TT Games and Warner Bros also detailed the pre-order bonuses for Lego Marvel Super Heroes today, capturing the combination of Legos and classic comic characters. These came alongside a new trailer that showed a handful of the already-announced heroes confronted with Galactus.
TT Games has built a substantial brand name around its Lego line, but that success has relied mostly on the games' proximity to popular existing brands. Watching Batman or Luke Skywalker mime their way through parodies of their own most famous moments has been fun, but they require a certain cultural awareness. Lego City Undercover feels like the developer set a dare for itself: make a game even funnier than the branded titles, with its own original characters, and set in a world that is exponentially more ambitious.
And shockingly, TT Games has pulled it off.
Wii U may already have a port of a year-old Batman game, so why not another? Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is coming to the system this spring, putting one more brick in the Lego wall of kid-friendly Wii U offerings.
Lego has been synonymous with licensed products like Star Wars and Harry Potter for nearly 15 years now. Think about that; it's almost tragic. Legos have always brought with them a certain degree of creativity and imagination, which can't help but get lost in the act of building whatever you happen to like from TV.
For that reason, it's kind of nice to see TT Games going back to the brand's roots with Lego City: Undercover. It's an opportunity for them to really stretch out and do something interesting with the series; which, quite frankly, they haven't done in some time. But while Lego City Undercover does a lot of things right, it feels a little safe as well.
When Lego puts out building sets based on popular franchises, a new licensed video game can't be far behind. The Batman incarnation expanded to include more of the Justice League roster in Lego Batman 2, and with new Marvel sets banking on the popularity of The Avengers the time is ripe for Marvel to get in on the action. Lego Marvel Super Heroes will be coming to PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, DS, 3DS, and Vita this fall.
Lego has become synonymous with cute, kid-friendly video game versions of licensed properties in recent years, but the Lego company itself still creates original concepts for block-building sets on a regular basis. This year Lego is introducing "Legends of Chima" sets, and Warner Bros Interactive is giving it a push with not one but three video games.
Traveller's Tales introduced full voice acting to its series of licensed block 'em ups for the first time in LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, and hugely expanded the open world ideas of earlier games. Turns out, TT is pretty pleased with how it's been received, and is looking to "build on" these in future games.
Read more: "Each time in a slightly different way, of course" »
Last year at E3, Nintendo mentioned a new Lego game coming for Wii U. Today at its E3 press briefing, it revealed the game with more details. It's called Lego City Undercover, and revolves around the classic "City" Lego sets. That means you're put in the shoes of a gritty (adorable) cop.
It generally looks like other Lego platformers, except with its own original story not cribbed from a popular movie series. The Wii U controller was shown being used to scan objects. The 3DS will also get its own version of Lego City Undercover, with its own missions and more content.
It's that magical time of the year, when publishers reveal their poorly kept secrets and we politely gasp in surprise. This morning was Warner Bros.' turn to shock and amaze, announcing LEGO The Lord of the Rings for every platform under the sun. Yes, Frodo and the gang are off to Mount Doom, in LEGO form.
Warner Bros Interactive and TT Games announced another Lego title today, this time a follow-up to Lego Batman. But instead of merely starring the blocky caped crusader, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes will crack open the DC Comics canon and feature all manner of classic characters, like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.
The Nintendo 3DS and newly-unveiled Wii U are to receive an exclusive new LEGO game, Nintendo announced at its E3 press briefing. LEGO City Stories will be published by Nintendo together with TT Games, the folks behind the hugely popular LEGO movie adaptations.
Nintendo of America president Fils-Aime described LEGO City Stories as "a new instalment in the LEGO series," set in "a new, open-world game packed with action, humour and a whole city full of LEGO vehicles." Read more »
Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and TT Games announced Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7, which must be incredibly shocking to anyone who didn't notice that the last one was called Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4. The game is due out this holiday season for just about every platform imaginable: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, NGP, PSP, DS, 3DS, and Commodore 64. Okay, we made that last one up.
The new game is based on the three books (and four films) that resolve the Potter franchise, leading to the dramatic final battle with Voldemort. While not a direct movie tie-in, the game goes hand-in-hand with the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which is coming to theaters in July. Read more »
LEGO and TT Games Publishing today announced an extension of their "exclusive partnership" which will see the LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Rock Band developer continuing to develop video games based upon the plastic blocks through 2016.
"The games we develop with TT Games are not just great fun but also inspire kids to play with their LEGO bricks, exploring our different play themes more deeply," said LEGO Digital vice president Henrik Taudorf Lorensen in a press statement. "We are very excited to continue to work with TT Games because they take a distinctive approach to making games creative, social and non-violent, which makes them a valuable part of the broader LEGO experience." Read more »
Confirming the long-running rumors, publishers Warner Bros. and MTV Games today announced that LEGO Rock Band will hit PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS in "holiday 2009."
LEGO Star Wars developer TT Games is handling the three consoles versions "in partnership" with Rock Band series creator Harmonix, while the Nintendo DS release "will be co-developed by TT Games and Harmonix in partnership with [Rock Band Unplugged PSP developer] Backbone Entertainment." A few tracks were revealed: Read more »
The next entry in the LEGO videogame series will be a Nintendo DS-exclusive one, it was announced today by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and series creator TT Games.The squad-based game LEGO Battles will be based on the LEGO Castle, LEGO Pirates and LEGO Space series of toys, mixing together all three themes. As such, expect to see pirates, aliens, ninjas and dragons battling side-by-side during the game's 70 levels. The game will also be more strategic in nature than previous entries in the series, as players will be able to build bases.
Multiplayer is also supported through wireless DS multi-card play. Read more »
"Same here, my 5-year old is chomping at the bit for this one."
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