Lego The Lord of the Rings (video game)

Lego The Lord of the Rings

Developer(s) Traveller's Tales
Publisher(s) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Feral Interactive (OS X)[1]
Composer(s) Rob Westwood
Howard Shore (original soundtracks)
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 3
PlayStation Vita
Xbox 360
Wii
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo DS
OS X[1]
iOS
Release date(s) PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS & Nintendo DS
  • NA 30 October 2012
  • EU 23 November 2012
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows & Wii
  • NA 13 November 2012
  • EU 23 November 2012
OS X
  • NA 22 February 2013
iOS
7 November 2013
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Lego The Lord of the Rings is a multi-platform action-adventure video game, developed by Traveller's Tales, that was released on Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The OS X version of the game, published by Feral Interactive, was released on 21 February 2013.[1]

Based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the game follows the original storylines of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, taking players through the epic story events, "re-imagined with the humour and endless variety of Lego play". The game utilises music and voice acting taken from all three films of the film trilogy. Developer Traveller's Tales has stated they toned down the slapstick humor found in other Lego-licensed titles. The game follows the events in the films; however, like the Lego Star Wars series, some scenes from the films have been altered to become more family friendly or just provide comic relief to the player.

Gameplay

New features are added to the gameplay from the older Lego video games, such as the travelling through Middle-earth in between levels, and switching between storylines of different heroes. Players also collect and use a variety of weaponry and magical items, including the Light of Eärendil, Elven Rope, swords, and bows. New character abilities include Lighting up dark places (Frodo, Gandalf, Radagast and Saruman) and being thrown at things (Gimli and Gloin). Each character has their own inventory that can be used to collect new and better items. The game has a total of 18 levels (plus a bonus level upon completion), as well as a hidden ending, which is unlocked after 100% of the game is complete.

Free roam

In the "open world" mode, the game features one or two changeable characters following the player (or players in the cooperative mode). The game features a blacksmith, who can be found in Bree, to make tools out of Mithril (represented by silver Lego bricks). There are also various side quests that can be found within the open world map, such as fetching a lost tool for a non-player character. While every area of the map is accessible on foot, the quickest way to get across the large area is to use the "fast travel" mode from within the Map screen (found by utilizing the start menu or simply pressing the select button). Free Roam mode spans the entirety of the films but does not allow access to Mirkwood or the lands east, or south of Mordor, giving the player the ability to walk all the way from the Shire to Mordor. It features a split-screen free roam like Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. 'Open world' mode is not available on either the PlayStation Vita or Nintendo DS.

Synopsis

Plot

The game follows the storylines from the The Lord of the Rings films: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. However, the developers modified the storylines to fit the events into a number of game chapters per film. Notable scenes have been recreated from the films, such as the memorable Moria scenes. Each different character has at least one special ability. The game features a new dynamic for a Lego game, where the characters will be able to acquire new items and weaponry as the story advances.

"In contrast to our other games, covering those three films is an epic journey," says TT Games chief Jonathan Smith. "It really is a sense of an adventure rather than a series of stories. You build up your characters as you venture through the world of Middle-Earth. Our hub will be the world of Middle-Earth. As you see that unfold, as you journey through it toward your ultimate destination on this epic quest, that gives it a sense that is completely different to the open world of Gotham of Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. You're really driving forward on a quest. Practically, in terms of the levels there's a mix between fighting and puzzling as you'd expect. We have some very big battles. We have some cool enemies. And then, for puzzling, if you're a connoisseur of the series perhaps you'll remember something more like Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures where we're picking up and dropping items and there's some inventory-based play as well and customization of characters as they go through the adventure."

Characters

There are more than 80 playable characters, including Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Legolas, and many others to discover and unlock including Tom Bombadil, a character who appears in the books but never appeared in the film trilogy. Players experience the The Lord of the Rings heroes come to life in an all new way, as they deliver original dialogue taken directly from the films. Unlike in the Lego The Lord of the Rings sets, the Hobbits appear barefoot like they do in the franchise. The player can also create their own character, by travelling to Hobbiton and entering the Hobbit house with the green door, which is Frodo and Bilbo's house, Bag End.

Development

The game was not released for Wii U because Traveller's Tales, Lego, and Nintendo were busy completing Lego City Undercover, which was already behind schedule.[2] The Wii version for Europe was delayed until 30 November.[3] The game has also been released for iOS. It was released on October 20, 2013. The gameplay is mostly the same, with minor limitations

Audio

Similar to Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, Lego The Lord of the Rings features talking minifigures. This makes it the second Lego game to feature actual dialogue, the third being Lego City Undercover. However, the dialogue is taken directly from the films unlike the other two, which feature original vocals. Additional voices were provided by Eric Artell, Steven Blum, Cam Clarke, Chris Edgerly, Kieren Elliott, Gideon Emery, Crispin Freeman, Bob Joles, Tom Kane, Jennifer Taylor Lawrence, Yuri Lowenthal, Jim Meskimen, Nolan North, Liam O'Brien, Jon Olson, Jim Piddock, Eliza Schneider, Keith Szarabajka, Fred Tatasciore, Anna Vocino and Hynden Walch.

Marketing and release

Lego The Lord of the Rings complements the Lego The Lord of the Rings toy collection. The pre-ordered game comes with a unique Elrond minifigure with a code to enter on the game's homepage for a wallpaper and designer video. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes includes a trailer for the game. A demo was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS and Xbox 360. Upon release, the Xbox 360 version had been potentially recalled for being shipped with demo discs rather than the full retail copy.[4]

Downloadable content

Lego Lord of the Rings has three packs of downloadable content (DLC), which were also available with pre-ordering the game. The first one includes Sméagol (before he was corrupted as Gollum), Sauron in his Second Age "fair" form (Annatar), and three other characters, and the second one includes characters such as a Mini-Balrog and a Corsair of Umbar. The third one includes only tools, such as the Three Elven rings, and a fourth includes a special Faramir and a Barrow-wight. There is no way to buy the DLC for the PC version of the game.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(Wii) 85%[5]
(PC) 83.67%[6]
(PS3) 82.08%[7]
(X360) 81.41%[8]
(3DS) 64%[9]
(Vita) 49.33%[10]
Metacritic(PS3) 82/100[11]
(PC) 80/100[12]
(X360) 80/100[13]
(3DS) 61/100[14]
(Vita) 54/100[15]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge6/10[16]
Eurogamer9/10[17]
G44/5[18]
GameSpot8.5/10[19]
GamesRadar[20]
IGN6.8/10[21]
VideoGamer.com8/10[22]

Lego The Lord of the Rings has received generally positive reviews from critics, mostly praising the story, humour and visuals based on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Feral Interactive: LEGO The Lord of the Rings release announcement".
  2. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (5 December 2012). "Why Lego: LOTR skipped Wii U". GameSpot. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "LEGO Lord of the Rings - Exclusive Elrond Edition". Game. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  4. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (13 November 2012). "Lego Lord of the Rings Xbox 360 facing limited recall". GameSpot. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for Wii". GameRankings. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for PlayStation 3". GameRankings. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for Xbox 360". GameRankings. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for 3DS". GameRankings. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for PlayStation Vita". GameRankings. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for PlayStation 3 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for Xbox 360 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for 3DS Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "LEGO The Lord of the Rings for PlayStation Vita Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "Lego The Lord Of The Rings review". Edge. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  17. ↑ Whitehead, Dan (20 November 2012). "Lego The Lord Of The Rings review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  18. ↑ Rubens, Alex (21 November 2012). "LEGO The Lord of the Rings Review for Xbox 360". G4 Media. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  19. ↑ Venter, Jason (21 November 2012). "Lego The Lord Of The Rings Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  20. ↑ Rorie, Matthew (19 November 2012). "LEGO Lord of the Rings Review". GamesRadar. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  21. ↑ Ingenito, Vince (26 November 2012). "The last drops of the well.". IGN. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  22. ↑ White, Sam (20 November 2012). "LEGO The Lord of the Rings Review". VideoGamer. Retrieved 22 January 2013.

External links