TT Games

Later this month, Lego Marvel's Avengers will let you play though brick-ified versions of almost all of the existing Marvel movies to this point (minus Thor, Iron Man and Iron Man 2). With six movies to cover, you'd think Lego Marvel's Avengers would be satisfied with content at the start, but that's just not the case. On day one, TT Games is already prepping two new downloadable content packs to add even more MCU action into the fold. Provided you're playing on a PlayStation console. There's a fair mix of Phase 1 and Phase 2 Marvel films included in the connecting story missions in Lego Avengers, but one curious exclusion was Ant-Man. As the final film of the second wave of Marvel movies, it made sense in a way that it wasn't part of the core game. Ant-Man wasn't actually a member of the Avengers like the rest of the solo movie stars, but as it turns out, Ant-Man will be included with Lego Marvel's Avengers after all, just as an add-on. And yes, that includes Ant-thony.

In a little over a month, Lego Marvel's Avengers will finally arrive, bringing the Marvel Cinematic Universe together with the comics in one gigantic package. The massive adventure will encompass a number of the MCU films, including The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Iron Man 3, and Thor: The Dark World. However, the game won't just be limited to those strict storylines, and will also feature a number of open world areas to explore. The latest trailer for Lego Marvel's Avengers shows off these numerous areas, which are all based on the movies, but will allow you to explore as any number of characters from the movies or comics. Plus, it will be the first time we ever get to see much of places like Barton's Farm, SHIELD headquarters, Sokovia, and South Africa beyond the movies themselves. Sure, we were there, but the quick glimpses and action sequences made it a bit of a challenge to really take in the areas as a whole.

The roster for Lego Marvel's Avengers is going to be one of the largest yet for TT Games' Lego series. With each passing entry, the developer tries its hardest to outdo itself, and it's not all that hard when you have as vast a catalog of heroes and villains as Marvel has built up over the years. TT Games has also always prided itself in being able to mix in a lot of the more popular characters, such as your Iron Mans and your Captain Americas, with some lesser-known deep cuts like Damage Control and Mastermind in the previous game, Lego Marvel Super Heroes. With this upcoming entry, that same attention to detail on both sides of the character coin is returning. A lot has happened in the Marvel Universes, both comic and cinematic, since TT last dabbled with the brand, and today's new character reveals show that there's not a single stone the developer won't unturn if it makes for a fun new addition to the roster.

Over the weekend, Warner Bros. confirmed that Batman remains a big part of its interactive future. In an interview with the PlayStation Blog, Ames Kirshen, vice president of product development for the Arkham and DC Comics games at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, stated, “Batman is one of the cornerstone IPs for Warner Bros. With the Arkham series, we were finally able to realize the full potential of the character.” It's not a very bold statement, though it is an obvious one. Since Lego Batman first arrived on the scene in 2008, the Dark Knight has had quite a run of success with his various video game incarnations. Combined with the Batman: Arkham series, the pointy-eared millionaire has easily recorded tens of millions of game sales over the past seven years. Given the recent success with Batman: Arkham Knight (horrible PC launch notwithstanding), it makes a lot of sense for Warner Bros. Interactive to keep the big guy around in some form or another, even if current fan-favorite developer Rocksteady Studios is claiming to be done with Batman.

While at first Lego Dimensions appeared to be yet another NFC figure game built to cash in on the success of Activision's Skylanders series, but in the months since it's been revealed to be a game built to cash in on Skylanders' success with some interesting improvements to the formula. With the concept of having to actually build all the figures and vehicles, Lego Dimensions offers enough difference from its competitors at the onset to make it appealing. Factor in the inclusion of just about every license under Lego's belt, and you've got a game that lets you team Scooby-Doo and Batman with Doctor Who, while they try to stop an invasion into Springfield. After months of lead-up, the arrival of the ultimate fan fiction mash-up game is almost here.

Poor Scooby-Doo and Shaggy; those guys can never catch a break when it comes to getting a decent meal. Maybe if they actually got paid for some of the cases Mystery, Inc. helped solve, the refrigerator in their home wouldn't be filled with cobwebs. I mean, honestly, these guys have helped bring the Black Knight, the Indian Witch Doctor, Redbeard's Ghost and the Ghost of Bigfoot to justice, to name a few. You'd think that would at least earn them enough scratch to stock the house with Scooby Snacks or Lunchables or something. Also, why are these guys always so hungry? Fortunately for the hungry heroes, a familiar friend drops some pizza and a mystery box off on Scooby's and Shaggy's doorstep. Unsure of what this glowing blue box means, the duo set to work uncovering the mystery therein. It's almost like these guys treat solving these kinds of quandaries like a job. Once completed, we see that this box was no ordinary box at all, but was actually a Lego Dimensions portal complete with minifigures of Scooby and Shaggy. Cue the theme music, boys.

We already knew Lego Marvel's Avengers would have the biggest roster of any Lego game developed by TT Games to date, but we still don't know the exact character list. During Gamescom this week, TT revealed a few of these new cast members with in-game models for the first time, giving us a better idea of who and what to expect. While your standard Avengers have all but been confirmed (at least as far as the movie roster is concerned), there's a whole lot of Marvel heroes and villains that have yet to have their shot at Lego fame and glory. During San Diego Comic-Con, TT actually teased a few of these characters, including Kamala "Ms. Marvel" Khan and the Jane Foster Thor, but this is the first time we've seen Squirrel Girl and the Young Avengers' Speed. Most importantly, Ms. Marvel's Lego-fied version actually looks like Kamala Khan. After the America Chavez incident, it's good to see TT Games is actually on point with its representation of the character, and fans won't have to cry out in hopes of having Ms. Khan recolored.

Upcoming collectible toy video game Lego Dimensions has already promised a wealth of crossover potential with the likes of Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle starring alongside each other in an adventure that spans (almost) all of Lego's properties. While we've been focused on characters from Back to the Future, Scooby-Doo and Portal joining the fray, we almost forgot about the idea that many of these characters exist in different forms within the Lego Universe already thanks to the Lego Movie. TT Games hasn't forgotten though. In the latest trailer for the developer's new flagship Lego title, we get to see a multitude of familiar faces from all ranges of Lego lines, but it's the chance meeting of DC's Batman and Wyldstyle's former flame, Batman, that gives us the clearest idea of what to expect from the upcoming action game. The lines between realities have been blurred beyond recognition, and now Batman and Batman will have to figure out which Batman is the Batman-est Batman to don the cape and cowl.

This year, TT Games continues its brief tradition of rotating comic book Lego game releases from Marvel and DC with Lego Marvel's Avengers. Based on the two Avengers films, Lego Avengers will allow you to play through both movies with the actual cast doing the voice overs. No new audio will be recorded of course; like Lego The Hobbit, this game will reuse the dialogue from the films in place of having actors like Robert Downey, Jr or Chris Hemsworth reprising their roles. TT Games held a small interview session before the panel at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, and we spoke with producer Matt Ellison about the upcoming action game. As the third Lego game TT will be releasing this year (Lego Jurassic World is available now, and Lego Dimensions arrives this fall), we discussed what makes Lego Marvel's Avengers different and what new elements would be incorporated, from characters to mechanics, to keep the Lego experience fresh.

Thanks to the success of Skylanders and Disney Infinity, and also a little ol' thing called amiibo, the NFC figure craze can officially move into the sustainable trend category. These collectible figure-based games are no longer just a hot trend, they are a legitimate force to be reckoned with at retail. Adding more fuel to the fire this fall will be Lego Dimensions, the first NFC game to actually require your to build your adventures before you can play them.