LEGO Lord of the Rings: The Video Game is a video game that was released on October 30, 2012 for handheld consoles and November 13, 2012 for platforms. The Mac OS X version was published by Feral Interactive and was released on February 21st, 2013.[1] It was released November 7th, 2013 for iOS. It is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Mac OS X, iPhone and iPad. The game takes players through the events of all three movies and is the second LEGO video game to feature fully voiced cutscenes. Though it follows the events of Peter Jackson's film trilogy it throws in some comical twists. It has the largest game environment so far of any LEGO video game, letting players explore an open world map of Middle-earth (though locations are greatly decreased in size). It also has dozens of new features not seen in past LEGO video games. For example players can complete side quests, create items to use from mithril, access a large variety of collectible items from the "treasure trove", and also has a variety of characters with unique items possessing special abilities.
Muddy Armor / Shimmering Armor / Magma Armor / Calcium Armor / Wooden Armor Chef's Hat / Artist's Hat / Sun Hat / Statue Hat / Ferryman's Hat / Flower Hat / Rock Hat / Flaming Hat / Palantír Hat Narsil / Narsil (Broken) / Sting / Barrow-blade / Andúril / Sword / Hadhafang / Glamdring / Broadsword / Short Sword / Herugrim / Scimitar / Rohan Sword / Elven Sword / Ringwraith Sword / Moria Orc Sword / Easterling Sword / Orc Sword / Grima's Dagger / King of the Dead's Sword / Ghost Sword / Elven Great Sword / Ringwraith's Dagger Shield of Gondor / Elven Shield / Rohan Shield / Orc Shield / Lurtz's Shield / Easterling's Shield Bow of the Galadhrim / Lurtz's Bow / Bow Gandalf's Staff / Radagast's Staff / Saruman's Staff Party Favor LEGO Lord of the Rings - Gameplay Commentary Double Bearded Whirlwind Axe "Its a long way." "You have to toss me... Don't tell the elf!" -Aragorn and Gimli, at the gate of Helms Deep trying to get to the bridge
Based on The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy, LEGO® The Lord of the Rings follows the original storylines of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, taking players through the epic story events reimagined with the humor and endless variety of LEGO play. Trusted with the dangerous task to destroy an ancient magical ring that threatens all that is good, Frodo is forced to leave his peaceful home. But the ring wants to be found and the road to Mount Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed, will be perilous and riddled with Orcs and fouler things. To help Frodo, a Fellowship is formed — Aragorn the Ranger, Gandalf the Wizard, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Boromir a Man of Gondor, and Frodo’s Hobbit friends Sam, Merry and Pippin. Players relive the legend in LEGO form, as they explore wonders, solve timeless riddles, and overcome endless foes in their quest to destroy the Ring.
Explore all of the open-world of Middle-earth and experience epic battles with Orcs, Uruk-hai, the Balrog, the Witch-king, and other fearsome creatures. Wield the power of the Palantír or Seeing-stone (‘one that looks far-away’), and jump between multiple storylines. Experience the LEGO The Lord of the Rings heroes come to life in an all new way, as they deliver the dialogue from the films. Collect, combine and forge new items in the Blacksmith Shop using Mithril, the most precious metal in Middle-earth . Discover and unlock over more than 60 playable characters, including Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf, and many others. Collect and use a variety of weaponry and magical items, including the Light of Eärendil, Elven rope, swords and bows. Play with family and friends with easy access drop-in, drop-out gameplay option.The core gameplay of a Lego title is a well-known entity at this point: swap between characters and optionally co-op your way through levels bashing baddies and solving simple puzzles.
Collect studs to unlock extra characters who possess new abilities, then replay levels to complete extra puzzles to unlock more stuff. It’s a loop that has served the plethora of Lego games well, and it’s one we see again in Lego Batman 3. Here, the player will delve back into levels to find parts for minikits including the ‘60s Batmobile, and even to save Adam West. The game eschews the open world level design of Lego Batman 2, but grants each character many more abilities that are accessible via a new Gadget Wheel. This allows puzzles to be tougher this time, with multiple characters possessing up to eight different abilities. This has resulted in some more interesting level design, too. Defeating a boss or even simply completing a level now requires a number of steps closer to those needed for secret area puzzles in older games in the series, but everything is still designed with younger players in mind. There are also a couple of new mini-games. The first is a sweet Resogun-inspired shooter, where you fly around the Justice League’s Watchtower space station taking out the Joker’s fleet.
It works really well, and is over far too soon. The second minigame is similar to Metal Gear Solid’s VR missions, and does an adequate job of breaking up the monotony elsewhere, but these sections ultimately feel out of place. This time, the story takes players beyond Gotham City and Metropolis to Paris, London, Pisa, and even into space to visit Lantern planets, with the central landmarks of these cities lovingly recreated just like their actual Lego models. It’s all moderately entertaining, but Lego Batman 3 is still predominately a title for kids. It’s those landmarks players will be defending, as super villain Braniac is no longer content with miniaturising cities – he now wants worlds, and Earth is first on the list. The twist is that traditional enemies the Justice League and the Legion of Doom are working together against this common threat. To help keep adults interested, there are numerous references to old superhero shows that will probably go unrecognised by kids.
For example: Wonder Woman’s flying ability activates the theme to her old TV series, and every level contains a puzzle wherein you rescue Adam West. Although it offers up entertaining brawls, beautiful destructible environments, and a nostalgia gland massage, Lego Batman 3 isn’t fault-free. The game only lets you save at certain points during levels, and these can be few and far between, necessitating a long session just to get to the next one. With most games auto-saving every five steps, this feels like a huge oversight, and means progression can’t be made by kids in the short time window between homework completion and dinner. This peculiarity amplifies the frustration of a couple of bugs too, the worst of which requires that a level be completely restarted if a is QTE failed, costing the player up to an hour of gameplay. Ultimately though, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham has all the trademark Lego charm that has kept the franchise playable even after 20-odd titles.