- The Washington Times - Saturday, November 28, 2015

Video-gaming, Lego-loving families now have a fantastic way to interact locally and virtually in their beloved brick-building universe with Lego Dimensions Starter Pack (Traveller’s Tales and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Rated E 10+, $99.99).

The concept demands that a player build real Lego mini-block characters, vehicles and items (roughly 2 inches tall) and place them on a glowing toy pad (aka a dimensional portal) to enter the adventure.

Lord Vortech seeks the elements of time and space and enlists the help of legendary villains while imprisoning heroes in a story fueling a pop-culture explosion’s worth of fun.

Specifically, the characters come from such varied licenses as “Ghostbusters,” “Doctor Who,” “DC Comics,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Simpsons,” “Jurassic World” and “Back to the Future” — leading to some pretty awesome teamups (Marty McFly working with Peter Venkman or, how about Batman driving the Mystery Machine?).

The onscreen action is vintage Lego video gaming as the players destroy and build items, collect an ever-available supply of studs to unlock new stuff, solve puzzles and fight off enemies.

A co-op option allows another friend to jump into or out of the game at any time, and players can have up to seven pieces on the pad and in the action at any time.


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What really shines is the mixing of skill sets and strategies for the child. The starter pack offers 267 Lego pieces to first build Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle (from the “Lego Movie” and voiced by Elizabeth Banks).

Place the completed mini-block figures (tethered to a special disc) on the bare toy pad (connected via USB to the Wii U), play the game and eventually gain onscreen instructions to construct the dimensional portal on the pad and the Batmobile.

The pad or portal glows multiple colors during gaming sessions and is used to solve puzzles and thwart attacks.

For example, when the Wicked Witch of the West attacks the team, a player must move figures around on the portal to stop the villain from bewitching them.

Players taking a break from the main story can also enter any of the unlocked Adventure Worlds such as Oz and Middle-Earth to find a new set of challenges and acquire illusive Gold Bricks.

Offering a clever and humorous take on real-toy creation melding with virtual action, Lego Dimensions is a great gift that not only empowers youngsters to use their brains but makes parents feel good about Junior playing a video game.


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Action-enhancing gadgets or extras: The Starter Pack only begins the adventure, as Team Packs ($24.99 each), Level Packs ($29.99) and Fun Packs ($14.99) each contain more characters and world adventures for the player.

For example, purchase the “Scooby Doo Team Pack” (81 pieces) and build Shaggy and Scooby Doo. Place them on the dimensional portal, and they immediately enter the game. This move unlocks the Scooby world (a location featuring a haunted house, caverns and a carnival).

A player can then build (using onscreen instructions) a Lego model of the Mystery Machine and a Scooby Snack. By the way, the multi-layered sandwich gets consumed by the pooch onscreen and causes him to double in size and exhibit super strength.

• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.

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