In honor of LEGO Batman's release this week, we've decided to go LEGO crazy -- even if that's only in spirit. Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: The big push this weekend is to finish LEGO Infinite Undiscovery. It's still going along perfectly fine. I really believe the low scores are from reviewers tossing the game aside because of the horribly designed first few hours. Not that with the glut of games coming out now I'd recommend it, but there's nothing actually wrong with it JRPG-wise. Also, spending some time playing LEGO Batman co-op.
Christopher Grant: Keeping the PS3 fired up, I'll be alternating between wrapping up LEGO Beyond Good & Evil (it just keeps getting better!) and putting as much time as I can into the LEGOBigPlanet beta. Since this is my last weekend with the consoles before jetting off to the far-off world of Japan, I'll also try to finish LEGO Castle Crashers, play some LEGO Pure, and maybe some LEGO Geometry Wars 2 before someone kills me for avoiding it.
Griffin McElroy: While the rest of you will probably be satisfying your retro urges by spending your weekend with a certain blue robot, I'll be scratching that itch by finishing up LEGO Secret of Evermore, which I recently found within the darkest depths of my closet. Once that's done, I think I might start playing another (slightly less appreciated) SNES classic, LEGO Illusion of Gaia. I'm starting to wonder if LEGO Ross is going to stop including me in this feature as the majority of my weekend titles as of late were published in the Clinton era. [Edit: This post has had been once published in 1996.]
Kevin Kelly and Kyle Orland are attending The Coalition of People Whose Name Start with a K. They're taping a Sesame Street cameo.
Jason Dobson: I've taken to spending my weekends playing LEGO boardgames, and I'll be pulling myself away from the little blue klepto to take shotgun in hand. Next stop: LEGO ZombieTown.
Justin McElroy: As always, I'd encourage all of you to go out, have a few drinks and meet a nice guy or gal to fall in love with, because it's the weekend. As I'm now a married fella, I'll be playing LEGO Armored Core For Answer or LEGO Warhammer Online.
Ludwig Kietzmann: It's a weekend of technological contrast for me. When I'm not shaking my fist at LEGO Mega Man 9's robot masters and swearing that this will be my final attempt, I'll be diving into the 1080p paradise that is LEGO WipEout HD. Those Zone tracks are hypnotic!
Randy Nelson: Should I find myself in too happy a mood this weekend, I'll just fire up LEGO Mega Man 9 and nip that right in the bud. No matter how many games I've beaten over the years, or how many mad skillz (yo) I think I possess, it never fails to make me feel like I don't know nuthin' (but I can't. stop. playing.). Of course, it'll be pretty gorram hard to bring me down from the incredible heights of the LEGOBigPlanet beta and LEGO WipEout HD. Just try, little blue guy!
Ross Miller will be playing my favorite off-the-grid-and-on-the-grill-and-gridiron game: drinking while watching the (LEGO) Georgia Bulldogs take on Alabama in the comfort of my living room. As for video games, I've got one more rhythm in LEGO Rock Band 2 drum trainer to vanquish (Disco 4), then it's back to World Tour and maybe playing catch-up with whatever library of titles I didn't just sell to GameStop.
The American Museum of Natural History is known for being one of the most prestigious ... wait, is that a giant Batman made out of Legos? Yes, the fine folks behind the LEGO Batman video game have somehow managed to turn the sacred Museum grounds into a carnival, filled with good ol' fashioned carnival games. Popcorn, hotdog and suspect lemonade were all on hand as kids and games journalists of all ages partook in all sorts of classics like, er, whatever this game is.
Quite possibly the most attractive display at the event was this mini-warehouse, littered with various LEGO Batman characters. Quite possibly the most deadly display were the cupcakes, with not-so-edible Batman and Joker characters on top. (We found out the hard way. Ouch.)
Lego Batman is going to use his grappling hook to swing from consoles to television screens sometime in the near future. Traveller's Tales producer Rich Earl dropped the news that an unnamed studio is working on a spinoff animated show. Right now, it's a one-off 20 minute production, but they're undoubtedly looking to make it into a series. You've got Lego, you've got Batman... what else do you need?
We wouldn't mind seeing an Indiana Jones and the Mysterious Lego show either. The tongue-in-cheek humor that appears in these games is perfect for animated shows, and it could prep young, malleable minds to become Robot Chicken fans down the line. Speaking of which, where's Robot Chicken: The Game? Curse you television, for warping our young minds. Now pass us that video game controller.
You may be operating under the completely misguided assumption that stop-motion Lego Donkey Kong is the best thing you've ever seen, but, we promise you, it's old news. Those of us really in the know are into real-time Lego Donkey Kong, which you can see just above, if you're not already watching, tears streaming down your face and sobbing so loudly that you're scaring the cat.
If you want to see how the totally awesome Dan Kressin made this gorgeous monstrosity, there's a behind-the-blocks video just after the break.
Speaking with Variety, Traveller's Tales president Jon Burton revealed that his company – which created LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Indiana Jones, and the upcoming LEGO Batman – is working on more block-tastic titles based on Warner Bros. IPs. "We've gotten started doing some LEGO games on the Warner IP," Burton confirms, stating that they are "down the line." That's games plural.
In the piece, Burton is also quoted as saying: "To be able to dabble around in CG and film would be interesting," and that, "Warner allows me to push in those directions without 'quitting the day job,' so to speak." We reckon that games based on movies are definitely one way to fulfill that interest, but which WB properties (other than the Caped Crusader) could be LEGO-worthy? We'd be interested in seeing how Traveller's Tales would tackle such anticipated Warner projects as Watchmen, Terminator Salvation, and Superman: Man of Steel. Let's just hope it passes on The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2. Which Warner flicks would you like to see LEGO-fied?
Warner Interactive's booth features both miniature and massive-iture versions of the Lego Batman characters. We first noticed that the check-in desk for Warner Bros. Interactive features teeny tiny Lego versions of Robin, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and the Joker on display. Nifty, eh?
Well, apparently being a blogger kills your peripheral vision, so one of the fine WB show runners told us, "Turn around." Lo and behold, a gigantic version of the Lego versions of Batman and Robin, made out of... well, Lego. We wish we had the time, the skill, and the sheer amount of bricks to build things like these. Check 'em out after the jump.
He's uncovered the fate of Atlantis, bested an infernal machine and rummaged through an emperor's tomb, but everybody's favorite Nazi-punching archaeologist faces his greatest challenge in a world made entirely out of toy blocks. Lego Indiana Jones has arrived to fairly favorable reviews, with most critics approving of the game's silent, comedic send-up of classic movie moments. If you're not the only kid in the house and enjoy collecting lots and lots and lots of things, you could do worse than tossing the developer your idle cash.
IGN(80/100): "Traveller's Tales has once again delivered an experience that boils down to smashing stuff over and over again while searching for secrets, while also managing to make that formula fun and addictive. It's certainly not a huge leap over the LEGO Star Wars titles, and in fact still has some of that series' issues, but it's no less enthralling and certainly a fun adventure worth taking on."
1UP(75/100): "Lego Indy's main quest isn't terribly expansive -- you can finish it in a weekend, and that's if you take your time -- but the game's unquestionably built for completists, with a ton of hidden treasure and extra characters (you can unlock pretty much every character in the films, right down to Last Crusade's castle butler). It's easy to dismiss as kids' fare, but Lego Indiana Jones is a light, enjoyable action game, especially if you've got a willing friend for co-op play."
Eurogamer(70/100): "This is all starting to sound a bit grinchy, so at this point I feel I should point out that my five-year-old son, who helped me with the hands on preview, is currently at 99.7 percent completion on our second save game with just one character left to unlock. He's certainly commented on the absence of familiar features, and seems less enthused about collecting billions of LEGO studs now that there's not as much to spend them on, but he's still been happily replaying his favourite levels over and over, just as he did with Star Wars."
[Note: Listed reviews are for the Xbox 360 version. The game is also available on PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP, PC and DS.]
Danny Elfman's recognizable Batman score finally makes an audible appearance in the latest Lego Batman trailer featuring The Joker and his our beloved Harley Quinn (found after the break). New character trailers appear to be getting released every couple weeks, as the trailer featuring Catwoman and Riddler released a month ago, and the trailer with Two Face and Scarecrow (above) came out two weeks ago.
Remember, Lego Indiana Jones releases June 6. We're still waiting for Lego Terminator to be announced. Come on, admit it, that would be awesome!
Tim Harding has redeemed his score change. His one-half contribution to 2P Start's"Lego my statue" strip this week one-half earned him one-half of the award for the week's best game-related webcomic.
Second and third place go to Fanboys Online – from a week prior but we tragically missed it – and XKCD, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomic you stumble upon this week!
The Lego Indiana Jones website is now live and features a little "treasure hunt" game where users search for riches and can then "purchase" wallpapers, avatars and coloring sheets. There's also the standard stuff like a community forum and screenshots, along with the trailer for the game.
A downloadable demo should be available for PC on May 13 (also available on the movie DVDs) and we're not finding any information on a console demo, but that doesn't mean there won't be one. Lego Indy begins beating up Nazisrandom cult members at retail June 3.
Pop quiz time, hot shot: Name 60 characters from the Indiana Jones movies. Having trouble? We got to about a dozen before we had to start stretching the definition of "character" with things like "Nazi guard No. 2" and "Train Car Full of Snakes." Despite this, Activision is somehow promising to squeeze 60 playable characters into the upcoming Lego Indiana Jones, according to a fact sheet reprinted by VideoGaming247.com.
Of course it's easy to have a boatload of characters when creating a new one is just a matter of putting a new jacket and hat on a Lego Minifigure, but the info. sheet also promises "character specific abilities" such as "excavation by Satipo, an umbrella slide by Marcus Brody, and monkey access by Marion Ravenwood." That's all well and good, but we're really looking forward to "Nazi Guard No. 2's" special ability, which we hear involves melting and exploding. Fun for the whole family.
In light of Gibson's recent penchant for lawsuits, we thought we'd find a Guitar Hero image for the recap (please don't sue us, Gibson). Here's a Fender guitar, a Guitar Hero guitar and a Fender bass made out of LEGO that's functional as a GH controller. Blue Star Lego calls it a "Family Snapshot." Check out the highlights for today:
To answer the question you have yet to ask us, "Yes, you can have more Portal-inspired art." Here is a rather impressive stop motion piece created by Nick Larsen. Although the background music is none too surprising, the LEGO vibe (not just the visuals) breathes life into this now-saturated market of post-modern Portal pieces, much in the same way LEGO Star Wars has a unique feel from its source material. This begs the question: Where is LEGO Portal? Don't let us down, Valve.
A press release for Play.com's Live event revealed that Lego Indiana Jones, slated to be playable at the event, is coming to retail channels on June 6. Eurogamer has confirmed the date with the ever-reliable "Top Secret Games Industry Source" and, frankly, we're happy for our European readers who don't have to wait for the usual long delay between North American release (coming June 3).
The June 6 date reportedly applies to all platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Eurogamer's source also noted that Lego Batman is coming later this year.
It's a safe bet that every video game nerd worth their fedora has June 3 already circled on their calendar, and plans to brave venomous asps and rolling boulders in order to pick up and play Traveller's Tales upcoming Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures the day it swings to retail. Still, those few who remain unconvinced of the marriage of twelve o'clock shadow and Lego bricks can look forward to trying the game out early, as Paramount and Lucasfilm plan to include both a trailer and playable demo on a set of special edition DVD versions of the Indy movies shipping out in mid-May.
The discs will be available both individually, as well as bundled together as a box set, and will be available on May 13, just prior to that new Crystal Skull adventure. It's unclear which version of the game will be represented by the included demo, with Lego Indiana Jones currently expected to fight Nazis anonymous cultists on every platform under the sun -- though let's be honest, we hope the demo will make the rounds online on or around the same time.
