Wave four is upon us for Lego Dimensions and with it comes the Midway Retro Level Pack, along with the Aquaman, Superman and Ghostbusters Stay Puft Fun Packs. Obviously the star of the wave is the 1980’s inspired Midway Retro Level Pack, with it you get the Gamer Kid mini-figure, an Arcade Machine and the car from the game Spy Hunter. The level pack brings us more than 20 classic games from the Midway Arcade library, which includes the likes of Rampage, Gauntlet, Paperboy, Defender and much more. Much like almost any retro game, when played in this day and age, they often end up being not quite as fun as you remember and while this level pack has the right intentions, it’s certainly a mixed bag of tricks.
Unlike previous Level Packs, the Midway Retro Level Pack feels more of a gaming hub, rather than actual levels. The focal point of the game is a dingy, dusty arcade filled with your favourite Midway titles. The concept of the level is to play the classic games to unlock additional areas of the arcade, which feature new retro games to play and in some cases, sequels that you may have long forgotten. There are some secret additional levels however, without spoiling too much for you, a favourite of mine was one inspired by the game Paperboy. Which by the way, Paperboy was just as difficult and fun as I remember it to be. Rampage is also another game that surprising holds up well in this day and age, me and my young son enjoyed battling it out against one another in its rampart two-player mode.
However, while many of the other games were favourites of mine from back in the day, such as Gauntlet and Joust, they haven’t aged quite as well in terms of gameplay in comparison to Rampage and Paperboy. Games such as Super Sprint Circuit had me trying not to go full on ‘gamer rage mode’ in-front of my son. But while this game certainly tested my patience, I had to at least earn a bronze award for me to progress into the next area of the arcade. Although, much like everything else in life, that’s just my opinion and my pending gamer rage, will be another players gaming bliss. Just like every game in this retro collection (which is essentially what it is), a little patience is required with most games, especially with the likes of Defender and Spy Hunter, but once you get used to their mechanics, there is a lot of fun to be had.
As I’ve previously mentioned, there are more than 20 classic Midway games in this Level Pack, some of which took me by surprise, so I won’t list them all so that you can hopefully find the same experience of discovery. Any classic games unlocked in the main level, can then be playable via an arcade hub in its Adventure World, which has some specially themed areas based upon the featured classic Midway games like Marble Madness, Gauntlet maze and more, which are certainly worth checking out.
I won’t use any of the games mechanics as a negative, because each and every game is in their pure original retro form. But what I will say is that due to its retro nature, while the contents in the Level Pack might appeal to the Lego collector within, the gameplay mechanics might put off some gamers from the younger generation, as I found out with my son. I’d say that this Level Pack is aimed at those that either lived through the 80’s gaming era or if you have a fondness for retro gaming.
Also, unlike previous waves, there are no Team Packs here, but instead we are treated to three Fun Packs, which are not to be sniffed at. In time for the Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice movie and following that first trailer for the rebooted Ghostbusters, the three Fun Packs are very well timed indeed. The Stay Puft Fun Pack of course comes with the iconic Marshmallow Man from the original Ghostbusters movie and much like The Hulk/Bruce Banner in the Lego Marvel games, the Stay Puft Marshmallow man can transform from a miniature to a giant with a press of a button with super strength abilities to boot. Mr Stay Puft of course doesn’t come alone in this pack, as he is accompanied with a rideable Terror Dog which can also transform into a Terror Dog Destroyer and Soaring Terror Dog, each with their own upgradable powers and abilities.
The often ridiculed and overlooked Aquaman comes with three unique abilities to access various puzzle solving sections of the Lego Dimensions campaign with the Aquaman Fun Pack. Aquaman can command the creatures of the sea and of course is very handy when it comes to deep sea diving. He is accompanied by his trusty Aqua Watercraft, this nippy vehicle can be transformed into a Seven Seas Speeder and the Trident of Fire.
Last but not least we have DC Superman Fun Pack. Superman comes with all the super powers you might expect from the Man of Steel, such as the ability to fly, super strength, beam lasers from his eyes, x-ray vision and much more, in a nutshell Mr Clark Kent in disguise can do it all. The Superman Fun Pack also comes with Superman’s Hover Pod, which can transform into a Krypton Striker and the Super Stealth Pod and just like all vehicles in the game, its various powers and abilities can be upgraded.
All in all, I was far more impressed with Wave 3 for Lego Dimensions, that that was mainly due to my love for the original Ghostbusters with its excellent Level Pack. But while the Funk Packs in Wave 4 are among the strongest of these particular sets so far, the Midway Retro Level Pack may come down to an individuals acquired taste.
When playing almost any retro game, we often initially see them through tinted nostalgia glasses and it’s not until we play the games, they don’t seem quite as fun as you remember. That’s not to say that this Level Pack isn’t fun, because I found games such as Rampage and Paperboy still a blast to play. Most of the games will require patience for you to adjust, even for the veteran gamer. With that, the Midway Retro Gamer Level Pack is an acquired taste and should be approached with an open mind, no matter how much you may have loved certain games from back in the day.