The majority of my Xbox’s External Hard drive seems to be filled with LEGO Games, the only one we don’t seem to have is LEGO Hobbit, so it was no surprise that when LEGO DC Super-Villains was announced that I Would have to free up some more space.
Now of course, having a 7 and 10 year old in the house made reviewing the game much more simple, so I stuck them down in front of the Xbox and let them play.
“We can make our own Villain? Awesome!”
The next hour or so saw them squabbling over the exact design of Dave the Destroyer (don’t ask), however it was pretty clear this was a pretty awesome feature. Looking at a standard minifigure you would think that there really wasn’t much to customise but I was really impressed about how much customisation there actually was. Not only can you customise your creations appearance, but you can make choices about the weapon they use, which abilities they have and their personality. You can even decide how their targeting reticule is styled. You’ll get to play as pretty much any character you want but your creation is heavily involved throughout the game, even if they are silent the whole way through.
TT Games have always focused on the heroes so it was great to see things turned around so we could play as some of the most devious characters around.
There is a good chance you have played at least one LEGO title, so you’ll probably appreciate the concept, if you haven’t then I’ll quickly explain. Each level will see you smash your way around collecting studs and working out mini puzzles which will allow you to move to the next area of the game, or reward you with other secrets. Some things can’t be unlocked until you have access to certain characters so there is plenty of opportunities to go back and replay through missions.
What Impressed me most about the game was the fact that TT Games have somehow managed to keep this game fresh, it would be easy to theme the same sort of game out each year, but the developers constantly keep things fresh, with new simple ideas that make you think, ‘oh, that’s cool’.
When puzzle solving, for example, certain characters can employ henchmen to do the work, it’s a nice little touch, that works especially well with the theme of the game, as you would expect, most of the puzzles are so simple even a child could solve them…
The story is one of the better ones you’ll come across in LEGO Games, things have gone a bit wrong for the Justice League. When they suddenly go missing a new group appear and call themselves the Justice Syndicate. They are made up villains based on the league, it turns out they are the reason for the League’s disappearance and they are actually out to assist Darkseid in his plan to take over the world.
LEGO DC Super Villains is darker and edgier than any other LEGO title I’ve played, it’s got some great jokes that work on various levels for adults and children and the combat is greatly improved. Enemies are a little bit tougher than normal, they now block attacks and you’ll come across opponents with shields that require a different tactic to get round them. It’s not a huge difficulty spike but it’s nice to have a slightly different challenge.
As ever, the presentation is excellent, from the awesome title song on the Main Menu, to bright vibrant colours throughout the game, there is always a lot going on in LEGO games, especially when you smashing hundreds of bricks at any one time, but I didn’t notice any drops in performance at any time. The voice acting is superb, although it’s a shame that your customised character is mute, however it’s dealt with very well in the story, as you seem to be the butt of many jokes about the fact you don’t say anything.
LEGO DC Super Villains is my favourite LEGO game for a while, it has the best story, the character customisation is superb and the improved combat makes a refreshing change. It’s another game that is perfect for sitting down with your little ones to have a co-op adventure with, but also a blast for us bigger kids.
Thanks to WB Games for supporting TiX
LEGO DC Super-Villains
