Instead of providing a central hub that the characters return after each mission, this time around the story and locations move forward. The game starts out at the University campus and uses it as the main hub, eventually moving to a dig-site in South America. After each successful mission, a new part of the hub is unlocked mostly through unlocking new characters or vehicles that allow the player to access previously unreachable territory. Studs are collected by destroying scenery objects, building stuff, and other activities.
The game features an editor to create unique heroes from parts and a level editor where players can walk around the map spawning items they need and placing them in place with their character. The two-player co-op mode returns, allowing two players to play through the whole game. In this mode, one player can enter the game at any time by pressing a button on the second controller, and both players can move freely around the level.