While there is already a LEGO Marvel Super Heroes video game, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is based more on the movies. Rather than follow an original story that encompasses all of Marvel’s heroes, you’ll follow the plot of the two Avengers films (and even some flashbacks from the first Captain America flick).  The game recreates a lot of the scenes in LEGO form, and plenty of voice samples from the movies are used.  And of course they try and add as much LEGO humor as they can.  LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is available for all the current game consoles, but reviewed on PS3 here.

At heart, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is like any other in the block building series. Sock enemies, bash blocks and build new LEGO structures, drive vehicles, use teamwork, and solve puzzles. Collect LEGO studs to buy new characters to use in Free Play, and find hidden red and gold LEGO bricks to unlock cheats and other goodies. You can even rescue LEGO Stan Lee in every stage. Just like the others, a second player can join in and hop out at any time for some co-op fun.

Between stages, you’ll actually visit not one, but several hub worlds, including Manhattan and the S.H.I.E.L.D. carrier. To find the next stage to continue the story, just follow the clear LEGO studs until you reach your goal.  The cool thing is that once you do find the stage, all you have to do to select it again is pull up a world map and fly to any level or hub world.  You can also find extra goodies in each stage in Free Play, and other activities in the hub worlds.

The only problems with the game are ones that are also prevalent in other LEGO titles. Sometimes goals and objectives in the main levels aren’t as apparent, and the game can be a bit buggy here and there. Also it seems like the game was meant to be played with one player, as the split screen seemed more dizzying and in the way than in past LEGO titles. But if you can look past these flaws, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is another great LEGO 3-D adventure that the whole family can enjoy, even if you don’t know much about comic books!

Kid Factor:

LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Comic Mischief and Cartoon Violence. You can punch, shoot, and zap bad guys, but they just fall down or go to pieces when defeated. They make it perfectly clear that everything is made out of LEGOs, so violence isn’t really that bad. I’d be OK letting any kid play any of the LEGO games, personally. If you’re comfortable with your kids watching the Marvel movies, they’ll be OK with this game, too. If you are defeated, you just appear right back where you were with a minimal loss of studs, so it’s not too frustrating. Even though the game has tons of spoken voice, reading skill is still helpful for the menus and tips. If a younger player does need assistance, another can join in at any time. Which is always recommended, as LEGO games are more fun with a friend anyway. Plus, kids love super heroes, but there isn’t a lot of super hero games made for kids. So it’s LEGO Marvel’s Avengers to the rescue!

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children