based on. Unfortunately, and like LotR, this doesn’t work out all that well. This method vastly limits what can and can’t be done with these story sections.

The voices are almost always too soft with the sound effects too high. You’ll play as Iron Man, battling your way through endless, excruciating waves of Chitauri when Tony Stark will utter something offhand and you’ll shout out, “What? Huh?”, and try to turn up your hearing aid, only to realise you don’t use one. The game doesn’t feature a separate sound option for voices, which is a pity. Make sure subtitles are enabled for the game.

There’s a distinct lack of context in the game with all of the voice clips. The script and dialogue for these blockbusters are written to go hand-in-hand with a big screen production and real actors. Pasting them over LEGO figures makes everything feel awkward and strange. Not to mention characters spouting one-liners which only come about later on in the story.

Sure, kids will laugh at Bruce Banner putting on crazy sunglasses or the overuse of characters drinking pink milkshakes, but adults, or actually anyone over the age of seven will quickly pick up on the repetitiveness and roll their eyes. The story and scenes are just plain lazy.

And the word lazy might just sum up the game overall. If this is your first, second, or even third LEGO title then you’ll probably enjoy it, but anything after that and you’ll realise it’s still the same old LEGO game we played back in 2005 with the release of LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game. Some will say, “don’t fix what isn’t broken,” but after the umpteenth game, maybe it’s time to try something new?

I will give the game credit for the use of combo moves. Certain characters, when paired together, will pull off moves to take down a wave of enemies. For example, Captain America will hold his shield up and have Thor bash down on it to create a deadly shockwave that’s very much in the same vein as the Marvel movies.

There are redeeming factors to the game, such as the engine still looking stunning on consoles, the wealth of content, and how much time you’ll get out of the title. For many people, the game will be an instant no-brainer and a purchase right off the bat. LEGO Marvel Avengers can be fun when it works, as long as you’re not playing the main story missions, which can turn from a bore to a chore within seconds. Just get past those to find the real game with open areas, tons of sides questions, and a crazy amount of unlockable characters.

A special mention goes out to Cobie Smulders and Clark Gregg for reprising their roles and their voice acting work.

There is, however, one fatal flaw to the game: Captain America is broken. I don’t mean in a philosophical sense, you know, after being frozen and leaving Peggy Carter behind, no; I mean his model and scripting are broken. I’ve had to reset the entire game over 10 times just because Mr. Red White and Blue loves getting stuck in scenery with no plausible way of escape. His latest fiasco was getting stuck between a table and two chairs and just jumping forever. He really should see someone.

Overall it feels like this should have come before LEGO Marvel Superheroes with a lot of steps taken back in this title. For all we know it could have been the first release in the series.

Game information

Release Date: 28 January 2016
Developer: Traveller’s Tales
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Genre: Action-adventure
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One (review platform)
Launch Price (RRP): R399 – R699
Industry Average Score: 71/100

Verdict: Lego Marvel Avengers is a decent entry into the series and certainly better than the Harry Potter or Pirates of the Caribbean titles. It really is made for die-hard Lego and Marvel fans. Those questioning whenever they should pick it up should rather look to its predecessor.

Score: 6.5/10