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Games : Recommended
Ranking:
Sale Price: $18.99 Last Price: $19.99 Buy now! 3rd Party 9.49 In Stock
Release Date: February 7th, 2014 Movie Release Year: 2014

The Lego Movie Videogame

Overview -

Nestled right between 'Lego Marvel Super Heroes' and 'Lego The Hobbit comes 'The Lego Movie Videogame.' Unlike its fellow Lego games, 'The Lego Movie Videogame' was shrouded in mystery right up until release, with scenes from the movie taking the place of gameplay footage. Of course, the movie was somewhat mysterious in its own right, an apparent mish-mash of licenses and with a story about the Special, and the conflict between the Master Builders and President Business. Nevertheless, with Traveller's Tales pedigree in hand, the hope has to be that everything in 'The Lego Movie Videogame' is awesome.

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
VIDEO
AUDIO
Tech Specs & Release Details
Audio Formats:
LPCM 5.1
Release Date:
February 7th, 2014

Video Review

Ranking:

With so many movie cutscenes, it's a wonder that the whole movie isn't included. Why have the Batman stereo system scenes, and not have his song? As for the actual rendered game, it's a strong candidate for the best-looking Lego game by far. Many scenes look taken straight from other Lego games, but others have a new level of animated environment (inspired by the film) that fly in the face of any thoughts of the game being "cheap." The character variety from Unikitty to Metal Beard to Lord Business make for a lot to see, and that's before digging into all of the 96 playable characters. (Sadly, several movie cameos, such as the Millennium Falcon visit, are naught to be found.)

Cloud Cuckoo Land and the ocean surface are standouts. It's unfortunate then that the visuals often devolve into a dozen laser blasts coming from each side or a group of construction workers looking to drill out a spot that was drilled out 14 levels ago. Eventually, with so many scripted sequences carelessly causing unsightly clipping, the player will become numb to registering how unfinished those sequences look.

Audio Review

Ranking:

If you think you heard 'Everything is Awesome' a lot in the movie, prepare to be inundated. The credits alone are enough to reprogram any life-long fatalist. Still, the game has plenty of catchy tracks, and easily outclasses the other Lego games. And that's before considering tracks on the giant iPod.

While the music is good, it almost seems like damning praise to write that the voice acting is off the charts. For a movie tie-in game, the voice acting can be one the bigger shackles, but the results in 'The Lego Movie Videogame' speak for themselves. While many lines are obviously taken from the movie, there are loads new for the game. Will Arnett's Batman and Morgan Freeman's Vitruvius are worth their weight in gold, and the surprising volume of their quality contributions should help adults enjoy the game as much their children.

Initially, 'The Lego Movie Videogame' frustrates with a poor handling of the movie's awkward story, odd assignment of character powers, and subpar vehicle sequences. By then end though, the player is fully able to be immersed in Lego set recreations, offshoots of the best humor, creations, and visuals of the movie, and that special mix of Lego gameplay, exploring collecting, and co-operating. Some aspects of the game touch on new directions for the series, but ultimately a nostalgic enthusiasm for Legos and a growing fondness for some of the movie's characters mean more for the game and its review score.

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