Well I suppose a game based on the Suicide Squad film is a little too fruity for a kids outing – certainly that title is a heavy no-no for the age bracket. But Warner Bros knows deep down that its DC villains are some of the finest in comic books so here we are.
While Villains doesn’t follow Suicide Squad’s story, it does lift the ‘bad guys redeem themselves a little on a mission for the greater good’ outline. Here, the Justice League’s other-dimensional doppelgangers – the Justice Syndicate – arrive keen to take over from the similarly-arranged incumbents.
Are they as good as they seem? Well, we all know that answer to that, now don’t we…
Villains’ schtick is that you play as your own created character which slots into the story, captured at the start and dragged along with the baddies thanks to a handy ability to absorb superpowers. He’s the butt of many jokes, as Harley Quinn and The Joker liberally paint the conversations with their mentally unhinged clown-based chatter.
And thereupon the usual Lego game arrangement takes over and away everyone goes once more. Despite the stale format, the story and voice work is solid enough to warrant the outing. The characters, along with a selection of the most idiotic minor villains (see the Lego Batman film for a fine rundown of the ridiculous roster – Condiment King and Polka Dot Man?!) are great company.
I had assumed that the previous title, Lego Incredibles, heralded a new, slightly more polished template for future Lego games, but Villains takes us back to the tried-and-tested Marvel/DC design. Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily, it was just nice to have had things freshened up and seems odd, then, to have stepped back into those well-worn trousers again.
Nevertheless it’d certainly take something powerful to put a hole in a garment this tightly sewn.
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