Here are just a few of the cooler video games paired with peripherals or extras that make an excellent gift package for the PlayStation 4, Wii U and Xbox One gaming addict in the family.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Story Pack (Traveller’s Tales and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Rated E 10+, 261 pieces, $49.99) — Easily, the most inventive packages to meld video gaming with hands-on creation continued this year with the release of numerous content packs tied to the Lego Dimensions virtual universe.
One of the latest and greatest packages offers a Lego-ized game based on the Harry Potter prequel movie starring Eddie Redmayne as British wizard Newt Scamander. This pack take players through six levels of action covering the entire film’s plot, of course, inspired from J.K. Rowling’s magical universe.
Before diving into the 1920s, Manhattan-inspired world, players must first own and install the Lego Dimensions Starter Pack (sold separately, averaging $39.99) that primarily includes the core game, buildable figures of Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle (from the “Lego Movie”) and a glowing game pad to plug into an entertainment console.
Next, owners construct a 2-inch-tall version of Mr. Scamander, complete with an impressive plastic wig and place the figure on the top position on the pad so he will get sucked into the Lego Dimensions’ universe.
Once in the video game, he can enter the “Fantastic Beasts” area, and gamers can start playing the movie.
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As the wizard progresses, owners will gladly be interrupted and asked to build the entrance of the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) with levitating chairs that attach to the game pad. That’s about a 30-minute process while assembling over 200 pieces.
And they must even build a Niffler, a treasure-hunting creature that looks like a duck-billed platypus, that also goes on the game pad to get sucked into the game.
The Niffler can be rebuilt into a Sinister Scorpion and Vicious Vulture and available for Newt to commandeer during missions.
By the way, the onscreen action is classic Lego video gaming. The players destroy and build items using, in this case, a wand and a variety of wizarding spells such as Diffindo, Reparo and Lumos; amass an endless supply of studs to unlock new stuff; solve puzzles; and fight off enemies.
The game pad also plays a bigger role in mission puzzles as a player must move the character around parts of the pad’s three lit areas, in the right order, to conquer challenges such as picking a lock (helping a pint-sized Bowtrunkle creature) or changing Mr. Scamander’s size to squeeze into areas.
A welcomed co-op option allows another friend to jump into or out of the game at any time, and players can have up to seven built pieces (characters, vehicles or equipment) on the pad and in the action at any time.
A new option allows up to four players to take part in a Battle Arena featuring split-screen local game play (competitive and cooperative) and modes such as capture the flag.
It’s highly worth noting that Lego Dimension is easily one of the more satisfying gaming experience for parents. Watching an empowered child demonstrate thinking, building and strategy skill sets in the real and virtual worlds is a joy to behold.
Action-enhancing gadgets or extras: Armed with a Starter Pack, Lego Dimension owners are now privy to a piggy-bank busting amount of other adventures, as Team Packs ($24.99 each), Level Packs ($29.99), Fun Packs ($11.99) and Story Packs ($49.99) — each containing more characters, levels, battle arenas and action from a impressive list of pop-culture franchises.
For example, get help for Mr. Scamander with the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Fun Pack offering a buildable Tina Goldstein minifigure and Swooping Evil that can be also be rebuilt into the Brutal Bloom and Crawling Creeper creatures.
Additionally, throw in the Harry Potter Team Pack to build Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, the Hogwarts Express engine and Enchanted Car, and gain access to the Harry Potter Adventure World and a Battle Arena while teaming up with Mr. Scamander.
Overall, the collection of character packs comes from a variety of licenses, including “Gremlins,” “Adventure Time,” “Mission Impossible,” “Ghostbusters,” “Batman,” “Lord of the Rings” and even “The A-Team,” leading to some pretty incredulous but hysterical teamups such as E.T. helping Sonic the Hedgehog or Ghostbusters’ Peter Venkman driving the Batmobile.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Collectors Edition (Square Enix and Eidos Montreal, Rated: Mature, $139.99) — This sequel to the critically acclaimed 2011 “Deus Ex: Human Revolution” offers an irresistible mix of role-playing, stealth, close-quarter combat and firefights amid first- and third-person action.
Set in the year 2029, the complex story continues to focus on Adam Jensen — a cybernetically-augmented, ex-SWAT officer turned Task Force 29 covert agent — and his quest to stop terrorist threats and unravel a global conspiracy that was set in motion by the mysterious Illuminati organization.
Game-play specifics include remote hacking, on-the-fly gun customization, augmentation upgrades, the ever-evolving use of Titan Armor and free-roaming exploration of a beautifully rendered city of Prague.
The game’s intriguing strategic use of social interaction and choice-driven stealth to literally get through missions without ever killing makes it a breath of fresh air to the first-person shooting genre and as compelling as the “Assassin’s Creed” or “Metal Gear Solid” franchises.
Action-enhancing gadgets or extras: The Collector’s Edition contains an exquisitely crafted, 9-inch-tall, plastic statue of protagonist Adam Jensen; a 48-page, hardbound, full-color, mini-art book; and a disc copy of the game in steel-case packaging.
The package also includes a code to download an extra in-game mission “Desperate Measures,” the Covert Action Pack (extra consumables, weapons and costumes), a music sampler and a digital comic, art book and novella.
Unfortunately, the Edition does not offer a code for a season’s pass to all of the future story and content downloads that can get pricey for Deus Ex fanatics.
Skylanders Imaginators (Activision and Toys for Bob, Rated: E 10+, $74.99) — The 5-year-old franchise that features 4.5-inch-tall toy plastic statues that transport into virtual third-person video game realms returns with a new group of warriors to spark a child’s imaginations.
The latest collection delivers over 30 new characters called Sensies to the mix and plunges a player’s avatars into a war against the evil Kaos and his clone army of Doomlanders, built after the villain tapped into the dangerous power of Mind Magic.
Owners plug the castle-buttress-shaped Portal of Power into an entertainment console, place 4.5-inch-tall characters on the Portal, and they appear in the game for one or two players to control (both cooperatively or in competitive battles).
That leads to many beautiful-looking adventures emphasizing puzzle-solving, collecting items, shooting, fighting and more minigames to break up the quests.
However, here’s the slick twist that requires the use of an included Magic Crystal housed in a 3-inch-tall container (a red crystal comes with the set).
A player can create and customize his own Imaginator. He’ll pick a fighting style through a group of battle classes as well as dozens of attributes including heads, body type, armor, upgrade powers, and even a catch phrase and theme music.
Another welcomed addition allows a player to take his new, warrior, via the toy crystal, over to another player’s Skylanders world (cross compatible between PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 1, Xbox 360 and Wii U) to enter through the Portal and join his pal in battle.
By the way, the detailed, plastic statues (the package comes with Master King Pen and Golden Queen) are certainly worthy of residing on a bedroom shelf to admire after many hard-fought, virtual battles.
Action-enhancing gadgets or extras: First, a variety of new Sensei statues ($14.99 each) such as a Halloween-themed Candy-Coated Chopscotch with battle-ax along with Magic Creation Crystals ($9.99 each) are available.
Next, gift-givers (post holidays) can also transmit the Magic Crystal character design to the Skylanders Creator app. With help from Shapeways — a third-party, 3-D printing company — a child can receive an actual version of the character he created (in a display case, no less) that works on the Portal ($49.99).
And, for old-timers wanting a nostalgic thrill, they will find the appearance of video-game legend Crash Bandicoot available to battle his nemesis Dr. Neo Cortex on the Thumpin’ Wumpa Islands in a special Adventure pack ($29.99) that offers statues of both characters.
Least welcomed from Skylanders Imaginators is the ugly inclusion of in-game, micro-transactions to buy goodies. It’s not appropriate for this kind of kid-friendly game, and parents should monitor closely.
Thankfully, all figures currently owned by players from previous games (more than 300) can jump into the latest action.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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