The LEGO Dimensions Doctor Who level pack plays out like a television episode, and like any television episode it starts with opening credits — what might be the best Doctor Who opening credits sequence ever.
Well, technically it begins with a prologue involving a large fleet of Dalek ships descending on the Earth and one of the Doctor’s greatest villains surrounded by plunger-armed robots acting like a bunch of frat boys, but then come those credits.
Thus begins another episode of Doctor Who, because that’s what the LEGO Dimensions Doctor Who level pack is. It might not have all that complicated a plot — the Doctor must travel back and forth through time to destroy a series of shield generators before confronting the aforementioned big bad guy in another place entirely. It might not have a Clara, but K-9 will do in a pinch.
Plus, unlike any other Doctor Who episode, this one comes with toys.
We’ve got the Doctor, of course. This is our first chance at a Peter Capaldi figure until the LEGO Ideas set is released on December 1. Obviously a pre-sunglasses version of the 12th.
There’s the TARDIS, which is in all caps for a reason. It’s a lovely little build, complete with bits inside that can be used to rebuild it into either a Laser-Pulse TARDIS or an Energy-Burst TARDIS.
And then we have K-9. He’s adorable, and the Doctor can ride him in all three of his forms, regular, Ruff Power and Laser Cutter.
But most of all we get one of the lengthiest, most satisfying LEGO Dimensions levels yet.
WE ARE NOW HEADING INTO SPOILER COUNTRY.
OK, everyone who doesn’t want things ruined turned away? Good.
First off, here are a few special moments from the hour-and-change episode. We’ve got some explosions, a little time travel, a mention of — among other things — good old Weng Chiang, and the Doctor riding K-9 about and firing lasers. It’s good stuff.
So the big bad guy is of course Davros, looking much haler and hardier than we last saw him in the show. He’s invaded Earth as a means to lure the Doctor into his trap, which ends just as well as it normally does. The Doctor and fleets of Daleks do not mix.
The final conclusion takes place on Skaro, again looking much different than we last saw it, but not without a slight detour that should confuse and thrill fans of the series.
Yes, it’s Trenzalore, the place where the TARDIS exploded and the Doctor…perhaps also exploded. I’m not clear on events. All I know is the game manages to pack both the Weeping Angels and The Silence into one place, and it’s wonderful.
Once the credits roll on the Doctor’s big LEGO adventure there’s still an entire free-roaming Doctor Who world to explore. The Doctor’s first task is to stitch together chunks of six different worlds — modern London, Victorian London, Skaro, Mars, Telos and Trenzalore.
It’s pretty much a Doctor Who playground. Not only does the Doctor meet several of his contemporary allies and enemies here — including Missy, voiced gleefully by Michelle Gomez — we also get a hefty dose of old school nostalgia.
It’s in the Adventure Level (as it’s called) that the Doctor gains the ability to regenerate into any of his previous forms, including John Hurt’s War Doctor.Pardon the temporal suicide.
There are sights to see, adventure to undergo, Cybermats to slay and series music to unlock from the latest theme (sans electric guitar) way on back to 1963.
Long story short, it’s the best.
The Doctor Who LEGO Dimensions level pack is available now for $50 wherever video games are sold. It requires the $170 LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack to play. The $25 Cyberman Fun Pack arrives in January.
Comments
11 responses to “The LEGO Dimensions Doctor Who Pack Is Fantastic”
So… an hour and a bit plus a tiny amount of lego… for $50?
It’s the weirdest thing. I know I’m getting ripped off when I buy these character packs and level packs, but I don’t feel like I’m getting ripped off when I’m playing them.
The first level pack I got was the Simpsons one, and I had a goofy smile on my face the entire time I was playing it. It was some of the most fun I’d had while gaming in years.
Yeah, even though it’s very pricey it’s still a lot of fun. Just finished the main story and am now in The Simpsons level (The Mysterious Voyage Of Homer) and I’m having a blast.
Also, @Zambayoshi Apparently the Doctor Who set has 83 pieces.
http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/71204_Doctor_Who_Level_Pack
While that’s not huge, I wouldn’t consider it “tiny” either. Still, it is a lot of money to pay, that’s why I never pay full retail for any of the sets, Target/Kmart usually have them cheaper.
I dunno, I’d consider it tiny when the pieces are mostly 1×1 and/or flat pieces. Also remember that a figure like the Doctor would probably count as at least 4 pieces (legs, torso, head and hair) – plus 1 for the sonic screwdriver.
The Tardis probably has about 40 pieces in it alone, taking into account the ridiculous base it has. When all said and done, you get 3 figs that are about 4cm high and about 2cm wide.
Bottom line, you get a few Lego figs worth about $10 if you bought it as a standard Lego non-licenced non-video game boxed set. Add on $5 for the licensing and you’ve got DLC of about 1.5 hours for $35.
The only reason that they charge that much is that they’ve done market research and that is how much the market will pay. I’ve done surveys for such things before.
Everything about the game looks really cool. It’s just such a shame that they’ve had to associate with this ridiculously priced packaging model. Turns me right off, as I know that I already waste enough money on games as it is.
This is the Skylanders pay model at work. How they price it is pretty much unrelated to the cost of the components. It’s what they can get away with in the ‘toy’ market.
I’m never going to buy this, but a fully blown Lego Dr Who game would be wonderfull!
I’ve got the feeling that Lego Dimensions is going to lead into a lot more standalone Lego titles, so they’ve probably already got it in the pipeline.
Personally I’d love to see a Lego Ghostbusters game, and with the new Ghostbusters movie coming out next year it just might happen. A Lego Simpsons game would be really cool too.
I disagree, this is a much more lucrative pricing model for publishers, one I’d love to, but would have trouble with buying into.
I see your point, but I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t keep on making both the Dimensions and “traditional” Lego type games.
More games, more money for them.
I dunno, you got Lego Batman, Marvel Superheroes, Indiana Jones, Star Wars etc.
I don’t see why they wouldn’t be trying for deals with Simpsons, Frozen, etc.