Lego Dimensions: Wave 7.5 Impressions – Same Bat-game, New Bat-titude
Following the huge success of The Lego Movie, Warner Bros. made the obvious choice to continue the series with The Lego Batman Movie. Warner Bros has always been phenomenal with the Lego series of games but the clear choice was to blend Lego Batman Movie into the Lego Dimensions property, releasing it as the biggest selling point to Dimensions Wave 7.5. On the whole, Wave 7.5 is a fantastic way to close out Wave 7, but what exactly is included in the latest wave?
Dimensions has a gigantic cast of characters to choose from across decades of entertainment, so it’s always fun to see what comes next. An interesting inclusion to Wave 7.5 is the Knight Rider Fun Pack, unlocking Michael Knight and K.I.T.T. from the 1980’s TV series. If you are old enough to know Knight Rider (or just a fan of Google) you can see how this is a nice accompaniment to Lego Batman with its advanced technology, hidden identity, and crime fighting background. The set unlocks the Knight Rider World, putting you in Los Angeles as you stop crime and race around the streets in true Hasselhoff style. While I can’t say I am overly familiar with the source material, it is a lot of fun to rip around L.A. and explore the city. With a decent set of abilities, Michael can be a great asset to your team – if your current roster of characters is somewhat small. Most of his abilities are covered by Cyberman, but if you happen to be nostalgic for the series, or just love all the pop culture spoofs of K.I.T.T, it’s still an enjoyable distraction.
When I saw Excalibur Batman I was excited to see what it could do, especially given the detail of his Bionic Steed. Seen in a Blink-And-You’ll-Miss-It moment in the Lego Batman Movie, the Excalibur Batman sadly does not add anything beyond being Batman with a sword – although all of his voice work is handled by Batman himself, Will Arnett. He looks great, and hearing Will Arnett is always a treat as Excalibur Batman’s attitude is exactly the same as the Movie version. Excalibur Batman will unlock the Lego Batman World to explore for those who do not decide to pick up the Story Pack, but given the plethora of costumes we see in the movie, this really could have been any number of suits. The Excalibur doesn’t add much, but it looks fantastic and is a great addition for collectors.
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“The Lego games are known for their humor, and the Lego Batman Movie is packed full of wonderful jokes one after another from one liners to physical comedy, inside jokes, and stupid puns.”
Now, if you have seen the Lego Batman Movie at this point, the Story Pack is not going to surprise you, and if you haven’t seen the movie, it will be one big spoiler. Players will take control of Batman, Robin, Batgirl and the Batwing and play out the events of the movie. While some levels are more drawn out and surprisingly fun (breaking into the Fortress of Solitude) entire scenes from the movie are skipped over that had fantastic potential. The Lego games are known for their humor, and the Lego Batman Movie is packed full of wonderful jokes one after another from one liners to physical comedy, inside jokes, and stupid puns. Watching the movie makes you smile, and while that same spirit is there in the Story Pack, it doesn’t quite capture the same level of zing. Scenes are recreated almost brick for brick but the jokes and punchlines are different, and if you’ve seen the movie before playing the game, the dialogue leaves you waiting for a joke you heard but will never come.
Gameplay wise Robin comes out as the star. His animations are funny and his ability to go into small spaces copies his “sneaking skills” from the movie perfectly, not to mention his ability to turn into the movie version of Nightwing at any moment. The Story Pack is the same Lego experience you have come to expect from Warner Bros with clever use of the portal to solve puzzles, wonderfully weird humor, and some creative solutions to beating the bad guys. Wave 7.5 doesn’t break the mold, but it’s still a highly enjoyable experience and another feather in the cap of the Dimensions series.
***Wave 7.5 was provided by Warner Bros***