Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on 14 November 2017, and by Feral Interactive for macOS on 2 August 2018. It is the sequel to 2013's "Lego Marvel Super Heroes" and the third installment of the "Lego Marvel" franchise. With the core gameplay following the same style of past "Lego" titles, the game features the ability to manipulate time and a four-player competitive Super  Hero battle mode. "Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2"s storyline centers around superheroes from different eras and realities of the Marvel Universe as they fight against the time-travelling villain Kang the Conqueror in a battle across space and time. Gameplay. "Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2" is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. The game features a similar gameplay to its predecessors and other Lego video games, alternating between various action-adventure sequences and puzzle-solving scenarios. The game also introduces a new four-player competitive Super Hero battle mode, allowing players to fight each other cooperatively  in battle arenas. Characters. Much like the two previous Lego Marvel games, the players are able to take control of a roster of iconic characters from the Marvel Universe, each with their own unique abilities. For example, Star-Lord is capable of flight, Black Panther can activate claw switches, and Spider-Man can swing on his webs, crawl on walls and use his spider-sense to detect hidden objects. The game also features characters from different time periods and realities over the Marvel Universe, which includes Spider-Gwen, a cowboy version of Captain America, a Hulk, and many others. In  addition, the game also features variations of sundry characters, like Iron Duck (who is merely Howard the Duck wearing the Iron Man's armor) and Carnom (a fusion of the Venom symbiote and the Carnage symbiote that is exclusive to the game). While some characters are just based on the comic books, others have their visuals taken from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, such as the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Ant-Man. Using the ability to manipulate time, the players can change the look and abilities of certain characters. For instance, they can take Baby Groot (from the  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) and move time forward for him to become his adult version, and Spider-Man can go both ways with his Noir and 2099 counterparts. The game was also released during the infamous "Fox embargo", an unofficial block on characters that Marvel Studios did not own the cinematic rights to. These characters included: the Fantastic Four (alongside Silver Surfer and Galactus), the X-Men (and by extension, all mutants, including Deadpool), Namor the Sub-Mariner, and others. Despite this, many of these characters appeared in the first game. Setting. The ability to manipulate time is  allowed to players directly from the new open world of Chronopolis, which is a myriad of 17 different Marvel locations (consisting of a variation of Ancient Egypt, an apocalyptic Asgard, Attilan, Hala, the Hydra Empire, K'un-L'un, Knowhere, Lemuria, Man-Thing's Swamp, Manhattan, an , a Marvel Noir version of New York City called Manhattan Noir, Nueva York, a variation of the Old West, Sakaar, Wakanda, and Xandar) linked through time and space and surrounding Kang the Conqueror's Citadel. Downloadable content. On 6 October, ten DLC packs were announced for the game. Of these ten, there are six level  packs and four character packs based on Marvel Cinematic Universe films, superhero teams, and time variant heroes: Plot. The Guardians of the Galaxy help defend Xandar from an attack by Kang the Conqueror, who uses his time crystal to summon Eson the Searcher. After the Guardians defeat Eson, Kang's ship, the "Damocles", launches devices which cause a section of Xandar to disappear. Meanwhile, at Avengers Mansion, Nick Fury presents the Avengers with several missions: Captain America, She-Hulk, and Thor fight the Presence in Siberia; Iron Man and Captain Marvel defeat Attuma at his underwater base; and Spider-Man , Ms. Marvel, and White Tiger battle escaped Raft prisoners on the Brooklyn Bridge, including most of the Sinister Six. The Guardians arrive just before Kang, who uses his devices to steal Manhattan with the heroes inside it and make it part of his battle arena called Chronopolis, consisting of various locales that he has stolen from across time and space with his citadel at the center. Captain America leads a team through a portal to Medieval England, where they help Sir Percy reclaim his castle from Enchantress and the Black Knight. Another team led by She-Hulk follows Klaw through  a portal to Wakanda, where Black Panther joins them to fight Man-Ape in the vibranium mines. The heroes converge in a version of Manhattan ruled by Hydra, where they battle Klaw and vibranium robot soldiers created by Arnim Zola, and defeat Baron Zemo in a dogfight. Thor, Captain Marvel, and She-Hulk then travel to a swamp where they vanquish Man-Thing. Kang reveals that Man-Thing was guarding the Nexus of All Realities, which kept the various realms of Chronopolis separated. Kang destroys the Nexus and challenges the heroes to rise up and face him. Regrouping at Avengers  Mansion, the heroes detect a faint signal from outside Chronopolis. Searching for a device to boost its strength, the Guardians travel to the Old West where they battle MODOK and the Circus of Crime. Retrieving the device, they learn that the signal is being sent from Knowhere by Cosmo the Spacedog. The heroes plan to retrieve the fragments of the Nexus in order to bring Knowhere into Chronopolis and use its energies to bring down the barrier surrounding Kang's citadel. In preparation, Doctor Strange leads a team to the Sanctum Sanctorum where they fight Baron Mordo and retrieve the  Book of the Vishanti, while Thor leads a party to a apocalyptic version of Asgard to enlist the aid of Heimdall, facing Surtur in the process. The search for the five Nexus fragments again splits the heroes into teams. Spider-Man's group visits the "Marvel Noir" version of Manhattan, where they help Iron Fist, Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Spider-Man Noir defeat the Kingpin. Iron Fist accompanies them to K'un-L'un, where they fight Steel Serpent to free Shou-Lao and retrieve a Nexus fragment. Proceeding to the Alchemax building in "Marvel 2099"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Nueva York, Spider-Gwen  and Spider-Man 2099 help the group defeat the Green Goblin 2099 and "Carnom" (a fusion of Venom and Carnage) to obtain another fragment. Meanwhile, the Guardians defeat Ronan the Accuser, who has a Nexus fragment, in the Kree home world of Hala, but are brainwashed by the Supreme Intelligence. After stopping a coup by Maximus the Mad in Attilan, the Inhuman Royal Family rescue the Guardians and agree to join them in defeating Kang. At the same time, Captain America's group travels to the underwater city of Lemuria, but falls into a trap set by Attuma and are  forced to battle the Red King and several versions of the Hulk in Sakaar. Joined by the Hulk and Stingray, they return to Lemuria, defeat Attuma, and retrieve a Nexus fragment. Moving on to Ancient Egypt, they enter a Sphinx and join Horus of the Heliopolitans in facing Loki and N'Kantu, the Living Mummy to obtain another fragment. As Kang observes the heroes' exploits and plots to destroy them, his wife Ravonna becomes increasingly disturbed by his actions. With the fragments gathered, the heroes assemble a device to bring Knowhere through a portal opened by Doctor Strange. Their first attempt  nearly brings Ego the Living Planet through instead because of Kang's interference. Once Knowhere is in Chronopolis, they use an electromagnetic pulse to knock out the energy shield protecting Kang's citadel. As the heroes begin their assault, Kang summons the "Damocles". Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Star-Lord disable the ship, battling Korvac and escaping before it crashes. Captain America, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, and Star-Lord enter the citadel and face Kang, who grows to gigantic size, uses the time crystal to reverse the "Damocles"<nowiki>'</nowiki> destruction, and wields it as a sword. Captain America creates a  giant solid hologram of himself and uses it to defeat Kang. Ravonna betrays Kang and uses the time crystal to turn him into a baby. The heroes celebrate their victory, and Ravonna promises to return the components of Chronopolis to their original places in time and space once the remaining villains are dealt with. In a post-credits scene, with everything restored to normal, Iron Man, Captain America, and Captain Marvel are visited by Ravonna (now known as "Terminatrix"), an elderly Kang, the Supreme Intelligence, Cosmo, and Man-Thing, who ask for their help in fixing a "chronal fracture". Audio . Due to the game being affected by the 2016–17 video game voice actor strike at the time, the cast from the previous game as well from "Lego Marvel's Avengers" did not return to reprise their roles as they were affiliated with the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). While in favor of a new voice cast, Greg Miller voices Howard the Duck, Peter Serafinowicz voices the game's antagonist Kang the Conqueror, Sacha Dhawan reprised his role as Steel Serpent from the "Iron Fist" television series and Marvel Comics writer Stan Lee returned to  voice himself. Reception. The game was well received by critics, who praised the game's linguistic content as well as the possibility to play with various Marvel characters, but a failure to the X-Men and Fantastic Four fans due to the absence of them. References. Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 review External links.