In the last nine years of LEGO games, we've come to associate the iconic plastic building bricks with not just creativity, but also silly, lighthearted humor. The LEGO Movie Videogame attempts to bring the wonderful film's consistently joyful and entertaining story and heroes into the same gaming format we’ve seen from developer TT Games’ series. But while it delivers some amusing scenarios across diverse terrain, the premise feels overextended. Unlike many recent film-to-game adaptations that deviated from the source material to shake things up, The LEGO Movie Videogame unwisely decides to reenact the film's plot from start to finish. Essentially, it's one lengthy, interactive spoiler, so don't play it before seeing the movie. Main character Emmet's transformation from dopey, upbeat everyman to the fabled carrier of the Piece of Resistance seems like an ideal premise for a game campaign, what with its colorful and distinctive settings (like the adorable, neon-tinged Cloud Cuckoo Land), great cast (including Batman himself), and constant array of gags and jokes.
However, it ends up showing that one of the strengths of other LEGO games is the charm that comes from recreating a non-LEGO scene in amusing ways. This one is just retreading the same material, and there’s not much of it to draw from. Where the strong recent LEGO Marvel and DC games had decades of comics and scads of heroes and villains to work with, The LEGO Movie Videogame has but a single movie script – albeit a pretty excellent one. While the game maintains a generally amusing tone and includes some enjoyable peaks – such as commanding Uni-Kitty's startling alternate form, or bashing through levels as a massive, Transformers-esque robot pirate – trying to turn a succinct, 90-minute film into a seven-hour game campaign means it inevitably drags in spots. Film clips interspersed between missions entertain, but a fair bit of the heart and humor from the film were left on the cutting room floor in editing, so it doesn't quite have the punch of the source material. And some levels are, frankly, boring.
Like the construction site: sure, it follows the arc of the film, but that doesn't mean I need to spend 30 minutes performing virtual plastic manual labor simply to further the prescribed plot. Considering how the film rails against complacency, it's a bit ironic how content the game is to follow the same familiar instructions. TT Games' smash, bash, and solve LEGO game formula is very much intact in The LEGO Movie Videogame, though like all reliable game formats it’s no longer terribly fresh or exhilarating. Luckily, the stellar character roster casts a wide net, with the original characters from the movie flanked by exciting unlockable allies like Gandalf, Wonder Woman, and Superman. However, while it's more interesting to play as Batman or Green Lantern than a generic minifigure, the characters' abilities are most commonly used simply for clearing mundane chains of laborious roadblocks to forward progress. It's thankfully less repetitive with a local split-screen pal in tow (there's no online co-op here), but the action still devolves into drudgery too frequently.
Solutions for opening up a new area of a level or taking down a certain enemy couldn't be more obvious – a cracked panel means Emmet's drill must be used, or a sparkly wall section inevitably leads Wyldstyle or another female character to climb it – and if the visual cue isn't obvious enough, you're often told exactly what to do. Good for kids, sure, but without a strong entertainment franchise to keep older players hooked, it doesn’t provide quite the same all-ages fun this series is known for. There's appeal in exploring the film's colorful locales and commanding such diverse heroes, but having to constantly swap between four or five different characters at a time to complete simple tasks becomes mind numbing quickly. That's not a new complaint for the series, but this game left me with little else to think about. Among the minor new aspects, Emmet's building sequences – in which you flick the analog stick to select the piece that's missing from the design – are a good addition that fit his role well, plus a nice nod to LEGO enthusiasts (the virtual bricks in these scenes look super-realistic, too).
Conversely, Benny the Astronaut's hacking minigame joins the pantheon of dull hacking minigames, with this one taking the form of an undemanding riff on Pac-Man. Otherwise, The LEGO Movie Videogame holds no real surprises, either for fans of the film or the games. Across the PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 versions, the only real differences are minor variations in visual quality. It obviously looks nicer on PCs and the new-generation systems, though it’s not dramatic. I noticed some odd texture flickering in the far-off distance on PlayStation 4, while the PlayStation 3 version has brief spurts of slowdown and occasional visual glitches, and the Xbox 360 release was the fuzziest-looking of the bunch. The presence of off-TV play on the Wii U version will certainly be a boon to anyone with children. (Note that the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS versions are a completely different game.) The LEGO Movie Videogame extends a concise and hilarious film into a much longer and less consistent interactive experience that sometimes dips into boring territory.
Amusing scenarios and eye-catching environments are a plus, as is the wide unlockable hero roster, but most of the missions feel like an unimaginative retread of the same LEGO game formula. It's solidly enjoyable – but nowhere near awesome. Pause the game, select the "Extras" option, and choose the "Enter Code" selection. Then, enter one of the following codes to activate the corresponding cheat function: Find the "floating kit" surrounded by studs next to the police station in Bricksberg. Walk up to it, then enter one of the following codes to unlock the corresponding special content: Angry Kitty and Construction Pants (Emmet's Construct-o-Mech)6LK78NN9 or HVLH63VL Blacktron Fan and Musical Pants (Rescue Reinforcements)6LKMNDHR or HVLLRX6R Johnny Thunder and Super Secret Pants (Super Secret Police Dropship)6LK3FRL6 or HVL4TQT4 Robo Pilot and Astro Pants (Benny's Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP!) Successfully complete the game to unlock The Bonus Room at the hub.
Complete the objectives in The Bonus Room to earn the final ten gold bricks. Note: One of the gold bricks has a special requirement where you must collect one million studs in The Bonus Room without the use of multipliers to obtain it. The following characters can be purchased for the corresponding amount of studs: Astro Kitty: 200,000 studs Biznis Kitty: 150,000 studs Bruce Wayne: 50,000 studs Calamity Drone: 500,000 studs Calimity Drone: 500,000 studs Cardio Carrie: 10,000 studs Demolition Guy: 50,000 studs Dr. McScrubs: 10,000 studs El Macho Wrestler: 100,000 studs Emmet (Clown): 50,000 studs Emmet (Lego Piece): 50,000 studs Emmet (Pyjamas): 50,000 studs Emmet (Shower): 50,000 studs Emmet (Surgeon): 50,000 studs Emmet (Trash Can): 50,000 studs Emmet (Woodsman): 50,000 studs Executive Ellen: 10,000 studs Frank the Foreman: 25,000 studs Gallant Guard: 50,000 studs Garbageman Grant: 10,000 studs
Good Cop (Scribble Face): 300,000 studs Gordon Zola: 10,000 studs Green Ninja: 250,000 studs Hank Haystacks: 25,000 studs Hot Tub Harry: 50,000 studs Ice Cream Jo: 10,000 studs Ice Cream Mike: 10,000 studs Kabob Bob: 10,000 studs Lady Liberty: 150,000 studs Lord Business (Minifigure): 1,000,000 studs Lord Vampyre: 100,000 studs Ma Cop: 25,000 studs MetalBeard (Minifigure): 250,000 studs Pa Cop: 25,000 studs Panda Guy: 150,000 studs Plumber Joe: 10,000 studs President Business: 1,000,000 studs Robo (Construction): 75,000 studs Robo (Demolition): 100,000 studs Robo Cowboy: 125,000 studs Robo Fed: 25,000 studs Robo Skeleton: 150,000 studs Robo SWAT (Armour): 125,000 studs Robo SWAT (Laser): 50,000 studs Robo SWAT (Rocket): 125,000 studs Robo SWAT: 50,000 studs Sharon Shoehorn: 10,000 studs Sir Stack-a-Brick: 50,000 studs Taco Tuesday Guy: 10,000 studs
Test Dummy: 100,000 studs Velma Staplebot: 50,000 studs Vitruvius (Ghost): 750,000 studs Where Are My Pant? Wildstyle (Space): 75,000 studs Wiley Fusebot: 125,000 studs Wyldstyle (Hood): 50,000 studs All Red Brick stud multipliers locations Search the indicated locations to find all five (2x, 4x, 6x, 8x, and 10x) Red Brick stud multipliers: All Red Bricks locations Search the indicated locations to find all 20 Red Bricks: All Golden Manuals locations Search the indicated locations to find all Golden Manuals: Search the indicated locations to find all pairs of pants: All Gold Bricks locations in The Bonus Room Successfully complete the following tasks and search the indicated locations in The Bonus Room to collect the final ten Gold Bricks: Easy "To The Invisible Jet!" trophy Go to the following location in Cloud Cuckoo Land in Free mode to destroy the Invisible Jet and get the "To The Invisible Jet!" trophy.
Successfully complete one of the following tasks to get a trophy: The Piece of Resistance (Platinum): Unlock all trophies.(Bronze): Complete Prologue - The Prophecy. Lets Get Craaazzzyyyy (Bronze): Complete Level 1 - Bricksburg Construction. Darn Darn Darn Darny Darn! (Bronze): Complete Level 2 - Escape From Bricksburg. Are You A DJ? (Bronze): Complete Level 3 - Flatbush Gulch.(Bronze): Complete Level 4 - Flatbush Rooftops. Rest In Pieces (Bronze): Complete Level 5 - Escape From Flatbush. No Frowny Faces (Bronze): Complete Level 6 – Welcome to Cloud Cuckoo Land. Every Man For Himself! (Bronze): Complete Level 7 - Attack On Cloud Cuckoo Land. You Can't Build 'Em All At Once (Bronze): Complete Level 8 - Escape From Cloud Cuckoo Land. Why Are My Pants Cold and Wet? (Bronze): Complete Level 9 - The Depths. This Bedoubled Land Couch (Bronze): Complete Level 10 - Infiltrate The Octan Tower. See You Later Alligator (Bronze): Complete Level 11 - Put The Thing On The Thing.
Found Your Pants, Series Is Over (Bronze): Complete Level 12 - Broadcast News. I Am A Master Builder! (Bronze): Complete Level 13 - Back From Reality. Release Every Micro Manager! (Bronze): Complete Level 14 - Bricksburg Under Attack. You Can Still Change Everything (Bronze): Complete Level 15 - The Final Showdown. Honey, Where Are My Pants? (Silver): Collect all pairs of Pants (Single Player). You Are The Special (Silver): Achieve The Special in every level (Single Player). Welcome To Bricksburg (Silver): Collect all of the Red Bricks (Single Player). Build Things Only You Can Build (Bronze): Collect all Golden Manuals. Including, But Not Limited To (Bronze): Purchase all Master Builders. The Special People In Your Life (Gold): Purchase all Characters (Single Player). Always Read The Instructions! (Bronze): Complete all Instruction Builds in Story Mode. Midas Touch (Bronze): Complete all Golden Instruction Builds. Business Business Business (Gold): Earn 1,000,000,000 studs.
(Gold): Achieve 100% completion.(Bronze): Destroy 50 enemies as MetalBeard. The Opposite Of Happiness (Bronze): Defeat 20 enemies as Rage Unikitty.(Bronze): Kragelize 10 people with the Kragle gun. Building Bad (Bronze): Attempt a Master Build-It with a Non-Master Builder(Bronze): Defeat 30 enemies as Emmet Cowboy.(Bronze): Defeat 20 enemies as Sheriff Not-A-Robot. I Could Sing This Song For Hours (Silver): Score 21 awesome dance moves in the Construction Site dance mini game. No Way, This Is My Jam. (Silver): Score 21 awesome dance moves in the Kragelizer dance mini game. Firestarter (Bronze): Make a Fire.(Bronze): Complete an Instruction Build without losing any studs. I Am The Computer (Bronze): Collect all studs in any hacking mini-game(Bronze): Customise your character. A House Divided (Bronze): Play as Abraham Lincoln and Lady Liberty.(Bronze): Complete all Master Builds in Server Room as Benny. I Super Hate You Right Now (Bronze): Play as Superman and Green Lantern.