Lego DC Super Villians
E3 was an amazing experience that I still recall, even though it took place so long ago. I arrived a touch late, and as I didn’t have an assignment letter in hand, I was shuffled off to the press registration. After that, I simply walked inside the LA Convention center and was created with all of the latest and greatest from all of the companies that you’ve heard of, and many that you haven’t. Those that weren’t selling games were selling ancillary products, and I even came across a company promoting the first backpack to carry a gamer PC.
All the companies were generous with their freebies, however, I did have to actually play a few of the games just to get a feel. There are five types of games, of which the most popular are a first-person shooter and side-scroller. Maybe there are only 2, I don’t truly know. I seem to recall reading that somewhere, but the brain plays tricks. There’s turn-based, open world, and also standard RPG fare. There’s overlap in those as well. Did I mention 5 different companies selling what can only be described as a gamer chair? One of them even had energy shots. I guess they’re steering into the iceberg of the guy living in mom’s basement playing video games all day.
For those that don’t already know, I’m a DC Comics guy. Most if not all of the characters you see on the big screen today have their roots in the big three: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. I naturally spent significant time at the WB Games booth, while asking questions about their current offerings. The buzz on the showroom floor was all about Lego DC Super Villains, and I was not disappointed.
I was able to attend an interview with one of the creators hosted by IGN. He was being interviewed as he was discussing who’s available, and when he got to Solomon Grundy he followed that up with, “born on a Monday,” so after I asked him why, and he replied, “I can’t help it, “ and smiled. We didn’t get to actually play the game beyond creating a character for it, however, I do know what I’m getting my son for Christmas as a result of this experience.
From the box description: Embark on an all-new LEGO open-world adventure by becoming the best villain the universe has seen in LEGO DC Super-Villains. For the first time, a LEGO game is giving you and your family the ability to play as a super-villain, unleashing mischievous antics and wreak havoc in an action-packed, hilarious story written in collaboration with DC Comics.
I was able to see a preview of this game at E3 this year as well. This won’t be a full-blown review, as all they let me do was create a character. I’m currently into the shades ranging from what I call Batman Blue to Black, and while creating a villain was easy, the individual choices I had to make weren’t. As with any RPG (role-playing game), you start by creating your character. The option to take one of those already available doesn’t exist in this one. Also, as I’m not familiar with what it takes to BE a super-villain, I wasn’t quite sure what to do here.
That’s okay, as I was given simple choices. It’s Lego, right? If you can build it, they will come, or something like that. You start with the top of your character and work your way down. Several choices for hairstyles, a facial expression that includes eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth, and finally weapon and costume color. I’m always reminded of the scene in the first Incredibles movie where the costume designer says, “No capes.”
However, I wanted one, so I took it. I named my character The Iron Amethyst, and you can see the results for yourself. Based on what can only be my choices of color, weapon, and facial features, the game auto generates your character’s story. As the line at E3 for this particular exhibit was painfully long, the assembly line style of getting four people to the character generators at the same time, and getting them out as quickly as possible precluded any major picture taking, however, I did get a really cool Lego Joker key-chain for participating. I put it next to my Lego Batman key-chain so that they can fight it out while I sleep.
The bigger story of the game itself is The Justice League has been called off-world in order to fight some sort of cosmic threat, so who’s left? Most if not all of the super villains from the DC universe that you’ve come to know and love, or loathe as the case may be are available to team up with.
So, what happens next? After the villains “pick teams”, you choose a side. Then the fun, frivolity, and fighting begin. I would’ve liked to have gotten into some actual gameplay as it looked ready to go from all I’ve seen, however as stated that wasn’t possible.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to play this game, and I think you should too. I give my experience 5 stars, and as an open world game, the possibilities are endless.
It’s available for your PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, and will be out in stores by the time you read this, just in time for Christmas. This is the game that will probably get me to buy yet another game console, of which we own many.
