Lego The Lord Of The Rings review – hobbit of fun

We can’t imagine there’s anyone in the world that doesn’t love Lego. It’s not just that the little plastic figures and low resolution constructs are so effortlessly charming, but there’s also the understanding that they inspire creativity and imagination - not mindless consumerism. Maybe you haven’t touched a brick since you were a kid but if you’re a gamer there’s a good chance you’re more than familiar with the virtual versions.

The Lord of the Rings is the last great franchise which seems custom-made for turning in a Lego game (well, except for Marvel, but since publisher Warner Bros. owns DC Comics we assume that’s never going to happen). The formula has existed almost unchanged now for seven years, and its requirements are by now clear: a universally recognised brand – ideally including a least a movie trilogy, a large range of varied characters, lots of different vehicles, and the potential for plenty of ranged and melee action.

Indiana Jones and Pirates of The Caribbean were a relatively poor match, Harry Potter was better but still had to be fudged, but Star Wars and DC superheroes fit the template like a glove. Having now played the game we’d definitely put Lord of the Rings in that same top league. A little behind the other two perhaps, but only just.

Whatever else it is this is certainly the best official Tolkien game we think we’ve ever seen. It’s also one of the best movie tie-ins of any kind. Much has been abridged, and whole characters ignored (although the likes of Denethor can still be unlocked once the story is complete), but unlike most movie games you can actually follow the plot simply by playing the game – even if you’ve never seen the films or read the books.

Of course the fact that British developer Traveller’s Tales has the benefit of hindsight, and no rush to meet a movie premiere deadline, certainly helps. As does the fact that they’re able to use the entirety of Howard Shore’s glorious soundtrack and all the actual dialogue from the film. (As of Lego Batman 2 the games have had spoken dialogue, so it’s no longer just mumbles and grunts.)

As a result the cut scenes are longer and more intricate than usual, mimicking all the most iconic moments and ensuring that the emotional ones still resonate. There is of course something intrinsically funny about a Lego Sean Bean gasping his last with a Lego banana stuck in his chest, but the game doesn’t play things for laughs as much as previous titles. Although there’s still some slapstick in the cut scenes, and plenty of gags in the game world’s more obscure corners, this mirrors the tone of the movies surprisingly closely.

Like Lego Batman 2 this features a large open world environment, from which the traditional story-based levels are accessed. Again it’s all in abridged form but the whole of Middle-Earth is encompassed. It looks really good too, and despite objects and textures regularly popping into existence in the middle distance this is easily the best looking Lego game so far. The story levels are particularly impressive, with some excellent cinematic lighting. And despite the game’s size there are far fewer bugs and glitches than normal, although the camera can still be unhelpful.

The basic gameplay is the same as always though, with trivial combat that never involves anything more complex than mashing the attack button when you’re near an enemy. A few characters do have bows or magic staffs to fire ranged weapons, but that’s more or less it. The story levels are more puzzle-based than you might think though, in part to take advantage of the large number of characters that are often following around with you.

Each has a now dizzying array of talents, from Gimli’s ability to smash stone tiles, to Legolas’ super jump, to Sam’s elven rope and fire-starting tinder box. Merry (or was it Pippin?) can fish, the other one has a bucket that can be filled with water, and that’s only the half of it…

The game’s still only two-player (and still offline only) but the co-op action remains amongst the very best in gaming, and in stark contrast to rubbish like Epic Mickey 2. Even though the puzzles are always very obvious the mechanics of solving them somehow still remains engrossing. The Lego games have always had great control feedback, and simply running characters and vehicles (or mounts in this case) around in the game world, feeding your addiction for collectable Lego studs, is great fun all on its own.

There are a few new features though, or rather an expansion of already established ones. In a nod to the franchise’s influence on role-playing, characters can carry up to eight objects, including weapons, clothing, and equipment. Apart from switching between one or two items this doesn’t come up much in the story levels but once you start exploring the open world it fuels a huge range of optional fetch quests.

The extra items can be found either in a story level or have to be forged (assuming you have the design blueprint) from special mithril bricks. The items range from weapon upgrades to silly headdresses, to a wand with a squeaking bear on the end, and a version of the Phial of Galadriel that shoots out disco lights. Even if they have no practical use there’ll be someone in the game world that wants it, and will exchange it for more mithril or sometimes a cheat brick.

A lot of the time the huge number of items (over 80) seems just an excuse for some gameplay busywork, with one story level forcing you to construct a fishing rod out of constituent parts or at one point find all the ingredients for a cooked breakfast. And yet try as we might we can’t feel cynical about any of it.

That said we do still think Star Wars and Batman 2 work better. Both have a more varied range of characters, in terms of their individual abilities, and we badly missed someone like Superman who was available early on and could fly around the open world whenever he wanted. We also much preferred the environmental puzzles in Batman 2, which used the buildings of Gotham City to construct elaborate assault courses requiring the use of all your different skills.

The equivalents in Lord Of The Rings are generally much simpler, we suspect in part to try and maintain the more serious mood and more cinematic look. And yet this is definitely the best kids game so far this Christmas, and one which adults will obsess over just as much.

In Short: Another top notch Lego game and one that surpasses other Tolkien tie-ins, and most other movie adaptations, in terms of both fun and, unbelievably, authenticity.

Pros: Effortlessly accessible despite what should be a bewildering array of different systems and abilities. Hugely charming at every turn and surprisingly good storytelling. Great co-op.

Cons: Still no fundamental change to the Lego tie-in template. Quests can get repetitive and environmental puzzles are often more simplistic than predecessors. Often unhelpful camera.

Score: 7/10

Formats: Xbox 360 (reviewed), Wii, PlayStation 3, PC, DS, 3DS, and PS Vita
Price: £49.99
Publisher: WB Games
Developer: Traveller’s Tales
Release Date: 23rd November 2013
Age Rating: 7

Video: Check out the Lego The Lord Of The Rings trailer

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