REVIEW: Lego Movie video game

TT Games and Warner Bros Interactive have by no means mastered the mechanics the series have introduced over the years and their previous entry, Lego Marvel Superheroes, was a step forward with its sprawling sandbox New York City which was a joy to explore as iconic Marvel characters.

Now though, TT Game and Warner Bros have released the video game of new Lego movie, simply titled The Lego Movie Videogame.

The game is an adaptation of the movie using snippets from the movie to carry the story along meaning if you haven’t seen the movie yet, you will spoil it for yourself if you play this first. The basis of the storyline is the evil Lord Business raids the lair of old and wise Vitruvius to steal the super weapon Kragle, after which Vitruvius vows to find the “Special” who is the greatest of all Master Builders (people who can build without instructions). It is then the Special needs to find the only thing that can stop the Kragle, the Piece of Resistance. That job gets mistakenly handed to outcast, oddball construction worker Emmett after he finds a relic amongst some rubble on his site. I have to say that this is the funniest Lego game I’ve played yet. Even though it has a serious undertone, the Lego Movie Videogame never fails to be laugh out loud funny which I would say is this games strongest selling point. At least until the DVD comes out. Emmett is undeniably the funniest character being dumb and naïve, his supporting cast Wyldstyle and Vitruvius are not quite as amusing to watch as Emmett but they do a great job as keeping the comedy flowing.

The game itself is nothing new unfortunately, gone is the big sprawling open world to reintroduce semi-open world realms. We still have to smash Lego structures to collect studs, red bricks, gold bricks etc but now though during levels, a key task is to collect instruction pages for Emmett to build certain super builds. When they have all been found, a mini game activates which requires the player to choose the required piece within a time limit, the time limit isn’t a case of pass or fail, it’s more of a stud bonus, run out of time and you don’t get it. Another new addition is the Master Build sections which require players to highlight three glowing green brick structures so that they can be stripped to make a mega build. It’s all simple stuff and you won’t ever be stuck but they are great fun to play. Levels are structured as they always are with some simple puzzles here and there however there are some exhilarating sequences included like a fast paced highway chase sequence and the tunnel falling parts which are really cool.

The only fault really is the Lego mechanics revisited. The simple fact that everything The Lego Movie Videogame has within in, has been done before. This game looks fantastic with some pretty cool lighting effects although it is laden with screen tearing. Characters are nicely detailed and environments have variety as well as being brightly coloured. Build animations are as fun to watch as ever as well as the new build minigame. The cut scenes are not as high definition as the main game which is a shame but it doesn’t affect the overall experience.

Summary

The Lego Movie Videogame doesn’t bring a lot new to the table but that doesn’t mean it is no less fun to play than other games in the Lego series. The best feature in this game is the comedy which will keep players hooked with the exhilarating fast paced sequences coming a close second. The Lego games never fail to provide fun by destroying and collecting and the 2 player co-op is fully intact.

For the full review visit www.theleet.co.uk

The Lego Movie Videogame

Developers: TT Games

Publishers: Warner Brothers interactive

PC

Playstation ¾

Xbox 360/ one

Playstation Vita

Nintendo DS

WiiU

Genre: Action/Adventure

Release Date: 14th February 2014

Story – 5/5

Graphics – 4/5

Gameplay – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

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