Warner Brothers Entertainment and Traveller's Tales, the publisher and studio for some great Lego games, are planning to release Lego Dimensions this fall for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, the Sony PS3, Sony PS4, and Wii U. The game allows the player to take Lego creations that they can build and put them within the digital Lego world.
Lego Dimensions uses a toys-to-life structure that already has a popular following with Skylanders and Disney Infinity. This type of video game has a toy collectible aspect, and the player has to plug in a special sensor pad that reads code at the bottom of the figurine. This will bring the toy to life in the game, allowing the player to use whatever special powers that it comes with.
According to Engadget, the Starter Pack for Lego Dimensions will launch on September 27th in the United States (with September 29th for the UK). It will be available on new-gen and old-gen platforms like the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, and Wii U for a price of $99. The starter pack includes the "Toy Pad" for transporting in mini figures and starter minifigs of Gandalf, Batman, and Wyldstyle.
Wired reports that Lego Dimensions will also be expandable with $29.99 Level Packs, $24.99 Team Packs, and then $14.99 Fun packs. These will have characters, levels, vehicles, and all kinds of gadget bonuses that will be scanned and then played. Since Lego is affiliated with many different franchises, you will see characters and vehicles from The Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz, Back to the Future, as well as DC Comics and the cast from The Lego Movie (as well as its spin-offs and sequels).
The good news is that WB promises that the game in the starter pack will that future toys for Lego Dimensions will be compatible, "for years to come". Other toys-to-life games often require a new version be purchased each year, as Disney Infinity released version 2.0 last Christmas. Something tells me version 3.0 will include characters from the Star Wars universe.
According to CNET, there is an extended advertisement for Lego Dimensions that features Joel McHale, star of the show Community. In the advertisement, McHale gets a delivery of a Lego structure that is essentially a portal to the Lego Universe. Out of the portal come mini-figures of Gandalf, WyldStyle, and Batman, who all had roles in last year's megahit The Lego Movie. They explain that they need his help to beat the opponents on the other side.
Games that have the toys-to-life feature usually have a whole "sandbox" of a world where the scanned creations can play about in, or fight with one another. The only difference is that Lego Dimensions will use its Lego creations, but it isn't going to be a world where users can create a Lego creation with their own set of bricks, and scan it in. However, this is probably something that Lego enthusiasts really want, so Lego should definitely work on that set.
