Joystiq/Engadget has pictures of some upcoming LEGO® Dimensions characters . I also understand they will have Portal and Doctor Who characters that aren’t show here, which has some interesting implications.

LEGO Dimensions is a game that uses technology similar to that in games like Skylanders and Disney Infinite, using small statues with NFC/RFID chips to communicate with a USB base connected to a game console. I’ve invested a good chunk of cash into discounted Skylanders figures here and there, so I know more about that game than I do Infinite.

In Skylanders, the figure acts as a character specific memory card, and you swap characters in and out by placing/removing them from the “Portal Of Power”. Any gold, EXP, and upgrades you acquire are constantly being saved to your current statue, and those upgrades carry over to any other compatible version of the game. There are paths to unlock certain items, mainly hats you can customize your figure with in game, that require a certain element or type of figure to access. The game typically comes with three or four figures, and you can beat the game without buying more, though you cannot access all the areas, and even some levels built into the game, without buying additional characters or tokens with the sole purpose of unlocking those levels.

Skylanders is marketed towards kids, and the voice acting often grates on my nerves, but the combat and interaction with the figures is genuinely entertaining. I would not care for the game at all if not for the figures, but I do feel annoyed by certain aspects of the game like buying unlocking tokens in a $30 USD pack to access entire levels sealed away on the disc I’ve already paid for.

As for Disney Infinity, the figure interaction is kept to a minimum, there is