PixlBit

Well hello Pixlpeeps, long time no type. After BaD I decided that it would be good to take a week to not write anything because 1.) I wanted a little break and 2.) I really didn’t have much to write about. During this time I started to cross off another goal for 2018 and I made my way back to the gym. Oh it feels good to spend time on the treadmill zoning out to whatever is on the phone, or watching video on my tablet. It feels good to wake up and head straight to the gym in the morning instead of watching the $25,000 Pyramid until the alarm goes off. Anyways more on this on Friday. Today is about what I’ve been playing and I have to say there hasn’t been much but I did knock one game off of Mount Backlog which is always good.

 

Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 (Deluxe Edition) - Steam

I bought this during a sale on Fanatical for $38 back in February but I really didn’t focus on it until last Saturday when I started just playing through the game, and well there are some good things, and then there are some bad things about this game.

 

So have you ever played Saints Row 4 and said “Wow I wish this concept was in Lego form?” Well you’re in luck, a bad guy has entered the Lego Universe and has taken control of New York City and has changed it, and it is up to you and your plastic superhero buddies to to stop him. Within this version of NYC there is different regions that represent history as well as areas where Marvel Superheroes live. The same old Lego magic is here: collect Lego studs to get True Believer status, saving “Mr. Cameo” Stan Lee, unlocking characters, and glitches all while being presented in a new comic book look. Now I did say glitches and surprisingly there were few that I encountered. I think the only one being the game went from full screen to minimized during a battle and trying to control the camera in certain spots is a pain.

During the open world portions the world feels overwhelming but when you stumble upon a kiosk it maps out the given section you are in but also maps out where the puzzles, gold bricks, Stan Lee, and missions are within that section. It’s easy to just set destination, select Iron Man and fly, because why use a vehicle when you can fly (this was one of my issues with Saints Row 4). There is a new game within this open world and that is a trivia machine. I believe it asks four questions relating to the game with three possible answers. I think this is to test people if they are paying attention and rewards you with studs with each correct answer. Pro Tip: you can guess, and if you get it wrong, you can start over and pick a different answer.

 

Who doesn't turn their back and walk away from an explosion?

The actual in game levels are still the same goofy fun with voice actors that are different from the movies. Dr. Strange has a little puzzle you have to finish before using one of his powers. A shape pops up and you have to trace it but you can’t go back over lines you already made. You remember these from kids place mats in restaurants. There is also in certain spots a 9 space board with 8 titles and you have to rearrange the tiles to make an image (again kids place mats in restaurants). I’m not going to lie, I was frustrated a couple of times because a stupid square was in the wrong spot. Pro Tip: if you wait a minute, the correct tile lights up and eventually you can finish this puzzle. Yeah I figured that out with one or two levels left in the story.

A couple of changes have been made to the actual game. The red bricks are now their own separate mission, instead of being part of the regular story levels. Also Deadpool no longer runs this part of the game, instead we have Gwenpool. Still funny, but now the bricks are pink, and the stud multipliers are now available to purchase from the beginning. Oh this makes collecting studs, and buying characters so much easier. I think I purchased the 10x Multiplier just after finishing the last level and replaying maybe two levels. Also a lot of the useful minifigures are available after the 2^nd or 3^rd level, which is fun with the exception of the guy who breaks glass with his voice.

There are some things I did not like. At times it was frustrating to bring up the character select screen with figures who changed (Iron Man having Tony remove his armor, Spider-Man swinging away and having Peter Parker show up, etc.) because hitting Y (I was going to type triangle but I used a 360 controller on my PC so I had to actually hold up the controller to see what button is the equivalent) would trigger this and you had to hit Y again to bring up the grid of figures. At the end of levels the animation for the unlocked minifigures takes way too long, and there is a skip button but you want to see who you unlocked and if they are available right away. Load screens have gotten better because now J. Jonah Jameson recaps the events and what you need to do. It’s Lego humor so it’s kind of funny. I zoned out after the first or second time. The biggest thing that bugs me is the beginning of the game. When it loads up you hear the first 30 seconds of Redbone’s Come and Get Your Love before you get the start menu. Don’t get me wrong, I love this song, but good grief I wish you could skip it. The laptop goes to mute, or I walk away to get something to drink.

Overall I am bias because it’s Lego but I like this game. I don’t think it is the best in the Lego franchise, but you get a ton of characters, some new faces, a new storyline that seems to not borrow from the Movie/TV Universe, and a whole new environment.

 

Alright Pixlpeeps I am off. Have a good week!

That’s all for now, more later!

-Chris