Lego Dimensions Review, Starter Pack (71171). Can Batman, Gandalf & Wyldstyle Save The Day?

Lego Dimensions Review 71171 Box

Lego Dimensions (71170, 71171, 71172, 71173, 71174) has been out for a while, and LegoGenre recently got its hands on the Starter Pack. The full price is about $100, but if you look around you can find the Starter Pack for sale around $65-$85. It’s usually for sale over on Amazon (here).

So lets do a Lego Dimensions review …

Name: Lego® Dimensions™ Playstation® 4 Starter Pack
Number: 71171
Pieces: 267
Minfigures: 3
Release: September 2015
Price: US: $99.99, CA $109.99, UK: £79.99, EU: €89.99

Official Lego Description:

With LEGO® Dimensions™, you’re gonna need a bigger imagination!

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. In a bid to save their friends, Batman™, Gandalf™ and Wyldstyle™ bravely jump into the vortex, but soon find themselves fighting to save all of LEGO humanity. Let creativity be your guide to a building and gaming adventure—journey through unexpected worlds and team up with unlikely allies on a quest to defeat the evil LordVortech. Play with a range of characters from different worlds together in one LEGO video game, and help them use each other’s vehicles and gadgets in a way never before possible. Attach the minifigures to their LEGO Toy Tags and place them on the LEGO Toy Pad to bring them to life in the LEGO DIMENSIONS™ game. Activate each character’s special in-game abilities to solve puzzles and battle enemies, add the Batmobile for a boost of speed, and then rebuild it for upgraded abilities! When you’re ready for more, expand your collection with Level, Team and Fun Packs from the LEGO DIMENSIONS product line.

  • Includes buildable Batman, Wyldstyle and Gandalf minifigures and 3-in-1 Batmobile, each with a detachable LEGO Toy Tag.
  • Rebuild the 3-in-1 Batmobile into The Batblaster and Sonic Batray for extra in-game abilities.
  • Also includes Batman’s Batarang, Wyldstyle´s relic scanner and Gandalf’s staff.
  • Activate Batman’s special Grapple, Boomerang and Stealth abilities; Wyldstyle’s Relic Detector, Acrobat and Master Build abilities; and
  • Gandalf’s Magic, Magical Shield and Illumination abilities to crack puzzles and overpower enemies.
  • Place up to 7 LEGO DIMENSIONS toys on the LEGO Toy Pad simultaneously and set out on exciting in-game adventures.
  • Collect your favorite LEGO DIMENSIONS characters and use them in-game together for a crazy mash-up multiverse.
  • Visit LEGO.com/dimensions for more information on this exciting LEGO building and video gaming experience.
  • PLAYSTATION® 4 game system with a minimum of 20GB available hard disk space and Internet connection required.
  • Collect LEGO DIMENSIONS Team, Level and Fun Packs to unlock additional content.
  • LEGO DIMENSIONS characters and vehicles are required to interact with the LEGO DIMENSIONS video game.
  • LEGO Toy Pad with Gateway measures over 6” (16cm) high, 7” (19cm) wide and 4” (11cm) deep.
  • Batmobile measures over 1” (4cm) high, 2” (6cm) long and 1” (3cm) wide (alternative 3-in-1 vehicle builds vary in size).

Lego Dimensions Review 71171 Box Back

The Lego Dimensions Starter Pack comes in a medium sized box. The whole thing feels very much like a normal Lego set. Once you find the correct version that you need (Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, or WiiU) you are ready to go. Note that the rating of Lego Dimensions is E (Everyone) 10+ by the ESRB. It contains Cartoon Violence, and Crude Humor. Typical Lego video game stuff.

One clue that this is not a normal TT Games Lego game is the abundance of licensing logos and information. The box is covered in tiny print.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Boxes

After you open the box, you find two smaller boxes inside. There is very little wasted space here.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Contents

First is the plain white box. Which contains the Toy Pad, a poster, a flyer, and the game. This part of the packaging is so undesigned that it feels very un-Lego. The reason is that the Starter Pack has so many different versions, and the actual difference between all of them is entirely contained in the white box. It saves on costs.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Poster

The included poster is double sided. One side in English, the other side in Spanish and French. It’s printed on a medium thickness paper and is extremely glossy. The poster showcases the first 3 waves of Dimensions releases. From September 2015 through March 2016. It also acts like a check list if you are trying to collect them all.

Lego Dimensions Review 71171 Opened

The other box looks like a mini version of the outer box. It is a little odd, as it appears that Lego could someday sell this separately from the other stuff. Maybe in the future there will be multiple variations of the Gateway released.

Inside is an instruction manual, 3 bags of Lego pieces, and an oddly shaped plate. This box is exactly like a normal Lego set (except the manual, see below).

Lego Dimensions 71171 Building

The first few pages of the manual show how to assemble the Minifigures. Wyldstyle, Gandalf, and Batman. You also get another one of those brick separators, which seems to be packed into almost every Lego set nowadays.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Continue

Everything is normal up to step 3. Once there, you are told to start playing the game. The rest of the set will be built as you progress through the story. A really cool idea that helps immerse yourself into the concept.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Batman Wyldstyle Gandalf

The three included Minifigures appear to be normal. No cheap quality plastic here. Batman, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf each come with an accessory that they will use throughout the game. These are good looking Minifigs.

Lego Dimensions Review 71171 Toy Tag

The key pieces here are the new Toy Tags. These transparent blue disks contain a little computer chip, and are unique to each Minifigure. They look great, and make for excellent Minifigure stands. Much nicer then the basic stand included with the Collectible Minifigures.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Toy Tag Back

The underside of the Toy tags are nifty. Ooo…

Lego Dimensions 71171 Manual

If you have no interest in playing the Lego Dimensions videogame, or if in the future you have no access to it (lost, obsolete) they did include instructions on how to assemble the Gateway in the manual. Nice.

It is worth skipping these though. The game will have you build it at a certain point in the story.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Gateway

The Gateway is built on top of the Toy Pad and looks good. It uses a good amount of gray, dark blue, and teal pieces. The only downside to it all is that there are five stickers that need to be applied. For a set like this, the stickers just feel cheap.

The build is easy enough, nothing too difficult. The nature of the design means that it is a little repetitive. But, it is small enough that it never gets boring.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Gateway 2

During the video game you have a few accessories. The main one is on its own Toy Tag, and can be interacted with during play. The whole Gateway and Toy Pad contains a fairly good amount of space for all the things you will need to do here.

Lego Dimensions 71171 Space

The Toy Pad and Gateway contains three active zones. Each section lights up in a variety of colors. It is with these zones that you bring Minifigures and accessories into the game.  One thing that Lego is doing different is that during gameplay you will need to move and arrange pieces to work around obstacles and boss fights.

Lego Dimensions Tile Screen

The video game itself is a refined version of the typical Lego games. The Starter Pack comes with everything you need to play.

It comes with 3 adventure levels. One for each Minifigure. There is Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings, Gotham from DC Comics, and the Lego Movie.

On top of these adventure levels is a whole lot of story levels. There are 15 levels to explore. Sending you across multiple dimensions in an effort to stop the evil Lord Vortech. As you play, there are levels that send you to dimensions like Springfield and Portal 2. These levels can be expanded upon once you purchase the required character. It is an interesting idea, and it is a sort of a long demo for what you could have in the future.

There is a lot going on in the game, and it will be interesting to see how it expands over the next year. Lego Dimensions can currently be upgraded with levels and characters from Jurassic World, Scooby-Doo!, Ninjago, Back to the Future, The Simpsons, Portal 2, and Doctor Who. There is also Chima, The Wizard of Oz, The Lego Movie, Midway Arcade, DC Comics, and Ghostbusters.

Final Thoughts

  • Design: 10/10 — The Lego Dimensions Starter Pack is a great concept that comes together surprisingly well. The Gateway and stuff look great.
  • Build: 8/10 — The Gateway gets a little repetitive to build, and has a small selection of colors. A good start, but it has a few ways to improve.
  • Minifigures: 8/10 — The three include Minifigs, Gandalf, Batman, and Wyldstyle cover all of the basic stuff. They are good quality.
  • Playablility: 10/10 — The Gateway is fun to build. The game is fun to play. And it keeps it interesting through the experience.
  • Price: 6/10 — 267 pieces, 3 Minifigures, a Toy Pad and a Gateway for $100. It feels expensive for that price but with a good discount the value goes way up.
  • Overall: 8/10 — I would say this is the most interesting and fun version of a Lego videogame. It contains most of their recent licenses, and covers a lot of ground. Plus you get a lot of pieces and a few Minifigs!

The Lego Dimensions Starter Pack is a great thing. If you have access to a video game console it is a must purchase for any Lego fan. The Gateway is fun to build, there are a good selection of Minifigures, and an extensive videogame included. The possibilities are endless. There are a lot of different dimensions to play through. Something for everyone. The only thing missing is any of the Lego themes based on Disney licensed stuff. No Star Wars, no Marvel, no Pixar, no Princesses.

The biggest problem about the system is that it costs $500 +/- to collect it all. And every month that goes by more is added. It is worth the $100 in order to experience the Starter Pack, and if it gets into your soul there is a few hundred dollars of additional content. Lego Dimensions is not cheap.

If you can find the Starter Pack for about $60-80 (here), then the Overall Score goes up to 9/10.

***

Lego Dimensions on Amazon: Here!

Official Lego link: http://shop.lego.com/en-US/LEGO-DIMENSIONS-PLAYSTATION-4-Starter-Pack-71171

More Lego Dimensions Review stuff here: http://everydaybricks.com/tag/lego-dimensions/

First Image Of Lego Angry Birds Revealed: Red

Lego Angry Birds Red

The first image from the upcoming Lego Angry Birds theme has been revealed. Although not a photograph of an upcoming release, it still give a very clear impression on the direction that this theme is going. It looks like we can look forward to a whole bunch of new molds and pieces. And, it is good to see Lego not cram the Angry Birds into their Minifigure design. Then if you look at the whole wallpaper image, you can see silhouette of the Pigs. Believe it or not this red bird is named Red, and he looks like his wings can hold standard Lego accessories and also move up and down. This theme is still over 6 months away, so keep on the look out for more early reveals.

Check out the original Lego Angry Birds announcement here: http://everydaybricks.com/lego-angry-birds-and-pigs-on-the-way/

Lego Angry Birds Red Wallpaper

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Lego Angry Birds (and Pigs?) On The Way

Lego Angry Birds Announcement

Angry Birds and Lego are teaming up in what might be the biggest surprise of the year. It is not very often that an announcement like this gets made. The first planned releases will hit shelves in Spring 2016, almost a year away. There are not even any specific details or photos yet. It seems like the Lego Angry Birds theme is about 2 years too late. But, with a feature film coming in 2016, a new wave of interest in these birds might be sparked. Check out the announcement below:

“LAS VEGAS, Nevada– 8th June 2015– Rovio, makers of Angry Birds, the most downloaded mobile game ever, today announced a partnership with The LEGO Group to develop a line of construction toys. LEGO® Angry Birds will be available in spring 2016 to coincide with the release of The Angry Birds Movie, a full-length feature film based on the popular gaming franchise.

“The LEGO brand has an unparalleled ability to connect with people through products that spark creativity and imagination. We’re really excited to build experiences together with this amazing best-in-class partner,” said Pekka Rantala, Chief Executive Officer of Rovio.

“We are excited to bring Angry Birds to life in LEGO form, given the popularity of the game and its characters with fans of all ages, which will only be amplified by the forthcoming film,” said Jill Wilfert, Vice President, licensing & entertainment at The LEGO Group. “We seek partnership with globally relevant properties that offer a unique and rewarding play experience to our fans, and our designers are having fun developing building sets that leverage the engaging play and deconstruction found in the Angry Birds game.”

Further details about the collection, available in spring of 2016, are not yet available.” — http://www.rovio.com/en/news/press-releases/670/lego®-angry-birds-will-take-flight

Kweh? A Lego Final Fantasy Chocobo

lemanrush's Lego Final Fantasy Chocobo

Looking for the perfect mount or summon for your Lego themed Final Fantasy party? Check out this Lego Chocobo created by lemanrush. Instead of going for some of the more cute versions of this iconic bird, this one is looking a lot like those found in Final Fantasy Tactics (here) or Final Fantasy XIV. This bird has perfectly integrated some of those yellow Lego flags into its design. Get ready for an adventure, just add your own Ramza.

Check out this Lego Final Fantasy Chocobo, created by lemanrush here: http://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/30ux0m/my_own_lego_chocobo/

Lego Minecraft, The Cave (21113) Parts & Set Review

newelementary's Lego Minecraft 21113 TheCave Review

The new Lego Minecraft sets are almost here, and a bunch of early reviews are showing up. The sets look fun and are somewhat accurate to the video game. But, do they bring anything new to the crafting table? Thanks to New Elementary we know the answer is yes! New Elementary specializes in writing about new and exciting Lego pieces or elements. Their new review of Lego Minecraft (2113) The Cave goes into everything new about the set. They theorize that: “If these Minecraft sets ever go on offer they will disappear before you can say scalper.

newelementary's Lego Minecraft 21113 TheCave, Minifigures

The most obvious of the new pieces all revolve around the Minifigures. In The Cave, you get new square Minecraft themed heads for Steve, the Creeper, and the Spider. For some people the new design is extremely weird, but it is pointed out that the standard round Minifigure head is weird too (when you think about it). Most people will get used to it over time.

newelementary's Lego Minecraft 21113 TheCave, Black Pneumatic TBar 6102782

The most exciting thing about The Cave, according to New Elementary, is a single new Lego piece. A Black Pneumatic T-Bar (6102782, 4697). For many years now this piece has only been available in gray. The new color allows the piece to be used in many more builds, and will blend in much better in most situations. For some people the price of this set will be worth it just for these 3 T-Bars.

newelementary's Lego Minecraft 21113 TheCave, Parts

Go check out the full Lego Minecraft, The Cave (21113) Parts & Set Review over on New Elementary: http://www.newelementary.com/2014/10/review-lego-21113-minecraft-cave.html#more

Lego Minecraft 2015 Unboxing, Review, and Building Videos

Evantubehd's Lego Minecraft 2015 Crafting Box Review

Lego seems to be doing something a little different this time around. With their new Lego Minecraft 2015 (Minifigure Scale) theme they have been releasing sets early to the fan community for reviews. That is completely normal. What is different is that instead of the usual sites getting the exclusive reviews (which normally focus on the AFOL scene), Lego has sent sets out to sites that target to a younger crowd, and famous Minecraft fans. It seems that Lego understands there are two completely different markets for Lego Minecraft. What is also cool, is that these lucky people are creating really slick video reviews. Here we have EvanTubeHD reviewing most of the upcoming Lego Minecraft 2015 sets. It seems that The Ender Dragon (21117) and The Cave (21113) are still pending review. These sets look a lot bigger when they are finished then expected. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more Minecraft stuff from Lego in the future…

Check out these fun video reviews:

Lego Minecraft (21114) The Farm: http://youtu.be/SUkM-bggqeo

Lego Minecraft (21115) The First Night: http://youtu.be/wUJcXAxfFmQ

Lego Minecraft (21116) Crafting Box: http://youtu.be/5g86Y16BDhQ

Lego Minecraft (21118) The Mine: http://youtu.be/-203WBDtyK8

There is a lot more Lego Minecraft stuff out there, some of which you can find here: http://everydaybricks.com/tag/minecraft/

A Lego Clue (Cluedo) Boardgame… I Didn’t Do It!

Ian Spacek's Lego Clue (Cluedo) Boardgame

Clue (or Cluedo for most of the world) is one of the classic board games. With the resurgence in gaming in general in the last decade, most of the older games have been replaced with games that are just more fun to play. Monopoly is a great way to start a fight, or to fall asleep. Candy Land is super simple. Shoots and Ladders takes no skill to play. Risk takes all day. All of these games are having a hard time keeping up with the modern era. Clue doesn’t quite have that problem. It is still fun to play, doesn’t take 6 hours to finish, and doesn’t rely on one player having all the power. But, Clues biggest problem is that people forget it’s around.

Lego builder Ian Spacek pays Clue (Cluedo) a wonderfull tribute with his Lego version. All of the main characters are here, Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs. Peacock, and others. They all have access to a wide verity of weapons hidden throughout some of the popular rooms in the mansion. There is even a wonderful score card accompanying the board game. The logo on the score card is one of the best details here.

Ian Spacek's Lego Clue (Cluedo) Boardgame Score

Now I am off to watch one of the best movies ever.

“In your hands, you each have a lethal weapon. If you denounce me to the police, you will also be exposed and humiliated. I’ll see to that in court. But, if one of you kills Wadsworth now, no one but the seven of us will ever know. He has the key to the front door, which he said would only be opened over his dead body. I suggest we take him up on that offer. The only way to avoid finding yourselves on the front pages is for one of you to kill Wadsworth. NOW.”

Ian Spacek's Lego Clue (Cluedo) Boardgame People

Go check out Ian Spacek’s Lego Clue (Cluedo) Boardgame over on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/89235500@N02/15646261445/

Lego Team Fortress 2 Upward. Blue vs. Red fighting for Lego hats.

CaptainInfinity's Lego Team Fortress 2 Upward

Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play first person shooter. The whole economy for the video game is sustained by an elaborate real world market for hats. Everything from iPod earphones to Sam & Max caps. The game has a certain timeless charm to it, and that is because it has some great art design. The cartoonish look translates into Lego pretty well. CaptainInfinity has created this MOC diorama titled Upward. Based on one of the most famous and popular levels in Team Fortress 2.

CaptainInfinity's Lego Team Fortress 2 Upward Blue Team

Upward depicts the epic struggle between team Blue and team Red. It appears that team Red is currently in the lead, as 1 of the Blue team members has met their untimely end. Thats not even counting the Spy sneaking up on the Sniper. There are a few details in this MOC that really stand out. The “Red” billboard is a good example of some advanced building techniques. Especially that “R.“ The other charming detail is the skeletal remains buried underneath the mine.

CaptainInfinity's Lego Team Fortress 2 Upward Red Team

Check out CaptainInfinity’s Lego Team Fortress 2 Upward over on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/captaininfinity/12594236015/

“I want to be the very best, Like no one ever was…” Pokemon Lego Ash and Misty

lisqr's Pokemon Lego Misty

Pokémon is still going strong today with the recent release of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y on the Nintendo 3DS. Even the original Gameboy games are being sought after and collected today by fans. These original games, titled Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, lead to a television show spinoff. The original animated series made its debut in 1998 with a prime after school timeslot. The show took many liberties compared to the Gameboy games. With a whole cast of reappearing characters that were not present in the original games. The two most memorable are Ash, and his friends Misty and Brock. Two of these have been carefully recreated in Lego by lisqr.

Lego Misty is a great SNOT style figure. With her super orange hair and trademarked blue shorts and yellow tanktop her design is spot on. The anime style hair and eyes are especially good. Lego Ash on the other hand is wearing his (oversized) red and white hat. His design allows him to have more articulation then the Misty figure. I can just imagine him hassling a Lego Pikachu.

lisqr's Pokemon Lego Ash

To get the best impression of these MOCs make sure to play the Pokémon theme song. “I want to be the very best, Like no one ever was…”

You can find more Pokemon Lego stuff here: http://everydaybricks.com/tag/pokeman/

Lego Ash and Misty, by lisqr, are over on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43699326@N00/12316679374/

The Last of Us Lego Video Game by Brian Anderson and Dustin Bozovich

The Last Of Us Lego Video Game

Lego and The Last of Us are not normally associated with each other. One is a family friendly and timeless creative toy, and the other is a critically acclaimed zombie video game. But, here we are with a fully realized video combining the two. Brian Anderson and Dustin Bozovich put together this video showcasing The Last of Us as it would be if it was a Lego video game. The three minute video is extremely well made and pretty funny too. The fake achievement earned is hilarious, and I can honestly say that I didn’t expect that surprise ending.

“It’s the Last of Us… but, you know, for kids!”

The Last of Us Lego Video Game: http://youtu.be/Ab8ds7NmigE