WB Games made LEGO Dimensions official today following first word of the upcoming Toys to Life gaming genre entrant that spilled online a couple weeks ago. Make no mistake: WB Games and developer TT Games is aiming directly at Disney Infinity and Skylanders with this expansive and expensive new franchise.
LEGO Dimensions was formally unveiled via a Skylanders-esque live-action trailer starring Community actor and comedian Joel McHale. He stumbles onto the game components after a package is delivered to his home, then proceeds to “build” the toy elements so that they can “come to life” inside the game.
Like Disney Infinity before it, LEGO Dimensions will leverage existing and popular brands both created by The LEGO Group and licensed from third parties. Some of the launch brands include DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings, LEGO Ninjago, Back to the Future, The Wizard of Oz, and The LEGO Movie. Additional brands will be announced in the coming months prior to the game’s launch.
LEGO Dimensions will be sold as a Starter Pack that includes the game for either PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 or Wii U; the LEGO Toy Pad; bricks to build the LEGO Gateway (think Stargate); 3 LEGO minifigures (Batman, Gandalf, and Wyldstyle); and the LEGO Batmobile vehicle.
The Starter Pack will be sold for $99.99 or roughly $25 more than the Disney Infinity and Skylanders Starter Packs have sold for.
As with those other two Toys to Life giants, LEGO Dimensions will rely on parents and gamers’ willingness to expand the game with additional packs of LEGO toys that can be brought to life in the game. These include Level Packs priced at $29.99 (includes a new level, figure, and vehicle or gadget), Team Packs at $24.99 (pair of minifigures and a vehicle or gadget), and Fun Packs at $14.99 (one minifigure and vehicle or gadget).
Here are at least some of the Level Packs, Fun Packs and Team Packs that will be available at launch or by year’s end. Additional sets are promised to be announced before the LEGO Dimensions release date on September 27, 2015.
Level Pack
- Marty McFly & Time Machine & Skateboard (Back to the Future)
Team Pack
- Kai & Cole + Boulder Blaster & Bike (LEGO Ninjago)
Fun Pack
- Wonder Woman & Invisible Jet (DC Comics)
- Cyborg & Cyber Guard (DC Comics)
- Gollum & Spider (The Lord of the Rings)
- Gimli & Axe Chariot (The Lord of the Rings)
- Legolas & Archer Launcher (The Lord of the Rings)
- Emmet & Construction Vehicle (The LEGO Movie)
- Bad Cop & Police Car (The LEGO Movie)
- Benny & Spaceship! (The LEGO Movie)
- Unikitty & Cloud Cuckoo Car (The LEGO Movie)
- Wicked Witch & Winged Monkey (The Wizard of Oz)
- Jay & Storm Fighter (LEGO Ninjago)
- Nya & Samurai Mech (LEGO Ninjago)
- Zane & Ninja Copter (LEGO Ninjago)
In a twist, up to seven minifigures and a vehicle and gadget can be placed on the LEGO Toy Pad and be active in the game at once. The assumption is that the player will be able to switch between any of these characters with a simple button push, a staple of TT Games LEGO games.
In an even bigger twist, the initial LEGO Toy Pad and Gateway will not be upgraded year after year. You buy this Starter Pack once and use it for many years to come, only adding new expansions sets along the way. There will be no LEGO Dimensions 2.
Here’s the official LEGO Dimensions game synopsis and some additional images.
There is an ancient planet at the center of the LEGO Multiverse inhabited by an evil mastermind, Lord Vortech. It is said that he who controls the Foundational Elements that this planet is built upon, controls all of the Multiverse. Lord Vortech has vowed to be that ruler, summoning characters from a variety of LEGO worlds to help him find these building bricks of LEGO civilization. Some have agreed. Others have rebelled. And only the combined powers of the greatest LEGO heroes can stop him. When a mysterious and powerful vortex suddenly appears in various LEGO worlds, different characters from DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings and The LEGO Movie are swept away. To save their friends, Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle bravely jump into the vortex. As they journey to locations beyond their wildest imaginations in search of their friends, they soon realize that Lord Vortech is summoning villains from across different LEGO worlds to help him gain control. As his power grows, worlds mix, unexpected characters meet and all boundaries are broken. Our heroes must travel through space and time to rescue their friends before the vortexes destroy all of LEGO humanity.
