Why You AND Your Kids Will Love LEGO Universe

• Source: http://www.ripten.com/
• Date: August 2, 2010 *:15 pm

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?

LegoFan101 wrote:Um...
That video at the bottom breaks the NDA. >.>

It should be removed.

Darkal_Skirata wrote:I have to agree with the "and put down" part. When I got KOTOR, I averaged 3 hours a day on it for about two weeks, until the game froze on my main saved game (about 3 weeks, 55 hours. You do the math). And yeah, that third vid should be removed. "SabinMcWabin" is in trouble.