The Lego Movie Videogame is the culmination of a surprising series of unlikely events. Based on a successful movie that quite possibly wouldn't even exist if there weren't first successful games and toy play sets inspired by similarly endearing movies before it, this newest interactive journey through the world of branded plastic blocks is a satisfying companion piece to its theatrical source material.
If you've played previous Lego games, you have a general idea what to expect. The Lego Movie Videogame doesn't deviate from its successful predecessors' formula. As always, you must lead a band of merry plastic characters around a vibrant world filled with rudimentary puzzles and enemies who fall to pieces when they meet their demise. Some basic ingenuity allows you to advance to the next set piece with minimal difficulty, and level hubs tie the action-oriented stages together while offering incentive to explore. You collect various doodads and in-game currency, which activate cheats that let you play completed areas the way you like, or unlock a slew of additional characters, and sometimes you get to assemble special vehicles or structures by playing a minigame.
The same general formula has carried gamers through a variety of Lego adventures in the past, minor tweaks aside, and it is arguably no better or worse with this iteration than it was previously, even if by now it feels less inventive than it once did. The most noteworthy difference is the shortened campaign, which is around half as lengthy and content-rich as something like Lego City Undercover on the Wii U, or even Lego The Lord of the Rings. That's disappointing to find after previous games did such a good job of dropping you into a pleasingly expansive world, but the positive side to that coin is the general lack of dead weight. Here, you are asked to wander a great deal less, and though a handful of optional tasks are offered in each zone, narrative momentum is the obvious priority.
Some basic ingenuity allows you to advance to the next set piece with minimal difficulty.
As for the story, it's the same as the one shown in theaters. Emmet, the protagonist, is a forgettable construction worker who finds his whitewashed view of the world made more colorful by a chance encounter with Wyldstyle, a free-spirited adventurer who is convinced Emmet holds the key to saving the world from an evil menace. The movie had a lot of fun with its clever references to pop culture, and the game does too in the most direct manner possible: by including huge chunks of footage from the film. Except for two pivotal scenes that unfold near the end of the movie but are glossed over or cut here--to no ill effect--and occasional moments of incidental dialogue, nearly everything makes an appearance. The central themes are just slightly less apparent, but you still get a cohesive and lively story from start to finish, complete with the best scenes from the most memorable Lego characters.
Many scenes from the movie lend themselves naturally to a game experience, and that quickly becomes evident here. An introductory stage acquaints you with the basics by walking you through Emmet's rather mundane day at the construction site. Before long, though, he's driving a motorcycle along a crowded freeway, and Wyldstyle is making her way along the tops of moving vehicles. These events are almost wholly participatory, making it all feel even more frantic than in the film. Then in a later sequence, the characters flee along the rooftops and battle robots along the way--another pivotal scene at the cinema. Here, it's just fleshed out a bit more, and there are puzzles to solve. So it goes with much of the game, all without the mix ever feeling unnatural or forced. Visuals during the levels and in the cutscenes complement one another beautifully and are perpetually bright and shiny in all the right places.
Although The Lego Movie has delighted audiences of all ages with its clever writing and inside jokes, the video game version isn't as universally absorbing. Puzzles are simple enough that children should be able to solve them just through experimenting, but too many of them take a paint-by-numbers approach. You simply search for an obvious piece of the architecture that Emmet can drill, break everything apart until you find glowing points of interest that can be assembled, or look for a point on a distant ledge to grapple. Throw in some mild brawling elements--with no fear of failure, aside from a lower rating upon completion of the stage--and you have the bulk of the game. It can wear thin at times, but that's not a new problem for the franchise.
Elsewhere, more minor concerns also pop up on occasion. Infrequently, it's possible to get a character stuck on the architecture, unable to move. If you're playing alone you can easily switch to another character in the party, though, and then break apart your trapped friend. If you're playing cooperatively the second player can do the same, so at least there's an easy workaround when necessary. In other cases, you may find yourself controlling a flying character who stops short at arbitrary barriers quite a lot, even though it looks like he should be able to keep flying. None of the issues are persistent enough to serve as a huge inconvenience, but they do warrant a mention.
The Lego Movie Videogame is a faithful take on its source material, with just enough of the film's content missing to make it worth getting out to the theater, but not so much that the game's narrative becomes difficult to follow. The added interaction is also welcome and is handled in a manner that keeps the experience approachable and generally refined, even if it isn't always as creative and varied as you might hope. While not everything is awesome, The Lego Movie Videogame should be just the ticket if you're ready to spend another 10 to 12 hours in the fantastic world of animated plastic blocks.
Discussion
Everything is awesome. Okay maybe not awesome but it's another Lego Game which is good. Still keeps the movie's charm.
Great Game!
K.
Picking this up on Friday - going for the 360 version though. Can't justify the extra spend for no extra benefit (that I can see)
This looks like MARVEL SUPER HEROES.
Ugh... shame they're 60 bucks for the next gen versions... Paying 60 for a lego game is criminal if you ask me.
For a Movie Tie in, not bad, Marvel Super Heroes and Lego City Undercover are probably still better, but you gotta give them credit for actually making this game good.
The bad
Puzzles are overly simplistic...
Arent Lego games for kids?
I am a huge fan of Wii U's Lego City Undercover, but that's mostly because of how fun and seamless exploration is when your setting is one big city (made of Legos, no less) with a dozen really unique boroughs. Can I expect something similar here?
too many lego games..flooding the industry..geez nothing stays original for long.
The movie was really well put together.
They making a GAME based on a MOVIE of LEGO? Wow, and people wonder why old school gaming was better. Back when people had the creativity to make good games for kids like Klonoa, Crash, Spyro, Sonic and Mario... Games with a merit of their own and not a gimmick based on something else...
Still better than mobile gaming i suppose, but saddening all the same.
Tell me, is Jason Venter a South African?
If not, from where the surname?
Great review for the Lego Movie and the game? wow. Does this game feature the song: "Everything is awesome"?
yo dawg i heard your 7 years old and cant complete intermediate puzzles so we went in threw in a hole bunch of simplistic puzzles!
Wow, a movie tie-in game that gets a good review! The days of wonder are not all past.
A LEGO video game based on a LEGO movie which was based on a LEGO video game.
aaaaaaaa.... LEGO-ception
well finally a game for wiiu
It is true that the LEGO games are pretty much all the same, yet after playing the first few levels of this one, I think it's great! I can't quite put my finger on why, but perhaps it is the reduced content and greater focus on narrative. The last couple of LEGO games I played were too big, imo, with too much to do -- especially Marvel Superheros. Because the gameplay of LEGO games is so simplistic, they do get boring after a while, so a shorter, more gripping adventure is better, imo. A good game, after all, is about the story or action, not the collectibles and grinds. I hate that kind of padding in modern games. So many newer games feel like the same treasure hunt game with a different story attached.
This movie looks great to watch with your children, just like Toy Story 3 and Spirited Away.
why are these lego games blantantly the same game over and over, seriously the exact package with a other coating>__>
I'm actually not too comfortable buying movie tie-ins.But after reading the review,I guess I'll give this one a try.
does this game have any tarantino films ?
damn, between this and the marvel game it seems like all i play these days is lego games!
The theme of The Lego Movie is supposed to be to encourage originality and thinking outside of the box. Sadly, that's the opposite of what Legos are about these days, which are sets with unique parts and detailed instruction booklets for building things mostly licensed from other IPs. Not terribly original or creative, and the games take this even further. You build by finding a pile of bouncing, glowing legos and holding the A button.
Why can't we have a Lego game that lets us build free form with virtual lego parts bins? Or that challenges us to build certain machines without giving us the instructions or just having us hold down a button? Why can't we have a game that truly embraces the spirit of creativity Legos once embodied but have lately abandoned?
Everything Lego does is slick and adorable. Their production values are top notch and they've hit on a successful formula, but I want more from them.
@megakick It's a lego game, they all look the same
@JustPlainLucas Half that on steam. Come to the Light Side.
Plenty of kids games with amazing puzzles. Nice try though.
@Raxyman idk if you can say crash,spyro and mario where for kids. even though i was a kid when mario first came out (15) these games where more for pre teens and up. heck crash was one tough game to beat so was mario. games in general have been dumb down for what ever reason.
@Raxyman and that great Crash Test Dummies game for NES!
...there were terrible games in all generations friend, nothing has changed there. Love that old cliché "back when...", it's usually just a sign of someone who doesn't look hard enough! I hear it used regarding music, movies, games and more.. but it's always a false claim of things only being good "back when..."
@Raxyman so true well said..i miss old school gaming everyday..i also like how things were done back then as oppose to today`s world of the gaming industry..by the way Klonoa was a beast of a game..loved it..old school platforming at its best
@Raxyman LEGO Games are not perfect but fun.
The song is in the game a lot, there are even 2 dancing mini games to that song. Plus, the original voice actors are all through out the game.
@max-hit What? The LEGO movie is NOT based on a LEGO video game!
@max-hit ....Based on Lego toys. You forgot that. There is 4 levels remember. Yes, you can do that deep!
@MateykoSlam
Finally a game for next gen, we had nothing last month except for Tomb Raider HD port, a PORT,
and Make that 2 for Wii U, DK's out next Friday and its gonna be amazing
@MateykoSlam Zing!
@Tao_and_Zen never saw the interest in lego games...boring as all hell to me
@Tao_and_Zen True statement in my book as well, but for my kids, that are young enough they still have trouble completing the levels, the exploration mode is perfect for them. They'll run around in the world not unlocking anything for days. There's a consumer group out there for almost everything.
@Diegoctba Spirited Away is so good.
IMO it's the best lego game out there. You will not be disappointed.
I feel the same! Lego Hobbit later this year too. xD
@nparks What you want is called "LEGO Digital Designer" and it's free.
Plus LEGO has a tons of IP like Chima, Ninjago and... the new sets form the LEGO Movie...
@nparks Because if that game existed, no one would buy their lego sets anymore. Why would I buy real life lego if I can create a virtually city of one?
Actually this would work as a microtransaction game. They can charge you like a 5 cents a lego piece or something.
@nparks Minecraft.
@nparks so you want a game to allow you to virtually build lego? Really?
@disneyskate yeah 8year old to 5 year olds cant figure out amazing puzzles and i would rather my kids not ask my every 15 mins to help them with a game.
@nl_skipper @Raxyman ummmmm.....no
@nl_skipper Sure, bad games exists in various generations, but the reduced amount of good ones that exist is what bothers me. Look, how many decent E-rated game franchises do we have nowadays? Ratchet and Clank aaaannnddd...... No other come into mind.
Then look at ps1: Crash Bandicoot, Klonoa, Spyro, Rayman, Gex, Megaman...
Maybe i did sounded a bit like nowadays there's only trash, it isn't my point nor my intention. What i wanted to say is that devs were more creative around the Fifth Generation. Now that gaming is a lucrative business, they shell out whathever crap they can to make it sell without any quality in the game itself. Brand sells. You get what i'm saying?
Plus, the original voice actors “phoned in” their lines and it sounds like complete garbage!
#fixed
@stuff238 @max-hit It's lego-limbo!
@Tao_and_Zen GOAT SIMULATOR
@luke1889 "We are Leg(i)o(n), for we are many" :P.