LEGO Games We’d Like To See

by Jeff Cork on Jun 29, 2010 at 11:12 AM

Today marks the release of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, the ninth LEGO title that Traveller’s Tales has developed since LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game came out in 2005. While some might complain about this glut of games, the rest of us couldn’t be happier. We grew up with the colorful toy bricks, and the games do a great job of bringing them to life on the screen. It doesn’t hurt that many of the games capitalize on geek-friendly touchstones such as Indiana Jones, Batman, and the Star Wars universe, either.

We know that LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is the next LEGO game set to be released, but what then? Warner Bros. Interactive has said that Traveller’s Tales will keep ‘em coming through at least 2016, so we have a lot to look forward to. With that in mind, here are our humble suggestions for what we’d like to see in the future.

Games that could be possible…

LEGO Lord of the Rings
We can’t think of a series more ripe for a LEGO translation than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. You’ve got well-known archetypes like archers, melee fighters, and wizards, as well as races such as humans, elves, dwarves, and hobbits. Scenes like the battle of Helm’s Deep would lend themselves well to epic battles (think the Geonosian Arena from LEGO Star Wars Episode III, but on a grander scale), while moments such as Aragorn’s battle with the Ringwraiths at Weathertop would be smaller in scope but equally tense.

There have been rumors that the idea has been floated around at Warner Bros., so we wouldn’t be shocked to see it happen eventually. One potential obstacle is the fact that LEGO doesn’t have any sets based on the films. In the past, LEGO has acquired the rights to produce toys based on a particular franchise and then Traveller’s Tales works from there. With a pair of Hobbit films in the works, it would make sense for LEGO to get in the Middle-earth business in the next year or so. If that happens, it would be stunning if the toys didn’t make the leap over to video games.

LEGO Toy Story
Traveller’s Tales developed the first Toy Story games for Disney Interactive back in 1996, and the recent launch of LEGO’s Toy Story line marks a great time to return to Pixar’s beloved franchise. Looking at past Traveller’s Tales games, a Toy Story trilogy could encapsulate the events of the movies, similar to how the Star Wars and Indiana Jones games were structured. In addition to characters like Buzz Lightyear and Woody, the Toy Story movies have a great surrounding cast. The army men could be used to drop into the action from above. The RC car would be a great way to zip through a hub world. The possibilities are really wide open.

We don’t think the recent release of Disney’s Toy Story 3 game would be too much of an obstacle for a LEGO-based game. LucasArts and Warner Bros. itself understand that the Traveller’s Tales interpretations are completely separate from their main games. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Arkham Asylum weren’t hurt by their blocky counterparts, and we don’t see why Toy Story would be any different.

LEGO LEGO (working title)
LEGO Rock Band demonstrated that, while licensed characters are cute and all, the LEGO world is charming enough in its own right. Why not let players explore that space in a completely original adventure? We’re thinking about something along the same lines of Lego Island, but with more structure. Imagine being able to visit themes such as Castle, Ninja, Agents, Racers, and Space—each with their own unique style and problems for players to solve.

Some of that sounds superficially close to the upcoming MMO LEGO Universe Online, but we’d like to see this kind of experience offline, too.

LEGO Prince of Persia
Mostly, we’d just like to see how a game based on a toy based on a movie based on a game would play.

LEGO Creator
Creator is LEGO’s line of model-like sets geared for slightly older fans. Rather than make players follow directions to build houses and cars, however, we’d love to see a game that rewards actual creativity. Rare’s Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was a step in the right direction, but having a LEGO license would open things up considerably. Give players a tub of virtual bricks and challenge them to make the fastest car, craziest boat, silliest house—whatever. It would be a departure from TT’s LEGO games, but it’s certainly worth pursuing.
And a few that you’ll never see (but would still be awesome)