Over the last few years, the Lego series has paid visits to Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and the DC Comics universe. If you've played any of those games over the last few years, Lego Lord of the Rings is much the same - a living playset that's far too good for adults to miss out on.
If not, get ready for something special. Remaking the world in Lego style doesn't result in a lack of eye-candy. Just look at it - a lush, instantly recognisable world sprinkled with ropes and targets plus things to smash and climb. All the major film locations are recreated in miniature form, from besieged Helm's Deep to Rivendell, to a couple of trips to the fires of Mount Doom itself.
An Expected Journey
Almost all of the game's dialogue is taken straight from the films, making Lego LotR one of the few games with an all-star Hollywood cast. It's already hilarious hearing the archly serious dialogue coming from these little plastic figures, but It's taken to a whole new level by the way every scene is now wrapped in visual humour and slapstick that plays off the original without actually disrespecting it. "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them..." intones Gandalf, his back fortunately turned when Frodo drops it into a mug of tea, starting things off as they mean to continue.
Mini Followship
Lego LotR is best in co-op, with two players at the PC controlling one character each. It's especially good for parents and children, because nobody actually dies —just explodes into a shower of Lego and immediately reappears. Young kids may find some moments a little scary, like the ghosts on Weathertop, or have trouble remembering all the characters, but for the most part it's fine for all ages.
The action mostly consists of leading a team - from two characters to the entire Fellowship - through obstacle courses where everything in sight can be smashed to find items, using each characters' unique abilities to their advantage. Gimli can smash cracked rocks, for instance, while Legolas has his arrows and a high jump. First time through the game, the levels and story fly by. One does not simply walk into Mordor, but still, don't expect it to take more an afternoon. The real challenge in a Lego game is to head back to these maps in Free Play mode, bringing different characters to hunt down goodies you couldn't reach before, and unlock all the extra characters and toys off the beaten tracks.
Lego LotR isn't simply a whole new way to see the story. It's one of the best games for families around at the moment, but grown-ups will have a great time too. That's the joy of Lego. They say it's for ages 6 and up, and as long as there are games like this, the up will never need a limit.
http://thelordoftherings.us.lego.com/en-us/Videogame/Default.aspx
