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‘Lego Marvel’s Avengers’ review: Faithful, fun adaptation

Lego game veterans have long accepted that the newest release will be, in many ways, the same as the last one. There’s bound to be a few new bells and whistles — and a host of new characters to play as — but the difference between one game and another often isn’t much.

So why keep playing them? They’re still fun, and that’s why “Lego Marvel’s Avengers” is worth checking out.

The latest Lego treatment from TT Games adapts the Marvel Cinematic Universe directly. Unlike 2013’s “Lego Marvel Super Heroes,” this game sticks to the script of the two “Avengers” films with some of the stand-alone super-hero films mixed in to flesh out the narrative.

Video game adaptations of films often are clunky experiences, but the Lego way of adding whimsy works in the new game’s favor. Lego-ized cutscenes fill in the gaps between action-packed platform gaming. Remember, it’s a game aimed at gamers young and old, so the degree of difficulty isn’t high — except when encountering the occasional glitch or an area where the solution to a puzzle isn’t quite clear enough.

The roster of Marvel characters is massive and comprised of characters one might see in an MCU film. That means no X-Men or Fantastic Four, who appeared in “Super Heroes.” But there are plenty of obscurities beyond the big guns like Iron Man and Captain America. From Fing Fang Foom to Wiccan, Marvel newbies will discover a host of unfamiliar characters to control, and die-hards will find some fun surprises.

Other than a few presentation improvements, the big gameplay addition is super-hero team-up moves that clear out enemies and obstacles. Some are more unique than others, but many are variations of the same visual. Still, it’s a neat addition that works well in the Marvel world.

Available now

“Lego Marvel’s Avengers,” from developer TT Games and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, is out Tuesday for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Windows PC and Mac