E3 2017:Hands On With Warner Brothers Games

It was the last day of the Electronics and Entertainment Expo and after a tear ran down my cheek, it was time to get back to work. My last appointment for the 2017 convention was with Warner Brothers Games. Three Lego games to check out so without further delay, someone find me the Lego instructions so I can build this recap!

First up was a gameplay session with Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. The Guardians of the Galaxy get the Lego treatment and you get to play as all five of them in the demo level. Here is where things get a little annoying. Each Guardian has a special attack and you need to use that Guardian at a certain time in the level. Be prepared to switch back and forth multiple times to activate a switch or attack an enemy. It’s doable but it get’s annoying real fast. However the game keeps the charm that Lego games have been known for and it raises the stakes by adding extra action like with the huge robot fight at the end of the demo. Here is where all five Guardians play a purpose in battle and you don’t mind switching back and forth. Star Lord has a small laser gun that can hit switches; Rocket Raccoon can fly space ships just to name a few examples of what the characters can do. You will need to master each one if you want to succeed. During the giant robot battle, there was so much action on screen that it was very difficult to tell what was going on and what I was supposed to do. That would be my only issue with the Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2.

Next up was Lego Dimensions for the addition of the Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans Go and Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice seems like an odd combination with the Powerpuff Girls and Teen Titans but moving on. For the demo we played in Jump City, the location home to the Teen Titans Go! Titans. Dimensions has been around for a while but Warner Brothers wanted to show what the PowerPuff Girls, Teen Titans, and Beetlejuice could do in game. I played with Beetlejuice for a few minutes before switching over the Buttercup of the Powerpuff Girls for some flying. Beetlejuice can light up certain areas and attack with a spin and a drum.( I think the item he had was a drum) Heading into Jump City, we ran into Cyborg and he asked us for a challenge/quest. We had to locate 4 copies of Sapphire (I know Starfire is a Teen Titan but I think the Developer said this character was named Sapphire) and locate them. Switch over to Buttercup for flying around Jump City, which was not as easy as I though it would be. It took some getting used to and after that I was taking the turns around buildings like a pro. The only thing you have to figure out on your own is how to land because it isn’t a button; it’s one of the control sticks, which is a dumb design. Different characters will have different missions in the stage to complete when you talk to certain characters, like Cyborg. It’s nice to see Cartoon Network properties getting added in but I would have loved Regular Show in Lego form, oh well.

Lastly, I was able to give the demo level from Lego Worlds a test run. You play the role of a Lego astronaut that needs to collect gold bricks to fix his space ship or he’ll never get off said island. You’ll have a lot of fun exploring the different Lego locations looking for different Lego pieces to solve puzzles with. For example, during the demo you need to find a throne for a pirate to get a gold brick and you need to build a tower for another pirate, also for a gold brick. The other gold brick has you placing farm animals so no building anything that time. However, once you discover something in the world, you have the option of placing it anywhere you like. The farm animal challenge allows you to discover pigs and then place them in the coup. You can copy one multiple times and finding it the first time is the way to do it. After you find all three gold bricks, you’ll be able to fix your space ship and fly off the island and thus beat the demo. It will be interesting to see if every Lego character makes the cut into the game as well as animal. Small things like that where you can put anything anywhere shows the developers put time into the game.

The clock struck 5 and the announcement came over the PA to basically get out of the Convention Center. Warner Brother Games has three Lego favorites on their hands but only if they don’t out the pieces in the wrong way and then they get stuck.