

The LEGO brand is tailor-made for the toys-to-life genre, and the popularity of the building blocks is so high that we're expecting LEGO Dimensions to sell by the bucketload when it launches later this year.

Far from trading on the LEGO name, however, Warner and Traveller's Tales have actually gone to great lengths to make something that stands out from rivals such as Disney Infinity and Skylanders.

Among the likes of Shenmue 3, The Last Guardian and Star Wars Battlefront, LEGO Dimensions isn't the highest-profile game to make an appearance at this year's E3 gaming expo, but based on a behind-closed-doors presentation we attended, it's definitely one of the funniest and most innovative.







It's all down to the game's unique toy portal, which isn't just a fancy and expensive way to bring new characters and vehicles into the game, it's actually a part of the experience.

The portal itself holds a grand total of seven figures, vehicles and weapons, so you can flit between the likes of Marty McFly, Scooby Doo, Batman and Gandalf once they're placed on the device.

Each physical LEGO item has three different forms, so you can actually physically rebuild the Batmobile into the Batgun, place the transformed figure onto the toy portal, and then use this new item to destroy in-game blocks that are obstructing your path.

We're not entirely sure how the technology works, but it's a great use of the LEGO license, and far more interactive than simply taking one item off the toy portal and replacing it with another.







What's really interesting about the toy portal, however, is the way it's used to solve puzzles. It's split into multiple different sections, each of which lights up. Players will have to keep a close eye on this, because moving characters around different sections of the toy portal is imperative if you're hoping to progress within the game.

In one example, the Wicked Witch of the West has used one of her evil spells to freeze the in-game character in place. If you want to break the spell and avoid taking damage, you'll have to move that character's figurine to a different, neutral spot on the toy portal.

Over in the Aperture Science Lab from the Portal series, you might find yourself unable to reach certain rooms without the Chell figurine and her portal gun.

Fortunately, different coloured portals will sprout up within inaccessible areas of the lab. Moving figurines to the corresponding colour on the toy portal will allow your in-game characters to instantly teleport into these rooms and access control panels - much to the surprise and dismay of GLaDOS.







In a haunted house level taken straight from the world of Scooby Doo, doors only open when three characters activate a certain combination of coloured pressure pads. As you've probably guessed, the different platforms on the toy portal will light up to show players the right combination of colours.

At other points in the game, fire, electricity and other elemental obstacles will block your path, but you can make your characters immune to these properties by moving them to elemental sections of the toy portal.

Admittedly, none of the puzzles appear to be too taxing, but it's great to see the LEGO Dimensions portal being used as an actual in-game tool, and not just as a way to swap out characters.

As for the in-game action, it's pretty much the same as previous LEGO games, which, judging by Traveller Tale's track record, means plenty of characters with lots of different abilities.







The game also retains the series' wicked sense of humour, and we found ourselves chuckling at the antics of Batman, in particular.

During the presentation we saw classic Batman and contemporary Batman get into a slapping fight over who was the real Caped Crusader, as well as Batman mistake the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz for his arch-nemesis from Gotham.

Finally, asked by Dorothy what he was missing (a heart, brain etc), Batman sternly replied: "A sense of humour." This line really made us chuckle.

We'll have to wait and see if the Wizard of Oz can grant Batman his wish when LEGO Dimensions launches later this year.

LEGO Dimensions will make its PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Wii U debut on September 29 in Europe and September 27 in North America.

Watch a trailer for LEGO Dimensions below:

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