LEGOLOTR Catch-All

LEGOlas wants you to play on just about every possible platform this fall.

My kids are into both Lord of the Rings and LEGO, so yeah - this is a day one buy for me.

SOLD

The Lego gameplay has no luster left at all for me, and I've played enough LOTR games that just seeing the events again isn't a draw either. And I know for a lot of people, half the charm of these games is the lack of voice, the exaggerated mimicry.

Some E3 impressions from Todd Brakke at No High Scores:

What really stood out here, however, wasn’t the attention to detail brought to Lego-izing this iconic setting (though it’s considerable), but the number of RPG-lite wrinkles they’re adding to usual Lego model. Characters will have small inventories to manage, a fully explorable and unlockable “hub environment” for Middle Earth, upgradeable items and weapons, and quests to solve. One such example I was given included the need for the party to make a fire, something only Samwise Gamgee can do and something he can only do if he’s got a tinderbox in his possession.

There’s also some new twists to co-op play, including the ability for characters to go into completely separate, but concurrent, questlines when the story demands it. The example I saw took place in the mines of Moria where Gadalf battles the balrog in freefall on one side of the screen while the party escapes on the other. It looked well-implemented and these games have already come a long way with using the split-screen effect to make sure co-op players aren’t driving each other crazy moving in opposite directions. (There are times I dread it when Ana and Kyle boot up Star Wars or Indiana Jones.)

Sold here too. Always looking for more coop games to play with my wife, and since she gets a little bit scared playing even Diablo 3, no way she can tolerate any of the more horror/zombie-focused games that seem to predominate coop.

I missed this: Gamescom 2012 Trailer:

Also, here is nice preview article from IGN.

I could be up for this one. The LEGO games have always interested me, but the first Star Wars games were too unrefined in some ways, and the later games may have superior gameplay but held less interest for me in terms of the franchise. I really liked the look of the Pirates of the Caribbean one, but I didn't know enough about the movies to care. This one will hopefully have both the gameplay and a setting I know enough about to get the jokes.

I'm impressed that it has voice acting. It looks quite good.

Lego Batman 2 had voice acting, too. Im guessing it was just time to move forward.

And yeah, this is pretty much a day one buy in our household.

I don't think the "talking" LEGO games are as charming. Part of the draw of the LEGO games for me was how artfully the pantomime was able to capture the essence of the story. Since LotR is based on a known plot, it seems kind of redundant and cheap that there is voice acting. Just my $.02.

syndicatedragon wrote:

I don't think the "talking" LEGO games are as charming. Part of the draw of the LEGO games for me was how artfully the pantomime was able to capture the essence of the story. Since LotR is based on a known plot, it seems kind of redundant and cheap that there is voice acting. Just my $.02.

Well, there has only been one talking Lego game, which is the recent Batman 2. And it is charming as all get out.

I agree that there was less of a need for it for LotR, but they've shown an ability to use voice acting efficiently.

I picked this up for my son's birthday (he's turning 8). I haven't had time to play much, but he has. They were very happy to report that Sauron was a

Spoiler:

bionicle.

As I watched him play this morning, he was guiding the fellowship up the mountain, while Sarumon chanted in the background. It was typical Lego gameplay where you switched between characters using their special abilities to make your way through the level. Right before the avalanche, the camera pulled back, and the game looked pretty epic. During the cutscene, voices from the movie were used, but it was only the voices, not just the audio from the movie.

So far they are enjoying it.

By the way, dwarf tossing is a mechanic.

Some further impressions:

On some levels player 1 does one area while player 2 does another. The first time I saw this was when the Balrog came to the bridge. Player 1 (my son) began falling with the Balrog and fought him as they both fell. Player 2 had the task of making their way out of the mines. Once the Balrog fight was done, player 1 joined in player 2's side. This happened again while Frodo (player 1) was evading Boromir who was trying to get the ring. The only problem was that the other side (controlling Aragon, Gimli, and Legolas) got to a point where they couldn't progress until player 1 was finished, and there was no indication that this was the case. That was a little frustrating. However, if player 1 dropped out, player 2 could take over that side, which was helpful since my son got stuck on the Frodo side.

If your kids like legos and LOTR, then this is a great game. The best part for me this morning was when my beamed at me and said "I fought a Balrog!"

I so can't wait to get this game, it just sounds like a perfect fit all around.

Here's a good review from Polygon.

My boys are partway through The Two Towers on their playthrough. According to the review, when you finish all the story levels, the game completely opens up and gets really interesting. It even appears that you can simply walk into Mordor from the Shire.

Hot damn, this IP makes for a fantastic LEGO game.

Running around on the first level as Isildur with a frickin broken sword was very cool.

merphle wrote:

Hot damn, this IP makes for a fantastic LEGO game.

I agree!

$7.50 on amazon right now.

I watched the quick look on GB. I've always kind of skipped over these games as being childish (and admittedly they still are), but this one looks hilarious. Should definitely see the movie first so you can appreciate the humour they put into it.

Baron Of Hell wrote:

$7.50 on amazon right now.

Which platform? Still shows regular price for me on the ones I checked.

LeapingGnome wrote:
Baron Of Hell wrote:

$7.50 on amazon right now.

Which platform? Still shows regular price for me on the ones I checked.

PC download. Batman 2 is also on sale.

Edit :looks like PC download isnt available right now.

Second Edit: Apparently you have to search for them by PC download. Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Warner-Bros-Di...

Tamren wrote:

I watched the quick look on GB. I've always kind of skipped over these games as being childish (and admittedly they still are), but this one looks hilarious. Should definitely see the movie first so you can appreciate the humour they put into it.

We've played nearly every Lego game in our household. My wife is a fanatic. They are all surprisingly funny and well written. Soem are obviously better than others, but mostly, if you enjoy the source material, you will enjoy a version of of the game. Both Batman games, in particular, are outstanding.

But yeah, LOtR has been outstanding, and the devs here get a lot of credit for adding dialogue to their games in ways that actually enhance the experience. Batman 2 was the first, but using the audio from the movies is more genius than I would have thought. The real genius has been their willingness to make meaningful changes to the formula in smart ways that have made playing all the games still engaging.

I'm not suggesting people play every one, but I suspect there is a version nearly everyone could get a kick out of.

After watching the Giantbomb Quicklook, I may just buy this. It looks so charming.

One does not simply post once in a LOTR thread.

Mystic, check Amazon. PC Steam key for $7.50.

What is the word on the Character Packs? Are they free? Do we get them on PC?

Finished the main story line, once again exactly what you would want from a Lego game. OK, I would have actually liked more humor, it was very much a homage to the Peter Jackson film's interpretation of the books. No multi-page poems Currently at 40% done enjoying the open world OCD questing though I do not know how long that will hold my interest.

Ha! I just fired it back up again a couple of days ago after beating it over Christmas, with the intention of clearing it 100%. It's still extremely satisfying gameplay.

This game has no mouse support. THIS GAME HAS NO MOUSE SUPPORT! Whose sick idea was this?