RipTen Videogame Blog » Lego

Minecraft LEGO Will Likely be a Real Thing Soon

Sam Naylor — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:15:21 +0000

Minecraft has passed review by LEGO, and will likely become an official product, though a timeframe was not given.

Last month Mojang (Minecraft’s developer) submitted a design to LEGO Cuusoo, a site which allows users to submit designs for sets. It quickly reached the 10,000 supporters it needed to turn it into a real product.

It is still too early to say whether a Minecraft play set will become a LEGO product as it still needs to go through a review and approval process to ensure it meets our usual LEGO standards, but it is certainly a lot closer.

This is great news, not only because LEGO is fantastic, but because it will introduce the magic of Minecraft to loads of kids if it goes into production. I would have loved Minecraft when I was a child, mostly because I loved LEGO- there’s a clear link between them.

Via [Joystiq]

Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes Fighting Crime This Summer

Justin Carter — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:59:32 +0000

The Lego franchise has been pretty successful these past few years. The toys have starred in games based off Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Batman. A sequel to Lego Batman has been rumored for a while, but now it’s confirmed. Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes will once again feature the dynaminc duo of Batman & Robin.

As the title implies, they’ll be having some help. Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Green Lantern will join the heroes. It’s probably a safe bet that whoever plays as Superman will probably end up knocking the enemies to pieces with one punch, given that he’s got super strength.

On the villains side, expect the Joker, Lex Luthor, and other villains. Playable vehicles will include the Batwing and Batmobile. This being a Lego game, you can also expect some good old-fashioned humor repeatedly throughout the game. It’ll be available this summer for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC, Nintendo DS, the 3DS, and the Vita.

via Joystiq

What LEGO Gears of War 3 Would Look Like – ‘Bricks of War’ Kicks Ass!

Garrett Hartman — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:29:50 +0000

Ever wonder what the Gears of War Trilogy would look like made out of LEGOs? If you have I’m sure it looked something similar to “Bricks of War” – A stop-motion animation based on the Gears of War franchise.

Thanks to Kooberz Studios, you can watch LEGO Marcus and Dom open a can of Whoopass on a group of Locusts. Watch to see some of the more popular weapons such as the lego Hammer of Dawn.

Check it out below!

And if you’re wondering how challenging it may have been to make Bricks of War, then watch “The Making of Bricks of War” below.

RipTen Review: Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (3DS)

Brandon Fenty — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:52:32 +0000

The Lego Star Wars games have proven to be a golden IP in the past, with a level of charm and good fun that is unparalleled in the gaming world. For some reason, seeing favorite scenes from the epic saga played out with Lego characters has proven to be magical. However, six years after the initial release, do the games still have what it takes?

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars 3D is based on pretty much the same concepts as the previous entries in the series. You fight, puzzle, and build your way through various re-imagined scenes from the Star Wars Universe. The mechanics really haven’t changed; you have Jedi wielding lightsabers, clone troopers with blasters, and a few other specialized variations. While the idea is fun, it’s starting to feel a little dated. Besides putting the game in 3D, it feels no different than any other Lego Star Wars game to date. The puzzles are simple, it’s impossible to die, and too often you’ll feel like it’s just more of the same.

The ‘puzzles’ in the game tend to leave something to be desired. While Lego Star Wars has never been much of a mind-bender when it comes to solving puzzles, they’re usually somewhat-cleverly designed and have a good ‘ah-ha!’ moment to them. In The Clone Wars, the puzzles are all but spelled out for you, and really consist of destroying everything in sight, then using the broken pieces to build something different. It’s not very complicated, and gets old quickly.

The graphics in the game don’t appear to be pushing the system very hard. Lego games have never really been graphically intensive, and this game is no different. The characters are easily recognizable, and there can be a lot going on on-screen at times, but overall it just feels a little bland. There are noticeable jagged edges on some of the models, and none of the environments are particularly interesting.

Despite these graphical downfalls, the game still manages to look decent. 3D really does add a lot to the game, if for no other reason than the effect is cool. Watching blaster bolts go flying off in different directions has a new appeal with the addition of depth. It’s not enough to save the graphics overall, but it does make an otherwise lackluster experience more entertaining.

The sound is one of the high points of the game. The lightsabers, blasters, and music are all perfectly replicated from the movies, and really help to immerse you into the action. The music especially still feels as epic today as it did when the opening text rolled for the first time on the first Star Wars back in the 70s.

Another point where The Clone Wars is lacking is multiplayer. Simply, there isn’t any. While playing together on the same screen is obviously out, including at least some sort of system link would have been great. In the console Lego games, a great deal of the fun was working through the puzzles with a partner; that lack of the cooperative element is a major omission in this case.

In the end, The Clone Wars is a mediocre experience. The game really hasn’t changed too much since its original 2005 release, and it’s starting to really show its age. The graphics are lackluster and also feel dated. While the 3D effect does add some flair, it’s not enough to save the game. The repetitive gameplay and mindless puzzles are fun at first, but grow old by the end of the game. The lack of cooperative play rounds out the overall failure of the game. There’s nothing bad about the experience; just nothing particularly good. Anyone over the age of ten will probably lose interest in this title long before they finish the story mode.

Here’s The Rundown:

+Lego Star Wars is cool

+3D effect adds to the game

-Overall graphics are lackluster

-Feels like the same game that was released in 2005

Nintendo 3DS LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean Announced + Four Screenshots

Bryce Wilson — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:55:45 +0000

For all you swashbuckling adventure fans you will soon be able to take your pirating exploits on the road… And we mean pirating of the high and mighty seas type, not the recent Crysis 2 and Killzone 3 type!

Pirates of the Caribbean will be taking full advantage of the 3DS’s handheld capabilities, even Street Pass, allowing players to cross swords in a new “Pirate Duel” mode that will operate reminiscent to the old Digimon styles. Players can choose from a series of attacks and blocks with the winner earning a number of in-game coins and experience points that will allow them to level up.

Adam Sussman, the Senior Vice President of Publishing at Disney Interactive Studios was excited about the prospects of the title saying;

“The Nintendo 3DS lets players experience a LEGO game like never before, and allows us to add new depth to the Pirates of the Caribbean universe, the game incorporates new features such as the Pirate Duel system and high-resolution 3D effects to deliver fun and clever gameplay fans of the LEGO series expect. “

For those of you, including myself, who are excited about this title keep your eyes open for it in May 2011. Let us know what you think in the comments below, or hit me up on Twitter – @DrjftGaming. For now though, enjoy the below screenshots.

I’ve Seen LEGO Pirates of The Caribbean – It’s a Drunken Good Time (Yarrrr)

Dave Oshry — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:43:08 +0000

I recently had the chance to sit down with Traveler’s Tales to check out their latest LEGO game – Pirates of the Caribbean. Neither franchise needs any introduction and quite frankly, it was only a matter of time before TT took Disney’s beloved franchise into the world of LEGO.

If you’re not familiar with TT’s LEGO games, then you must be living under a barrel of rum because they’re kind of a big deal. There’s been LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Indiana Jones, LEGO Batman, LEGO Harry Potter and even LEGO Rock Band. Not only that, but each and every game has been a critical and financial success. For anyone who still thinks LEGO games are for kids, think again. These games are just as captivating as their original movie counterparts and when you add in the sort of humor that only Traveler’s Tales can provide – you’ve literally got games that are fun for all ages.

Getting back to the game at hand – LEGO Pirates is not simply just another LEGO game. The engine and therefore graphics have been noticeably updated and the game itself looks amazing. The textures, the lighting, the shadows and the animations are all better than ever and I was downright impressed by how good LEGO Pirates “looked.” I firmly believed the last LEGO game looked great and I didn’t think this game needed a graphical update – but apparently I was wrong, as Traveler’s Tales has definitely taken the visual appeal of LEGO to the next level.

In fact, I was not aware that it was possible to make LEGO characters look this much like Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom . . .

But it’s not just a pretty game – LEGO Pirates is packed full of content. The game will span all four (yes four) movies, feature nearly every character from each, and will be released alongside the new Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides this may. Does this mean Traveler’s Tales has seen and knows the plot of the new movie already? Yes, it does – and I’m /jealous.

The combat and platforming/puzzle solving in the game will be familiar to those who have played previous LEGO games. It’s your basic co-op button masher with light puzzle and platforming elements. The only real difference here is there will be much more swashbuckling and blunderbussing. Yes, blunderbussing is now a word. Try saying it yourself, it’s fun. BLUNDERBUSSING.

Anyhow – the game will also feature the drop in/drop out co-op we’ve all come to love but will once again not feature an online multiplayer component. This is sad news for those of you who have no real life friends or family to play with.

They Even Brought Along a Life Sized LEGO Jack Sparrow!

However, the real draw here is the attention to detail Traveler’s Tales has paid to making the world and characters of LEGO Pirates as authentic as possible. The setting is there, the story is there (the rum is there), and the characters and all of their defining characteristics are definitely there. In fact, LEGO Jack Sparrow may be the most adorably bad ass character I’ve ever seen in a video game. He even has the trademark Keith Richards meets Hunter S. Thompson swagger that Johnny Depp has made famous and it’s things like this that let you know how much effort Traveler’s Tales puts into these games.

The game is coming this May to every conceivable platform: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii PSP, Nintendo DS and 3DS, and PC.

Is LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean going to be another home run for Traveler’s Tales and LEGO? I’d have to say, Yarrrrrrrrrrrr

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean’s Blocktastic Screens and Trailer

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:42:38 +0000

Yes, it’s blocky and the characters are made out LEGOs, but it is still Pirates Of The Caribbean. The game will feature storylines, locations and characters direct from the movies, as well as from the yet to be released fourth in the series – Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Players can play as 70 different characters and explore the more than 20 levels.The game also features two-player co-op, and a Freeplay mode, which lets players return to levels to discover new items.

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean will be released in May together with the new movie for the DS, PC, PSP, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.

Our editor Dave Oshry is checking out LEGO Pirates today in NYC – look for his impressions shortly!

Enjoy the trailer and screens!

RipTen Review: Lego Harry Potter (iPhone)

Brandon Fenty — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 17:09:02 +0000

Lego Harry Potter on the iPhone has quite a pedigree to live up to. Going back to the original Lego Star Wars game, Travelers Tales has been able to create truly memorable games based in the Lego universe. Lego Harry potter is no different; managing to live up to it’s name as Lego while also establishing itself as a worthy game in it’s own right.

Lego Harry Potter for iPhone looks gorgeous. The camera has a bit more of an isometric view than you may be used to from the console version, but the level of detail is impressive, especially for a mobile game. The quirky cutscenes are there in all their glory. Characters and environments are beautifully detailed, and the high resolution textures really showcase the retina display.

The games controls are understandably different from anything on a console, mostly because of the touchscreen. Travelers Tales didn’t simply slapan onscreen joystick on there, instead going for a more intuitive “tap to interact” approach. Basically, if you want to use something, you just tap it. Movement is controlled by tapping where you want to go on the screen. Harry follows your finger if you hold it down. To be honest, this took a little getting used to, but the in the end I found it very intuitive and easy to use. After a few minutes of playing, I wasn’t having to think about the controls at all, and that’s a sure sign of a good control system.

The game plays much like the console versions as well. Puzzles are interesting and present just the right level of challenge. Adults will still enjoy them, while kids will not be totally lost. It’s a fine balance that Travelers tales has always had to walk with the Lego franchise, and they’ve done it again with the mobile version. They’ve still got the silly humor of all Lego games, and have kept the cutscenes intact. The game also features many minigames, such as matching and tracing a pattern with your finger. These games help to mix up the gameplay, but tend to get a little repetitive after a while.

Travelers tales could have just made a crappy movie game. They could have just cashed in on the huge success of the Harry Potter movies and previous Lego games. Instead, they made a polished, well designed mobile game that is not simply a port, but optimized from the very start as a mobile game. I hope that this means that more Lego games are coming to the mobile platform. If you’re a fan of either series, I highly recommend picking this game up. It’s one of the most polished mobile games I’ve played all year.

The Rundown:
-Beautiful graphics
-Travelers Tales does it again

-Travelers Tales does it again
-No Game Center support (yet)

Why You AND Your Kids Will Love LEGO Universe

Brandon Fenty — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:15:06 +0000

This writeup is based on a beta copy of the game, and everything in it is subject to change before release.

Back in 1997, when LEGO Island became the first video game based on Lego, no one could have imagined what the franchise would have become. LEGO has made their own version of classics such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, as well as more modern films such as Harry Potter. The lineup also includes completely original titles like LEGO Racer. Nearly 40 games and thirteen years from that first step, we now have LEGO Universe. And it lives up to the pedigree.

LEGO Universe borrows heavily from previous LEGO games; there is still the quick build mechanic, the game maintains the cute art style, and destroying random objects gives you rewards. But there is also a lot of new ground covered in this game. Your ability to build is controlled by your Imagination (think Mana). The amount of Imagination you can store increases as you level up throughout the game, allowing you to build more complicated things and progress further. There is also a health system, and it is possible to die (which results in your minifigure falling apart).

There are three main methods of building in the game, of varying difficulty:

Quick Building – Automatically builds a predetermined model, and uses up your Imagination
Choice Building – Allows you to choose from sets of pre-made chunks of a model, and arrange them how you like
Custom Building – Gives you access to individual Lego Bricks and lets you put them together however you like

You pick up the various bricks for building throughout the game by smashing objects, defeating enemies, and completing quests. Building can be done anywhere there is a build area (usually for the Choice Building), or on the player’s private property. For instance, near a race track there will be a Build Area to assemble your race car. These are instanced, so multiple people can be building simultaneously in the same area without interfering with one another. On their own property, players can create persistent creations such as a house, and allow their friends to come visit, or make it public so everyone can hang out in their sweet creation. Check out some building B-Roll below!!

While the game is obviously intended for young audiences to be able to pick it up and play, depth is not sacrificed. There are four factions you can join, and each comes with rewards. You can purchase armor from each faction, which will increase your abilities and sometimes get you special powers. The armor is all themed to match the faction, and comes in sets with special bonuses for having more pieces of the set. There’s really no skill tree, experience points, or leveling. Instead, stats are determined by the player’s equipment, which is improved consistently throughout the game.

Make no mistake, LEGO Universe is a full fledged MMO. Theres customizeable gear, questing, full instances, PvE, PvP, vendors, pets, an economy and player housing!! Check out our video of some early questing below!!

LEGO has also included a nice mechanic by adding minigames. For instance, there is a version of Lego Racer, where players can earn different car parts throughout the game to give them boosts in performance. So far, there aren’t powerups for the cars like in Lego Racer, but that may change throughout the development cycle of the game (here’s hoping it does). These minigames are PvP, so players can race against each other, or battle it out in an arena.

In a game designed to be played by kids, safety is a huge factor. Lego has gone all out to ensure that kids are safe while playing the game. Creations that will be seen by other players are moderated to prevent offensive content. Player names are moderated, and anything not generated by the system has to be approved by a human moderator before it can be used as a name. Even the in-game chat is moderated, with words not recognized by the in-game dictionary not allowed to be sent. You can type it, but the game won’t even allow you to send the message until all the words are recognized. While this might seem a little extreme, it really doesn’t stop players from being able to say what they need to, while keeping offensive words from having any chance of appearing in the game.

All else aside, LEGO Universe has one major thing going for it. It’s just plain fun. Whether you are 6 or 26, LEGO Univserse is a fun game to play with your friends and family, and unlike many MMO’s, it is also easy to pick up as well as put down. Not only would I recommend letting your kids play LEGO Universe, but if you’re a gamer, I’d recommend you play it with them!!

Lego Universe is available for Pre-Order on the Lego Universe page for $39.99, and after that will be $9.99/mo. While that’s cheaper than most MMO subscription fees, is it too much to ask for a game meant for 13-15 year olds? Pre-ordering gets you access to a special Astronaut Minifigure that will be playable in the game, as well as the physical minifigure being included with the copy. People that pre-order will also get early access to the game starting October 12, 2010. For everyone else, the game ships on October 26.

We are definitely having a fun time playing LEGO Universe right now. Want to get in on the brick busting action?

Be one of the first TEN people to repost this article via Facebook or Twitter (and link that you did so in our comments) and you can win a free beta key . . . RIGHT NOW!!

Possible LEGO Call of Duty On The Cards?

Bryce Wilson — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 11:35:54 +0000

We all know and love LEGO. We have LEGO Star Wars, we even have LEGO Harry Potter, so what about some hugely successful gaming franchises, Call of Duty for example?

Josh Olin, the Community Manager over at Treyarch recently tweeted;

LEGO Call of Duty? It could work…

In that tweet he also linked to a video (below) that depicts a scene featuring a bunch of gun-toting LEGO soldiers in a pretty awesome combat scene. It is extremely well done, and might have just ignited the spark in something huge; LEGO Call of Duty. I for one think it could happen, but more than likely wont due to the family friendly nature of the past LEGO video games, and LEGO in general. You might think differently though, so let us know your thoughts with a quick comment.

LEGO Prince of Persia, Coming Soon?

Dave Oshry — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:05:26 +0000

There have been LEGO games based on Star Wars, Batman, and Indiana Jones. Could Prince of Persia be the next franchise to undergo a LEGO based treatment?

Well yes, and no. You see, there is an actual LEGO Prince of Persia playset, but there has been no official announcement of a game … yet. However, the animated short below (narrated by Jake Gylenhaal no less) makes me think that it is only a matter of time.

In case you’re wondering, the clip you just watched is loosely based on the recently released Prince of Persia Movie, but you’d have no problem convincing me that it could double for a video game trailer.

Do you want a LEGO Prince of Persia game? I sure as hell do! Sound off below.

Lego Luigi

Dylan Duarte — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:58:19 +0000

Lego bricks are awesome. Just look at this damn thing. Mad props to dm_meister for constructing such an awesome tribute to an awesome character. Mad, rage-filled props.

LEGO Rock Band announced

Sam Naylor — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:40:42 +0000

LEGO Rock Band has been officially announced today, after plenty of internet rumours and speculation. The game will ship in “Holiday 2009″ for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Harmonix and TT Games will be working together for all versions of the game, and Rock Band Unplugged developer Backbone Entertainment will join in the fun for the DS version. Hit the jump for a little more info and a few confirmed tracks (The Final Countdown is in there).

Blur: “Song 2″

Carl Douglas: “Kung Fu Fighting”

Europe: “The Final Countdown”

Good Charlotte: “Boys and Girls”

Pink: “So What”

Warner Bros. have issued the following statement, too:

“LEGO Rock Band combines the multiplayer music experience of Rock Band with the fun, customization and humor of the LEGO videogame franchise packed with brilliant chart-topping songs and classic favorites suitable for younger audiences.”

So LEGO Rock Band is to be aimed at youngsters. Makes sense, but since when do youngsters need a LEGO version of Rock Band to get your plastic guitar all sticky? They do it fine with the normal version.

LEGO Rock Band Confirmed By Harmonix’s Dan Teasdale?

Demi Adejuyigbe — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:38:56 +0000

It’s not like we didn’t see this coming, but at least now we have a 100% solid source. Harmonix’s Dan Teasdale published his full presentation from GDC, including a slide that listed every Harmonix game coming out over the next year, including Rock Band for PSP, The Beatles: Rock Band, and Lego Rock Band. Problem is- Lego Rock Band hasn’t yet been announced.

Teasdale got wise to his egregious boner and promptly fixed the PDF, but as with anything posted on the internet, nothing stays hidden. The PDF, though interested in its entirety as well, also holds a bit of information as to the future of the Guitar Hero franchise. Not only did Teasdale reinforce my theory that the Guitar Hero franchise is dead in the water (That’s about 20 games in two and a half years. Christ, Activision! Harmonix only made 3 games in two years!) but he also displayed rumored Guitar Hero games, such as GHDS 4, GHWT Backstage Pass, and Guitar Hero: BH and MC. No idea what either of those acronyms mean, but I can only hope it’s not Buckethead and Motley Crüe.

Of course, since the LEGO cat is out of the bag, what could this game possibly have regarding LEGOs? Hit the jump to find out.

My Predictions:
•Lego Note Charts – the standard red, green, blue, yellow, and orange rectangles will be replaced with LEGOs, and they’ll break whenever you hit them.
•Brick-based songs – The first tier will probably be along the lines of “Brick House” by the Commodores, “Brick” by the Ben Folds Five, “Hip to Be Square” by Huey Lewis and the News, and “Square One” by Coldplay. Last tiers? All of “Thick as a Brick” by Jethro Tull.
•LEGO Instruments – New instruments! A LEGO guitar, LEGO microphone, and LEGO drums. The LEGO drums are much louder, mich less tactile, and easily broken. But it’s cool, because they’re LEGOs. If they break, you can just put them back together yourself. For this reason, there is no warranty.
•LEGO World Tour – You start off as a greeter at the Legoland gift shop, playing songs for tourists at they enter the door. But you eventually get enough fans to move around the world- to other Legolands! Livin’ the dream, kid!
•LEGO Vehicles – The current Rock Band franchise sports regular vehicles that move you across the world, but none of that crap gets into LEGO Rock Band. As a matter of fact, traveling is very difficult. You could just walk, but then your feet would get stuck in the craggly, symmetrical LEGO ground on occasion. You could drive- but your wheels are bricks. It’s a hard knock life, son.
•Special shoes for drumming – Double LEGO bass pedals. That is all.
•Release date and price - April 9th, 2025 for $196. They’re square numbers.

Rumor: Next Traveler’s Tales LEGO™ Game Is.. LEGO™ Rock Band?

Demi Adejuyigbe — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:45:40 +0000

Every once in a while, we here at Ripten come across barbaric rumors that seem too good to be true, and othertimes, too strange to be true. Sure, there are some weird rumors that have turned out to be true- the Beatles in Rock Band, Street Fighter IV LBP DLC, and even Punch-Out! for the Wii- but I don’t see any way this rumor could be true. According to VG247, Traveler’s Tales is currently hard at work, making a LEGO™ Rock Band game.

I don’t see how this would be in any way different from regular Rock Band game, except for the addition of LEGO™ singers and note charts, but I don’t think that justifies a game. I’d probably just write this off as another joke if it weren’t for VG247′s source assuring them that they are 100% correct. I guess we’ll just have to wait for further comment from Traveler’s Tales or MTV Games.

One thing you could probably say for sure: If this game exists, it’s final song has to be ‘Brick House’ by the Commodores.

Source: Videogaming24/7

Retro LEGO Donkey Kong Game (Video)

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:46:55 +0000

When your wife says that you should make a Donkey Kong game, you know you married the right woman. Dan Kressin’s wife Robyn did just that, and Dan (like any good husband) said yes mam and got right to work.

The following video shows off Dan’s LEGO Mindstorms RCX Donkey Kong creation and definitely drives home the reason why Mario was called Jumpman back in Nintendo’s original 1981 release of the game. I won’t even try to explain how this thing was built, so if you are interested in finding out, read Dan’s explanation here.

Hit the jump for the video.

Source: wrench.vib.org (via brothers-brick.com)

LEGO Grand Theft Auto — For Reals

Dan Landis — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:07:56 +0000

WARNING: Rated M for intense violence, extreme gore, flying motorcycles, and pirates.

I think that a LEGO GTA game would actually be pretty awesome. Think about it.

Source: WeGame

Wii Review: Boom Blox

David Osbon — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:51:50 +0000

Who remembers growing up with Lego? I did, but my strongest memories were not the creating of castles, cars, or in my case, the indescribable. No, some of the best times I had with Lego were from wrecking what had been created.

I had an older brother that spent hours before work creating ships, cars & buildings from the various Lego pieces I had. When I’d get up each morning, my brother’s next Lego creation would keep me in a state of wonder for a few minutes. I’d try to work out how he put them together, then in a blink of an eye, spend the next 5 glorious minutes, knocking it down.

EA’s Boom Blox is a throwback to a more innocent time, where creative toys like Lego were king. Up to a point, it could almost be like Jenga and Lego got together to create this booming offspring of a game.

O.K., now onto what makes Boom Blox tick: the blox themselves. All the individual blox have varying properties (gem, immobile, fragile and bomb being just a few).

The Explore mode, coupled with the initial training mode allow the player to come to grips with each type of blox. These modes also highlight how blox can interact with each other via player’s actions, causing some of the great chain reactions within the game.

Through the Explore mode, Boom Blox presents the player with prizes for doing well, in addition to the chance of a bronze, silver or gold medal. These unlockable prize items are for use within the game’s level editor and they come in all shapes, from extra scenery items right through to new blox characters.

Players using the editor are able to create a brand new level from scratch or remix a previously played level. This goes a long way to keeping the whole Boom Blox experience fresh, but is let down by the fact that player created levels can only be shared with friends. There is no option to show off your created levels within the whole Wii community, which once again shows up flaws within the Wii’s current online makeup.

Since Adventure mode is less adventurous, managed by weak and even childlike storylines, it’s the party mode that keeps Boom Blox afloat. Be it co-op or competitive play, players can put their single-player expertise into the world of Boom Blox multiplayer.

This doesn’t mean that the player can’t head straight into the multiplayer, but make sure you attempt the training stage at the beginning of the game before you jump in. However, once multiplayer has been feasted upon, the single player does seem like a very light snack in comparison.

The Havok physics engine tunes the whole Boom Blox experience into a feast of crash, bang, and smash action that requires more precision with the Wii remote than you may think at first. Players will have fun discovering just how hard to throw or how delicate to pull at the blox structures in Boom Blox.

Luckily, the frustrations of failed attempts by players can’t be directed at the game engine. The Havok physics engine feels a perfect foil for game play and stays totally in tune with each player move via the Wii controller.

Boom Blox is a perfect companion piece for the Wii, showing off what the console can do right and giving a future scope for game publishers. Wii owners can dare to be a little more hopeful that the future of gaming for the console will bring titles that compare with the effortless pleasure that is Boom Blox.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

Ninja Gaiden 2 and Bourne Conspiracy Given Euro Release Dates

Kev Lochun — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:37:43 +0000

As if June wasn’t going to be busy enough with Lego Indy on the 6th and Guns of the Patriots on the 12th, two more heavy hitters have been stamped with a June release.

Sierra have let out that the Bourne Conspiracy will be released on the 27th for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. We sat down with three levels at Play.com Live a few weeks back – expect a preview shortly.

Meanwhile, Tecmo’s claret-heavy Ninja Gaiden 2 for 360 is mooted as the 6th following an update to retailer GAME’s website – an assertion that has allegedly been confirmed by ‘inside sources’.

True or not, better start raiding the piggy bank; July’s going to be tight.

Source: Bourne Conspiracy, Ninja Gaiden 2