The LEGO Movie Videogame - Can LEGO Avoid The Curse Of The Movie Tie-In?

Traditionally, video games developed solely as film tie-ins do not have the best reputation for providing quality gaming entertainment, with many such tie-ins being accused of being at best,  shallow, interactive repeats of the actual films they represent, and at worst, action-driven, pointless, money-grabbing entertainment titles, which really have very little to do with the actual films they are named after at all.

An article written by Charlie Roberts from Gamemoir.com best summed up this general attitude when he wrote: "With every summer blockbuster that hits our screens these days, there always seems to be a tie-in game limping along behind it, desperately trying to wring out the last few dregs of cash from the pockets of those that the film didn’t drain completely of funds. And let’s be honest – they always suck..." [Sourced from: http://gamemoir.com/2013/08/13/tie-in-games-suck/]

Nevertheless, it cannot be easy to produce a game that can successfully live up to the hype and excitement caused by its big budget film counterpart. However, this is exactly what film producers Warner Bros. are trying to achieve with their latest film, The LEGO Movie, which itself has been inspired in part by the success of the licensed LEGO video game series, made popular by TT games  and the LEGO Creator video games' series developed by Superscape.

As with any major movie, the video game tie-in promises to be equally special. So, what exactly has the aptly-titled The LEGO Movie Videogame got to offer the gaming community? Well, this game is of course based on the plot of the film, which is set entirely in the LEGO universe and centres around an ordinary LEGO Mini-figure called Emmett who works as a construction worker, and who is mistaken as being the Special (the greatest Master Builder who can save the universe).

With the help of an old wizard named Vitruvius, and a tough young woman named Wyldstyle,  as well as Batman, Uni-Kitty, Benny, and a pirate named Metalbeard, Emmet has to forget his usual routine of simply building things according to their instructions, and discover the power of his own imagination if he is ever going to defeat the evil Lord Business - a tyrant who is bent on destroying the universe on Taco Tuesday and recreating it as he sees fit by gluing it all together.

In the game, players must take control of Emmett and his merry band of recruits. Players must explore the in-game environments to collect and use LEGO instruction pages. In turn, these pages can then be used to build construction sets in order to harness the awesome power of the so-called Master Builders.

This game will be the first LEGO title to feature a new kind of animation style that has apparently been modelled on the movements of actual real-world LEGO Minifigures. Furthermore, the game will feature more than ninety separate characters inspired by the film and a total of fifteen exciting levels.

The game (like the film) has been made with kids and family gaming very much in mind. The usual hilarious cutscenes found in previous LEGO game titles can also be seen here, and the colourful environments will be instantly appealing to younger gamers.

Tom Stone, Managing Director at TT Games Publishing said recently: "We’re thrilled to be able to give kids the joy of re-living Emmett’s adventures in becoming virtual Master Builders with The LEGO Movie Videogame. Players will be taking on the ultimate mission to save the LEGO world and use their virtual building prowess to build unimaginable sets and creations.” 
[sourced from: http://www.ttgames.com/games/lego-movie-videogame.php]


The game's teaser trailer, which was released in December last year, also shows a number of gameplay elements that will be used during the game:

* If you are having difficulty viewing the trailer in your current browser, please CLICK HERE.

The LEGO Movie premieres today in all major UK cinemas, with the game being released on all available formats on Friday the 14th of February 2014. It is not yet certain whether this game will match up to the high quality of the other LEGO Videogames, but Mini Gamers is hopeful that the game will find itself ranked alongside the usual top-notch titles developed by TT Games to date.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

Are you looking forward to the release of The LEGO Movie Videogame?

Why do movie tie-ins always seem to have a bad reputation?

What can be done to make quality movie tie-ins in the future?

If you have any thoughts about this game or about movie tie-ins in general, then please  leave us a comment and let us know. Mini Gamers loves hearing from you!

New 3DS Games Announced: Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mario Kart 3D, StarFox 64 3D, and Super Mario 3D, Luigi's Mansion 2 and Lego City Stories all confirmed for 2011/2012...

Nintendo were extremely busy at this year's E3 conference, as well as unveiling their new portable Wii U controller, the company also gave details of several new 3DS titles, which would debut over the next two years.

First on the list was the highly-anticipated Mario Kart 3D, which, according to the CEO of Nintendo America,  Reggie Fils-Amie, would be a "tricked-out version,[which] you haven't driven before..."

A new feature exclusive Mario Kart 3D, is how characters now interact with each other while driving. Characters now not only turn their heads when another racer is nearby, but they also have the choice to 'make faces'  as well, such as glaring at their opponents.

The accompanying E3 Trailer showed Mario and friends racing around never-before-seen tracks. It also showed hand-glider races, and even included some underwater race environments too, which of course will all be viewed in full-3D when the game debuts later this year.

The trailer also gave hints of the various customisable options that would be included in the new game, such as bigger 4X4 tyres, new sticker and logo designs and various different vehicles to drive.

This game is sure to be a big hit for Mario fans when it gets released in the UK. If you can't wait until then, you can watch the trailer for yourself by clicking HERE.

Mario isn't alone in making his 3DS debut either. Mario's brother, Luigi, is also set to star in his own 3D RPG adventure - Luigi's Mansion 2.

Nintendo were keen to point out that this game is NOT merely a port of the original Gamecube version, but has been especially created from scratch for use on the 3DS console.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the original game, Luigi must collect poltergeists from a haunted mansion with the help of an adapted vacuum cleaner called the 'Poltergust'.

Some of the new 3DS features will also include a strobe function in which Luigi's torch can be used to stun ghosts before they are sucked up with the Poltergust. There will also be multiple mansions this time around, which will host different kinds of ghosts, each of which must be captured using different methods to unlock new areas and treasure chests.

The Poltergust has also been upgraded for the 3DS. As well as sucking up various spectres, it can now be used to reveal secret passages, clean up piles of treasure or simply just collect coins.

It sounds like a very fun little game, but it could be a while before fans in the UK actually get to enjoy Luigi's Mansion 2  for themselves, as the game is not expected to reach UK stores until 2012.

 If you would like more information, you can watch the E3 trailer of the game by clicking HERE.

One of the 3DS games announced for release in 2011 however, is Star Fox 64 3D. For those of you who have never heard of this game before, Star Fox 64 3D is a platform shooter game. Players must take control of the central character, Fox McCloud, as he fights against various enemies.

  The game, which was originally released for the Nintendo 64 console in 1993, has once again been given a total revamp for use with the 3DS. This time around, players can choose to make use of the 3DS' gyroscopic sensors if they wish - tilting the console up and down, left and right in order to fly the special Arwing aircraft.

Furthermore, a group-play multiplayer option will be enhanced by the use of the 3DS cameras, which can record the player's reactions as they play, which can then be transmitted to the rest of the group.

The enhanced gyroscopic features and 3D graphics should help to make Star Fox 64 3D a really enjoyable Flight-Simulation experience as well as a general Platform Shooter.

 

The game is set to debut in North America on the 11th of September 2011 and is expected to be released in the rest of Europe soon after. The Star Fox 64 3D trailer can be viewed by clicking HERE.

Another long-awaited 3DS game to be given a 2011 release date time-frame is Kid Icarus: Uprising. Players take the role of Pit, an angelic hero with the ability to fly between worlds and fight evil forces. In Kid Icarus: Uprising, Pit must defeat a reborn Medusa as she seeks to destroy mankind.

According to Nintendo, Kid Icarus: Uprising will make full use of the 3DS system including the Augmented Reality features, although it is unclear exactly how this might work at present. The game also features many multiplayer options including "Three-On-Three Multiplayer action"
[Reggie Fils-Aime, CEO of Nintendo America).

Kid Icarus: Uprising is scheduled to be released in America at the latter part of 2011. No other details about the game have been released at this time. If you want to see the E3 trailer for yourself, please click HERE.

Two surprise announcements from the Nintendo Conference at E3 included a 3DS version of the ever-popular Super Smash Bros Brawl 3D, which will apparently debut alongside the 'Wii U' version in 2012. Apparently, amongst other new additions to the series, there will be an appearance by the PS3 Infamous character, Cole Macgrath. However, that is all we know about the 3DS version for now.

The other surprise announcement was that another 'Wii U' title would also be getting the 3DS treatment some time next year. Lego City Stories is an open-world adventure game developed by the brains at Travellers Tales. No further details about the game have been released yet.

All of the games showcased at this this year's E3 conference were amazing. Mini Gamers looks forward to bringing you more news about these 3DS games as it develops.

One To Watch: Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean (DS/DSi/3DS/PSP)

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean launches this weekend, and it promises to be an hilarious swashbuckling adventure for all concerned. Mini Gamers takes a look at the new features we can expect in this latest title from the ever-popular Lego Games series.

As well as featuring over seventy different playable characters, the game will include storylines from all four blockbuster films, including the latest release, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Furthermore, The 3DS version will also utilise the special StreetPass function in order to activate two-player sword fights between gamers' consoles.

 

The gameplay will follow the generics from past Lego games, including the collection of silver and gold gaming studs and the need to swap between different characters in order to harness their unique special abilities to unlock new areas of the game.

The main character abilities are as follows:

Captain Jack - uses his compass to point the way to the next level or to whatever his heart desires.

Will Turner  - Can throw axes at certain types of targets within the game.

Elizabeth Swan - Can jump higher than the other two characters and so can reach places that would be otherwise out of bounds.

Zombies [unlockable character] require no use of Oxygen when swimming and can therefore explore ocean depths more fully.

 The new HUB for this game will be Port Royal. The hub will open up into different areas as players progress through the game. A lot of time and effort has been put in to the creation of this game. There is a total of twenty different levels per each Story Mode, which means a lot of items to find and characters to unlock.

Overall, this is shaping up to be a very interesting game. Fans of the Lego series are bound to enjoy this title and fans of the film will enjoy the hilarious cutscenes.

This is definitely one to add to the games collection. If you still haven't made up your mind though, this trailer should help you to decide:

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean will be available to buy from Friday the 13th May 2011.

Game Of The Week: Lego Battles: Ninjago (DS/DSi)

LEGO Battles: Ninjago  is the sequel to the Lego Battles game, produced by critically acclaimed TT Games and developed by Hellbent Games.

In this exclusive DS/DSi title,  players aim to become a master of Spinjitzu - a form of Martial Arts in which characters spin and become tornadoes to defeat their enemies, as they restore harmony to the world.

 Players can choose to fight for both good or evil, by battling as either heroic Ninjas, villainous Skulkins, or as one of the bonus hidden hero characters in the two single-player campaigns, or test their skills in a variety of Battle Mode challenges, and even play against family and friends in some exciting multiplayer showdowns.

The single-player Story Mode is both funny and engaging. The main plot centres around two brothers, Sensei Wu and  Lord Garmadon whose father is a Spinjitzu Master. When their father passes away, the two brothers are put in charge of the 4 Golden Weapons - the Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Shurikans of Ice and the Sword of Fire (pictured above).

Although Sensai Wu wants to honour his promise to protect the weapons, his brother, Lord Garmadon is consumed with greed and wishes to possess all the weapons for himself.  A war has now broken out between the two brothers, and players get to decide which brother they wish to help: Will you assist Lord Garmadon to seize power in the 'Evil' campaign mode, or  become a Spinjitzu Master and hero in the 'Good' campaign mode? It is entirely up to you.

In the 'Good' campaign mode, players must build an army of heroes, battle the enemies and become a Master of Spinjitzu as they search and recover the powerful ninja weapons, (which have now been hidden in order to protect them,) and restore the balance between good and evil! Enjoy fun adventures and exciting missions as you travel the land of Ninjago to find the golden weapons before the evil Lord Garmadon.

In the 'Evil' campaign mode, Players must join Lord Garmadon’s Skeleton Army, who are attempting to free Lord Garmadon from the Underworld, where he has recently been banished by his brother. Help the evil lord to gain back his full strength, and then battle against Senai Wu's army of Spinjitzu warriors in order to find the golden weapons and allow Lord Garmadon to rise to power once more.

Multiplayer Mode allows you to battle against your family and friends to prove who is the best Spinjitzu Master. Play as an evil Skullen, or a Spinjitzu hero in a showdown of skills.

In conclusion, this is an interesting game. It features many traditional elements from the Lego videogame series, including a bucket-load of humorous cutscenes and creative gameplay.  If you enjoyed the first Lego Battles game and are looking for a new challenge, then this is the game for you. Overall rating: 8/10.