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Lego Lord of the Rings

SCORE: 76

As I write this review I realize we are a week away from Thanksgiving. We are fully in the retail march towards Christmas. This is the time of the year where companies release some of their best video games. Warner Bros Interactive is no different. I am extremely excited to review Lego Lord of the Rings.

Lego Lord of the Rings takes us through all three of the epic movies. All of them are given the classic Lego treatment. The humor is there. The studs are there. Tons of characters, and the entire storyline from the three movies. And some things not in the movies. Like the space between the river and Rivendale.

Lego Lord of the Rings contains voices from the movies. This is awesome! I love hearing the voices at key moments. I know it is Legos but it feels real with their voices. I also recognized the music in Lego Lord of the Rings. Along with the explanation of events at the beginning. The fighting sounds also come directly from the movies.

There is some cartoon violence as we shoot arrows with Legolas, wield Gimli's axe, use Sam's frying pan, use Aragorn's sword, and more. The core of Lego Lord of the Rings is exploration, and puzzle solving. We have to find items to start fires for example. To do that we may need to break some boxes to find firewood. Certain puzzles require certain characters since they have unique skills. We may need a tall character to pick up Gimli, and hurl him towards an object only he can destroy.

The atmosphere in Lego Lord of the Rings is totally Middle Earth. Everyone here at Family Friendly Gaming was extremely excited to reach the Cave Troll, Balrog, and others. The most important thing to know about Lego Lord of the Rings is it is a marathon. Do not expect to beat it in one sitting. This home console version contains save statues in a variety of spots to help families. I personally appreciated this addition. I hate having to replay lengthy levels because I do not have enough time to devote to a level. This is a huge upgrade for the Lego video game franchise.

When I saw Lego Lord of the Rings and Lego Batman 2 at E3 2012 I hoped that Warner Bros Interactive would spread out the releases. Thankfully they did just that. I like both of the games. I do feel that Warner Bros Interactive saved the best for last, and I am glad they did.

There are over eighty playable characters in Lego Lord of the Rings. There are a variety of weapons and items families can collect and use. Things like the Elven rope, and Light of Earendil. The console versions include easy drop-in and drop-out modes. Two family members can enjoy Lego Lord of the Rings at the same time.

I ran into no issues swapping characters, or using the item pop up menu. Once I learned how to use them. In the beginning Lego Lord of the Rings offers the players quite a few clues on what to do. These clues come in the form of written instructions on the screen. Also which button to press in specific locations.

Lego Lord of the Rings is one of my personal picks for Christmas. The magic element is light - just like the movies. The amount of play and replay is insane. In our family we work together offering insight as to where the player can look to find items needed to progress. It has become an entire family affair that we all enjoy. Part of the fun of Lego Lord of the Rings is to see the Lego representation of certain characters and creatures.
- Paul

Graphics: 65%
Sound: 80%
Replay/Extras: 85%
Gameplay: 79%
Family Friendly Factor: 70%
System: Wii/Xbox 360/PS3/PC
Publisher: Warner Bros Interactive
Rating: ‘E10+' - Everyone 10+
{Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief}
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