Review: Lego Movie: The Video game

Transform the ordinary into the extraordinary and experience the ultimate LEGO building experience in the all new The LEGO Movie Videogame. Step into the world of Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average citizen who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. Players guide him as he is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.

 

Pros:

• Graphics are of the same high standard as previous Lego games. HD finish in beautifully detailed Lego worlds. This time round how ever you can see every piece used to create not only the level but the vehicles.
• Scenes from the movie are present, Used between levels they allow you to get just small snippets of what to expect from the full movie. They transition well back to the game.
• Controls are untouched from previous games so returning players will feel right at home.
• Full star cast, From the sounds of things all the voice actors from the film lend their voices to the game, That said a few do sound like impressionists but still do a really good job.
• Humour as you would expect from Lego games is present through out your play through, From comedy actions to jokes and innuendos, its all in there.
• The game is a lot more action packed than previous games with huge player triggered explosions, A lot of free running style games, huge vehicle based combat. It all just feels a lot more in your face.
• Building has changed and takes a more retro approach. For now you collect pieces of an instruction manual. Once completed you go to the stand to build and you will see the model being built from with a page of the book. New addition being that you have to fill in the missing piece every so often. Your reward for this is studs as you have a starting amount that decrease with time and picking the wrong parts.
• Another new addition to the building aspect is the “master builder” sections. Here select master builders can highlight 3 green parts of various pieces and make a huge new item, Its all done super fast and is quite the spectacle.
• Levels are a lot more varied than I remember in previous games, Some levels are really quite short but fun. One minute you are playing the classic layout levels then you are on a vehicle shooting down bad guys or controlling huge mech type creations or just simply free falling through the many portals.
• Mini games are laid out in levels and the hub worlds. Here you can be seen running the sounds booth on a movie set or spinning the wheel of fortune. Its a great way to break to the level up. The more commonly used mini game is the virus upload mini game. Here you hack a terminal and get transported to a level where you are a block. You must navigate the maze, picking up studs and avoiding the bad block that is chasing you. Hit the upload button and smash the button to upload the level. Later ones introduce more studs, more enemies and more virus upload spots.
• Mid level save points are back and plenty more of them. On longer levels you can expect to see 2 or 3 as you play through.
• If you are so inclined you can use the cheat codes section without fear of blocking trophies/achievements unlocks.
• Hubs are free roaming mini worlds where you select levels to play, collect studs and take part in mini missions. As you progress through the main story, new hub worlds will unlock. Portals can be used to teleport between the hub worlds.
• Side quests in the hub world not only go towards the elusive 100% game completion stat and earn you studs. Finishing one of the 20 side missions will unlock a red brick. Red bricks if you don’t know are multipliers and special feats. Things like x2,x10 studs multiplier or invincibility or extra hearts are the sort of things you can expect to unlock and buy. All bonus options like these can be turned on and off at will from the extras menu in the pause screen.
• Drop in/drop out local co op.
• Huge collection of characters to unlock, including all the movie cast like Emmet, Wildstyle and then a slew of super heroes from Batman to Superman. Even a few characters from another franchise make an appearance.
• Main story is around 6 hours long depending on skill and OCD approach to collectibles. It can be done a lot quicker if you speed run a lot of sections.
• When you complete a level you can replay the level at any time or opt to play the level in free play. Free play is the same level but with out the cut scenes and more importantly allows you to swap to any unlocked character. This is especially useful if you are going for 100 % completion on levels as it will allow you to unlock previously locked out areas.

 

Cons:

• Camera angles are really bad in parts of the game. More frequent in co op play, The camera can move and lock in place stopping one player from seeing where to go.
• Loading times are terrible, Like minutes long and with the same tune looping over and over its annoying.
• In the hub worlds you have no indicator as to where the unlocked levels are once you have finished them. A mini map would be nice. It is also possible to trigger levels or extras by accident as you walk through a door.
• AI can get stuck in levels or more commonly, stay well behind so you usually land up replaying short parts of the level as the AI refuses to follow you.
• You will find a few levels where the pace drops a little, it all becomes a bit too familiar and repetitive. Nature of the game but its a real downer when you get to one.

In Summary, The game itself is fun in places and a lot of work has gone in to the game to bring more variety. Returning players will notice only a few new additions with the rest staying much the same as before. The side quests are fun and mini games to help to keep the game moving along. A few niggles with the loading times being the worse stop the game from elevating to high above the older titles. It follows the movie really well for the most part but the last few levels defiantly feels like all the left over characters have been shoe horned in. The real fun of the game actually starts when you have finished the main story and you do free play. Here you can see more of the game and take it all a bit easier. The main story is on the short side but you will have fun playing through it. Another good show from the team and while not really escalating its merits, It relies on previous glories and maintains a new steady pace. And has to be one of the best movie tie in games for a long time, which in itself I suppose is an achievement.