I am a fan of the Lego video games. They were the reason why I would get into Lego building sets. Lego Dimensions changes the rules, as it is part of the toys-to-life genre.
The story of the game is an evil villain named Lord Vortech has started to collect Foundation Elements found in various Lego worlds in a plot to control the Multiverse. However, after seeing their comrades kidnapped in the process, Batman (Lego DC version), Wyldstyle, and Gandalf team up for a great adventure, as Lord Vortech is recruiting villains from each world to help him in his conquest.
So, this is a toys-to-life game, so it requires a special peripheral known as the portal pad to play. The starter pack comes with the peripheral (a vortex that acts like a summoning pad) alongside three minifigures (Batman, Wyldesyle, and Gandalf, although later on, starters packs for the PlayStation 4 port added Supergirl as an exclusive figure) and one vehicle (the Batmobile). What makes this game unique to Disney Infinity is that no matter the world, any character can play (the only restriction is you need a character connected to said world to enter it outside of the main story levels). Not only does the game have a core story, but each character has a world hub connected that can be explored to find gold bricks, with each world housing a red brick. During the game's lifespan, packs would be released in the form of fun packs (which contain a character and a vehicle), team packs (containing two characters and a vehicle alongside a powerup), level packs (containing one character, a vehicle and an accessory, or two vehicles, while unlocking a stand-alone level, usually based on a movie), and story packs (which have one or two chatacters, a vehicle, a playset piece to put on the vortex, and unlocking six levels each, following the story of the movies each pack is themed on). The game offers a lot of franchises, from the common ones like DC Universe, Ninjago, and The Lego Movie, to additions new to being Lego-ized, such as Portal, Sonic The Hedgehog, E.T., and even a world based on the arcade classics of Midway Games (which are owned by WB Games, the publisher of the game). Having different minifigures helps out, as each level and hub world will have stuff that only certain characters will do. Also, the game has some unique puzzles and boss fights that will require use of the peripheral (like solving a color puzzle or switching characters to another slot so they can escape from an attack) and vehicles and accessories can be rebuilt to have them upgraded (with each one having up to two upgraded forms).
Sadly, the game's content only lasted two years before Traveler's Tales pulled the plug, even though a third year was planned (which would have allowed players to play as Lord Vortech himself, while adding more characters and franchises), due to poor sales of certain sets and the second year starting off with a story pack for Ghostbusters 2016, which became a box office bomb, as well as the toys-to-life genre being dead at this point (as Disney Infinity ended before Lego Dimensions). Nowadays, I can see the sets being pricey and hard to find (especially the story packs and some of the characters), but if you can find them and a copy of the game and power pad, Lego Dimensions is a good game that puts a new twist to the formula of the Lego games.
