| Lego Marvel Super Heroes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developers |
|
| Publishers | |
| Director | Arthur Parsons |
| Producer | Tom Johnson |
| Designer | Jon Burton |
| Programmer | Steve Harding |
| Artist | Leon Warren |
| Writer | Mark Hoffmeier |
| Composer | Rob Westwood |
| Platforms | |
| Release | 22 October 2013 |
| Genre | Action-adventure |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Lego Marvel Super Heroes is a 2013Lego-themedaction-adventurevideo game developed byTraveller's Tales and published byWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for thePlayStation 3,Xbox 360,Wii U,PlayStation 4,Xbox One,Nintendo Switch, andMicrosoft Windows,[1] and byFeral Interactive forOS X.[2] The game features gameplay similar to otherLego titles, such asLego Star Wars: The Complete Saga andLego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, alternating between various action-adventure sequences and puzzle-solving scenarios. The handheld version of the game byTT Fusion was released under the titleLego Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril foriOS,Android,Nintendo DS,Nintendo 3DS, andPlayStation Vita.[3] ANintendo Switch version was released on October 8, 2021.[4]
The game's storyline sees various heroes from theMarvel Universe joining forces to foil the schemes ofDoctor Doom andLoki, who have also recruited a number of villains to aid them and seek to conquer the Earth using the Doom Ray of Doom, a device built from shards of theSilver Surfer's board called "Cosmic Bricks".Lego Marvel Super Heroes received generally positive reviews and is currently the best-selling Lego video game of all time.[5] A spin-off titledLego Marvel's Avengers was released on 26 January 2016, and a sequel titledLego Marvel Super Heroes 2 was released on 14 November 2017.
Following the gameplay style of pastLego titles, players are able to control 180 characters from theMarvel Universe, each with their own unique abilities.[6][7] For example,Spider-Man can swing on his webs and use his Spider-Sense while theHulk, who is larger than the standard minifigures, can throw large objects. Additionally, Hulk and his alter ego Bruce Banner appear as separate playable characters that can be swapped between at will, with Banner being able to access computers that Hulk cannot.[8][9]Galactus was chosen as the main antagonist of the game.[10] According to game director Arthur Parsons and producer Phil Ring, one of the main settings ofLego Marvel Super Heroes is a Lego version ofManhattan, with players able to explore bothLiberty Island andRyker's Island.[11] In addition, a Lego version ofAsgard was created.[12]
The creative team has also incorporatedMarvel Comics co-creatorStan Lee in the game. He is a part of missions called "Stan Lee in Peril", similar to "Citizen in Peril" missions from previous games. Lee also appears as a playable character and has several of the other characters' abilities, such as Spider-Man's webbing, a combination of theHuman Torch's heat beam andCyclops's optic blast,Mister Fantastic's grappling,Wolverine'sadamantium skeleton, and Hulk's transformation.[7]
Players can also explore the Marvel version of New York City, though they can only use a specific character and access buildings after the campaign is complete. Bonus missions are narrated byDeadpool and take place in buildings with their own storylines.[7] There are a total of 15 missions in the main single-player campaign, followed by 11 side missions.[13]
Several characters, such asIron Man,Nick Fury,Phil Coulson,Captain America,Black Widow, Hulk,Hawkeye, Loki,Thor, andMaria Hill, are modeled after theirMarvel Cinematic Universe counterparts.
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While searching the universe for planets for his masterGalactus to consume,Silver Surfer is captured byDoctor Doom, and his board shattered into multiple "Cosmic Bricks". Having been warned about Galactus' upcoming arrival on Earth by an imprisonedLoki, Doom aims to build his "Doom Ray of Doom" using these bricks, which will allow the pair to defeat Galactus and then take over the world. Meanwhile,Nick Fury enlists Earth's heroes to retrieve the bricks before they fall into the wrong hands.
Sandman andAbomination, hired by Doom to retrieve a brick, holdGrand Central Station hostage for it, but are defeated byIron Man,Hulk, andSpider-Man. The brick is left in theFantastic Four's care at theBaxter Building, butDoctor Octopus steals it, forcingMister Fantastic andCaptain America to pursue him. Aided by Spider-Man when the fight goes through theDaily Bugle, they defeat him inTimes Square, but he tosses the Brick toGreen Goblin. Tasked with retrieving it,Black Widow,Hawkeye, and Spider-Man infiltrateOscorp, but are forced to fightVenom while the Green Goblin escapes.
Iron Man and Hulk respond to a prison riot atthe Raft, orchestrated byMagneto,Mystique, andSabretooth to break out Loki and other villains. Aided byWolverine, they defeat the escaped inmates and Sabretooth, but Magneto destroys Iron Man's armor and escapes with Mystique and Loki. Captain America and Iron Man go toStark Tower so that the latter can retrieve his latest suit, only to encounter Loki,Mandarin, andAldrich Killian, who have hackedJ.A.R.V.I.S., turning it against the heroes. After restoring J.A.R.V.I.S. back to normal, they defeat the Mandarin and Killian, but Loki escapes with one of Stark's experimental Arc Reactors.
After S.H.I.E.L.D. tracks the reactor's signature to aHydra base beneath theEmpire State Building, Black Widow and Hawkeye investigate and discover that theRed Skull andArnim Zola are building a portal generator powered by the stolen reactor, which Loki uses to travel toAsgard.Human Torch, Captain America, and Wolverine arrive to help defeat Red Skull, but inadvertently damage the portal generator. Pursuing Loki withThor's help, the trio discover that he invaded Asgard, aided by theFrost Giants, and has stolen theTesseract. Loki unleashes theDestroyer upon the heroes, but they defeat it and retrieve the Tesseract, despite Loki's escape.
Wolverine takes the Tesseract to theX-Mansion forProfessor X to analyze it, but Doom dispatches theBrotherhood of Mutants to retrieve it. TheX-Men defeatToad,Pyro, andJuggernaut, but fail to prevent Magneto and Mystique from stealing the Tesseract. Tracking it down toLatveria, Nick Fury and the Fantastic Four stormCastle Doom, defeat Green Goblin, and rescue Silver Surfer, but Doom and Loki escape.
Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man later infiltrate aA.I.M.submarine where Doom is hiding out, defeatingMODOK and capturing Doom withJean Grey's help. However, Magneto magnetically controls theStatue of Liberty and uses it to rescue Doom. Despite Mister Fantastic, Wolverine, and Hulk's attempts to stop him after defeatingMastermind, Magneto brings the Statue to an island filled with dinosaurs from theSavage Land, whereupon he uses a nuclear core stolen fromRoxxon Industries to power his space station, Asteroid M. Captain America,Storm, andThing pursue Magneto and defeatRhino and Mystique, but fail to prevent the station's launch.
Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man board Asteroid M and defeat Magneto, before confronting Doom and Loki, who have finished building the Doom Ray. After Doom incapacitates Iron Man and Thor, Captain America, the Thing, and Storm arrive to help Spider-Man defeat him. However, Loki reveals that he had manipulated Doom into building a flying pod, powered by the Tesseract, that will allow him to control Galactus and destroy Earth and Asgard. After Galactus arrives to consume Earth, Loki mind-controls him into destroying Asteroid M, though everyone aboard survives.
To stop Loki and Galactus, the heroes and villains form an uneasy alliance, and manage to open a portal to an unknown region of space and send the two through it, destroying Loki's pod and freeing Galactus from his control in the process. While Nick Fury recovers the Tesseract, the heroes decide to give the villains a head start to avoid capture. With his board rebuilt, Silver Surfer recovers his powers and leaves Earth, promising to lead Galactus far away.
In amid-credits scene, Fury oversees the repair of the Statue of Liberty, when theGuardians of the Galaxy arrive, having been called earlier to help against Galactus, but they arrived too late.Star-Lord warns Fury that there issomething else threatening Earth. Later while having lunch with the construction crew, Fury encountersBlack Panther, who was looking for his cat Mr. Tiddles and tells Fury that the people ofWakanda are grateful to him.
Following the revival of theSuper Heroes theme in 2012, TT Games and The LEGO Group decided to develop a Marvel-based game, as the studio had already created several Batman games for DC. Early on, the studio considered adapting the plot ofThe Avengers; however, TT Games felt that a single film wouldn't provide enough content and that the broader Marvel universe would be better represented with an original story instead.[14]
The story was developed in reverse: developers were first asked which characters and locations they wanted to include, and the writing team then wrote a story that incorporated all of those elements.[14]
The handheld version,LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril, was intended to mark a new direction for handheld LEGO games. Unlike previous handheld titles, the game was developed with the mobile version in mind first and then later ported to portable systems rather than the other way around.[15] This decision was reportedly unpopular among the development team, with some staff even leaving the project over it.[15] Following the game's poor reception and feedback, the mobile-focused approach was quickly dropped, and future handheld releases were designed to resemble their console counterparts much more closely.
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PS4) 83/100[16] (PC) 78/100[17] (X360) 80/100[18] (PS3) 82/100[19] (Wii U) 82/100[20] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [21] |
| Computer and Video Games | 7/10[22] |
| Destructoid | 8.5/10[23] |
| Eurogamer | 9/10[31] |
| Game Informer | 9/10[24] |
| GameSpot | 7/10[25] |
| IGN | 9/10[26] |
| Nintendo Life | 9/10[27] |
| Play | 90/100[28] |
| Polygon | 8.5/10[29] |
| The Escapist |  [30] |
Lego Marvel Super Heroes received generally positive reviews upon release. Among its strengths, reviewers cited its humor, variety of missions, characters, and open-world gameplay. According to Metacritic, it received an average review score of 83/100 based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally positive reviews".
Steve Butts ofIGN gave the game a 9 out of 10, praising it for being: "the best thing to happen to the Marvel games since 2006'sMarvel: Ultimate Alliance". He added, "it's a warm and witty, multi-layered approach to the brand that ties in hundreds of Marvel's most iconic characters, settings, and stories".[26] Steve Hannley of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4/5, calling it "one of the best Marvel games this generation".[32]Game Informer gave the game a 9 out of 10, whilePolygon gave the game an 8.5 out of 10.[24][29] GameZone's Matt Liebl, regarding the PS4 version, stated, "on a console filled with shooters likeKillzone andCall of Duty, TT Games'Lego Marvel Super Heroes presents a nice break from the complex sports titles and intense shooters that overrun the console".[33]
During the17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominatedLego Marvel Super Heroes for "Family Game of the Year".[34]
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president David Haddad has stated that Lego Marvel Super Heroes is the best-selling LEGO video game of all time.[5]
A sequel titledLego Marvel Super Heroes 2 was released forMicrosoft Windows,Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 4, andXbox One on 14 November 2017.
Two add-on packs were released for the game. The first,Super Pack, included 7 characters:Dark Phoenix,Winter Soldier,Falcon,Symbiote Spider-Man,Hawkeye (classic),Beta Ray Bill,Thanos andA-Bomb as well as two vehicles: The Spider Buggy and Hawkeye's Sky Cycle, and 10 races that can only be done with the new vehicles. The second,Asgard Character Pack, was released in November to coincide with the release ofThor: The Dark World, and included 8 characters:Malekith,Kurse,Sif,Volstagg,Odin,Hogun,Fandral andJane Foster.[35]
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