Midway Arcade Level Pack Review

The LEGO games often cop a lot of flak for not straying too far from their usual formula, but the Midway Arcade Level Pack is definitely up there as one of the biggest experiments with it. It mixes LEGO puzzles with classic arcade games in an interesting pack that might even be TOO different for some people. It’s got a lot to offer whether you grew up with these games or are experiencing them for the first time, with the way it showcases and reinvents part of videogame history. Additionally, you get some toys with a large pool of abilities to access.

The main level included in the pack pits the Gamer Kid up against a possessed arcade that’s sending out videogame characters to cause havoc. He has to knock out each character in order to access their game, and beat the game in order to send them away. Each character has a puzzle or challenge tied to them, which you’ll need to use the Gamer Kid’s large arsenal of abilities to complete. The Gamer Kid can switch between different shirts, each with a different ability assigned to it. When an ability is activated, its effects are only temporary, so if you don’t complete a puzzle before it runs out then you’ll need to try again. His large selection of abilities makes him a really useful character outside of his level, and means that the level doesn’t have you solving a small handful of puzzle types over and over like some of the other Level Packs do.

Once an arcade character has been knocked out, an Arcade Dock will appear with their respective game in it. You can plug the Arcade Cabinet included in this pack into a dock, which will let you play the game assigned to it. These games are where the meat of the level and pack as a whole comes from. There are 7 arcade games in which you need to reach a certain score in order to progress through the level, including Gauntlet, Spyhunter and Robotron 2084. Playing through these games is an experience you don’t get anywhere else in Dimensions, which makes this pack stand out. For some people though, it might stand out a bit too much. I enjoyed the mix of classic games and LEGO puzzles, and liked the factoids the level gave you on each of the main games you play in it – it’s like a Midway museum that you access through playing a LEGO game. But it’s a bit jarring if you bought it expecting a level along the lines of the others in the game.

Gauntlet has come to life!

Outside of the main level, there’s also Arcade Docks hidden in some of the story levels and Level Pack levels. It’s not too hard to find the majority of them (check our guide if you’re stuck), so it’s not as fun as it could be when searching for them. Some are in plain sight with no puzzles needed to unlock them, which is disappointing. It’s also annoying that some of them are hidden in other Level Packs – if you bought this pack to play the arcade games, you’re locked out of some if you don’t purchase some of the more expensive packs. Once you’ve played a game it becomes accessible from a central hub in the Midway Arcade Adventure World.

The selection of games on offer is enjoyable and varied – there’s 23 in total, including Defender, Rampage, Marble Madness, and Klax. The multiplayer games like Super Sprint can be played with your co-op partner as well. Each game has set score milestones that will grant you an increasing amount of studs as you reach them. The biggest issue I had was that you’re not given enough direction on how to play a few of these games – arcade games normally have their instructions plastered on the cabinets, but here you’re just presented with controls and whatever tutorials are present in the games (usually very little). It took me a minute to realise how to actually start the first game, because you needed to push a button to add a credit before you can play, and then hit whatever button this particular game accepted to start.

There’s a lot of things in Spyhunter you’ll need to work out for yourself

As with every pack, this one comes with an Adventure World. The world included with this Level Pack is a big mash-up of different Midway games. Right from when I landed in the world I was laughing with glee between the interesting art style and the towering Marble Madness course I could see in the distance. Everything in this world is styled with a weird combination of cel-shading and retro graphics, while still being made of LEGO, which makes for a unique appearance from other worlds. What’s really interesting about this world is that a number of the puzzles and quests mix the old arcade games with LEGO mechanics. For example- waiting at the top of the Marble Madness course is an appropriately difficult vehicle race, which requires you to avoid rolling balls and quickly navigate narrow paths without falling off. If you enter Rampage City you’ll need to protect George as he, well… rampages around, smashing buildings. And when you enter the Gauntlet maze the camera will move to a top-down angle as you navigate it and solve the puzzles within. It’s one of the more consistently enjoyable Adventure Worlds, especially if you’re familiar with Midway’s games.

You can get a glimpse of the Marble Madness course and Defender Mountain from here

The two items you get in this pack are the Arcade Machine and a Spyhunter car. The Arcade Machine’s ‘only’ real purpose is to unlock and play the arcade games. Its alternate forms are an alien from Defender (which is neat but not overly useful) and an immobile turret that’s an impractical gimmick given that there’s a multitude of more efficient ways to attack enemies and destroy objects. The Spyhunter on the other hand offers a lot between all three of its forms. Its first form can use Accelerator Switches and Tow Bars like a lot of ground vehicle, but its second and third forms become sea and air vehicles respectively. Its sea form can blow up silver LEGO and dive underwater, allowing you to access new areas. Its final form is a jet with lasers that melt gold LEGO, and can utilise other flying abilities like Flight Docks and Cargo Lifting. But the most valuable thing about the Spyhunter vehicle is that its final weapon upgrade is to force enemies to dance to the arcade rendition of the Peter Gunn theme that plays in the Spyhunter game. It’s great.

The Level Packs that Dimensions offered in its first year were a big mixed bag, but the Midway Arcade Level Pack was a great pack to finish them off. While it may not be what you’re expecting, it combines a Midway game collection with the reliable LEGO formula, to great ends – you can play through the games in their natural states and then experience new LEGO takes on them in the fantastic Adventure World. It’s worth noting though that while you’ll gain a lot of abilities from this single pack, at this point in the game’s life cycle you may have accumulated most of these abilities from other packs.

This review was written based off a game or game content bought with the author’s own money. Review scores are designed to be directly compared with other expansions in the same series, not other series. We use the full 10 point scale 🙂