Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of LEGO Dimensions. We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.

The growing toys-to-life genere has been waiting for a game like LEGO Dimensions. It's a game that marries the physicality of playing with one of the world's greatest toy brands with the interactive world of video games better than any title before it. The price of admission may be higher than any game before it, but something about LEGO Dimensions personality and fun makes LEGO Dimensions a must play for both kids and adults, especially anyone even remotely interested in the many franchises in it's worlds.

At it's most basic, LEGO Dimensions plays like any of the other toys-to-life games that came before it. Figures go on an interactive base and come to life on the screen. What sets Dimensions apart from games like Disney Infinity and Skylanders is of course that this is a LEGO game and you're going to have to build everything. Well, to be fair you don't have to build anything since the game reads the bases under each figure and not the figures themselves but if you do that you're lame and we're not friends. Now I haven't built a LEGO set in years and that made Dimensions a bit intimidating, but with the online instructions, I was building just like a kid again in no time. The true allure here is the chance to put down the controller if you've got a little one around.

Just like previous LEGO games, what makes Dimensions really stand out though is it's personality.Truly recreating the feeling of dumping out of bin of LEGOs and combining the worlds, Dimensions combines a number of huge properties and let's you mix and match worlds and characters. Want Homer Simpson and Gandalf to team up to take down the Wicked Witch of the West? Oddly enough you can here. Always wanted Schell from Portal to get back-up from Owen from Jurassic World? You've come to the right place. Me? I can finally act out that Doctor Who and Back to the Future fanfic I've always been dreaming of. I'm pretty sure I didn't stop smiling throughout the entire time I had with LEGO Dimension's story mode; the Simpsons world is easily the best use of the license I've seen in a long time and the Portal world (complete with original voice actors and a new Glados song) feels like reuniting with old friends again.

It's disappointing though that some of LEGO's biggest lines won't ever be seen in there Dimensions franchise. Because the game is in direct competition with Disney Infinity, we'll never see Disney owned brands in the game and that's a tough pill to swallow. That means no Marvel Characters, no Pirates of the Caribbean, no Indiana Jones and no, no Star Wars. LEGO Dimensions has more than enough characters and more planned but it would have been great to see some of these core franchises in the game interacting with each other but it's not to be.

Gameplay wise, Dimensions plays a lot like the previous LEGO games. Running around, smashing things and solving puzzles with your collected mini figures feels like it always has but of course there's that extra bit added in because of the figures.You'll still be solving some pretty easy puzzles but the game retains it's universal appeal and can be played by literally anyone at any age, even if those who have experienced it before may not be completely wowed by it. LEGO Dimensions adds another trick by using what's on the base platform to influence what's happening on screen. Say Batman is caught in a trap, rather than having you press a button to get out of it, you'll be tasked with moving Batman to a different section of the pad. It's a neat trick that gives the pad a bit more use during the actual gameplay itself but one that I'll admit I found myself growing tired of before the end of the main story.

The biggest drawback of LEGO Dimensions though is easily the admission price. This is by far the most expensive of the toys-to-life genre yet and yes, you're going to have to empty your pockets if you want to see everything it has to offer. The starter pack is priced at $99.99, meaning that just to get in the door you're going to have to pay almost $30 more than games like Disney Infinity or Skylanders. That starter pack includes the base and figures for Batman, Wildstyle from the LEGO movie and Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings. This gives you access to the main story and the adventure worlds from those characters' respective franchises. Then there are level packs for franchises like Portal, Back to the Future and The Simpsons, which give you a whole new level to explore around for $29.99 each. You could also pick up team packs, with two characters and a vehicle from one franchise for $24.99 or Fun Packs, which include one character and accessory for $14.99. That brings the magic total to just over $460 if you want to experience the whole thing, which you won't have to since the starter pack alone gives you enough content just to get started. Be aware though that like other toys-to-life games, Dimensions has a pretty aggressive roll out for future waves of content.

Like it or not, The toys-to-life genre is here to stay and LEGO Dimensions is the best yet and unfortunately it's also the most expensive. If you're willing to shell out the cash though, you'll be grabbing one hell of an experience that can be played by everyone, regardless of age or skill. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to have adventures with Doctor Who and Doc Brown in the Delorean.