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Lego Dimensions Might Revolutionize How We Think of Games

Lego Dimensions Might Revolutionize How We Think of Games

Lego Dimensions Might Revolutionize How We Think of Games

Lego Dimensions, the most recent installment of the Lego video game franchise, has just been announced, and it’s something far different from what we are used to. Like Skylanders , Disney Infinity , and Nintendo’s Amiibo , Lego Dimensions is a game in the “toys to life” genre. For anyone who has been living under a giant rock shaped like a Skylanders portal, the toys to life genre specializes in utilizing NFC (or other short range communications) chips in action figures in order to bring them to life in the video game world.

Of course, the term action figure here is relative. Most of the Skylanders, Disney Infinity figures, and Amiibos, don’t have a whole lot of action to them at all. They are usually just 3D printed plastic figures attached to a base, where the actual NFC chip is stored. This makes the game a lot more appealing to collectors than it does children who actually play with action figures. While my young nieces and nephews may love Skylanders, they never play with their figures independently of the game itself. Thus, they aren’t so much bringing toys to life as much as they are using really cool shaped memory cards to play a video game.

But Lego Dimensions is going to be different. Instead of simply giving you still figures you play with, this new toys to life game is going to let you play with, wait for it, Lego! In fact, it will be absolutely required in order to play the game. You’ll have to build the portal which will allow you to bring your toys to life in game in the first place. That’s what playing with Lego is all about.

If you have played any of the recent Lego releases from Warner Bros. , you know the deal here. These delightful little action games have you wandering around Lego worlds which satirize the properties they are based on. Every so often you’ll have to collect in-game Lego bits and build up the world and progress onward. However, this was always accomplished by simply finding the bits and holding a button. The most creative the games ever let you get was sometimes letting you actually manipulate the pieces around in game, but that was rare. As a result, these “building” sections of Lego games were really just roadblocks; something else to press a button at until you are allowed to move forward.

But Lego Dimensions is going to change all that. You’ll have real Lego pieces to play with outside the game, which are then placed on the included Toy Pad and transported into the game. The official reveal trailer shows that the Batmobile included with the starter set can be built in several ways, and you’ll have a huge portal made of Lego that you’ll need to build before your figures can be sent into the game world.

Lego Dimensions Might Revolutionize How We Think of Games

The figures you have access to will also be made out of Lego, and can be mixed and matched just like any other Lego person. They are also articulated, which is a huge step above the still figures of other toys to life games.

The one thing that worries me, however, is the existence of large bases on these figures, just like any other toys to life game. If these bases are where the NFC chip is stored, then the figures might not be able to come off them, which means that their ability to be used as actual Lego pieces will be limited. This same base is shown at the bottom of the Batmobile. This makes me wonder if the changes you make to the Lego constructs you build will actually be shown in the game. If they don’t, then all you’ll really be doing is putting bases to a sensor, like always, which makes it no more revolutionary than Skylanders, and for that matter, makes it a whole lot harder to clean up with all the individual pieces lying around.

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