There is no stop to the LEGO in my house, and to be honest, I’m not complaining at all. And if you’re into LEGO video games, you shouldn’t be either.
The last month has seen the release of two new games based on the venerable bricks, but both are quite different from one another. And my in-house reviewer, my 6 1/2 year old Princess, is enjoying both of them.
The first game to hit shelves was the open-world concept LEGO Worlds – consider it something of a mash-up of No Man’s Sky and Minecraft. You begin as an astronaut who is tasked with collecting gold bricks as you attain tools to create your own worlds (and fix your rocket ship). From the characters to the world’s you’re exploring, everything is customizable. It’s a fairly cool concept, as in many ways its taking the essence of real world LEGO – endless customization – and transferring it to the video game experience.
“I like adventuring new worlds,” said the Princess when I asked her why she liked the game. “It’s fun. It’s easy to pick up and play. I like that you can customize your character. I like the intergalactic girl I made.”
When I asked if there was anything she’d change about the game, the Princess said she wished “there was a way for friends from far away who have the game to play with each other.” She was very pleased when I noted a multiplayer option was coming soon.
“That’s what I wanted!” she exclaimed.
The other new game that just hit stores this week is LEGO City Undercover – which is pretty much LEGO’s version of a Grand Theft Auto-style game, except you’re a police officer upholding the law and chasing down criminals, rather than acting the part of the bad guy. In this case, you’re Chase McCain, a LEGO City cop looking to capture escaped criminal Rex Fury and put him back behind bars.
The game originally appeared on the WII U back in 2013, and has been upgraded for PlayStation 4. Unsurprisingly, it looks great, and the Princess has had a good time so far playing through the story mode.
“I like that you can switch between characters,” she says. “You can play as a girl character, not just Chase. I like that you can walk around and have actual missions to do. The police station was cool. And I like Chase’s partner – he calls him Honey.”
Both LEGO Worlds and LEGO City Undercover are visually similar, adhering to the familiarity of the brand, though they’re definitely different in execution. Those are my words, not those of the Princess. While there’s only been a few weeks between releases, each game winds up being unique and worth the double dip.
“They feel like different games,” says the Princess. “I think kids would like them both.”
From the mouth of babes…to bricks.
