By Drew Hurley 12.11.2016 The LEGO games have kept to the same formula for a long time, and it works. TT products have delivered adaptations of numerous big properties, all with the signature LEGO style and humour, but, when adapting a LEGO movie… the signature style is already abundant. What can TT parody? What can they alter from the source material? Or is it not? The gameplay is the same as every other in the franchise, and if you've seen The LEGO Movie you'll know what to expect here as it follows its story beat for beat, with Emmet and Wildstyle progressing through stages based around each location from the film, smashing up the environment and building new creations to progress. Furthermore, the same familiar mechanics that are through every LEGO title are here. There's a hub area with links to each of the stages, and there are 15 stages to play through, each adapted from major locations and moments from the movie, and each filled with special blocks that require the abilities of specific characters to overcome - Emmet has his drill to break through cracked LEGO blocks, Wildstyle can high-jump, and Batman can use his signature grapple gun.
These stages are also stuffed with plenty of collectibles to track down and characters to unlock, most of which require revisiting in Free Play mode after a level has been completed to be able to use any character and their specific special abilities. Just like the movie, the cast of playable characters is rounded out by plenty of familiar characters from other franchises and historical events, and following TT's previous titles, there is a considerable cast of characters to unlock - 101 in total! The Justice League, Metal Beard, William Shakespeare, even Vitruvius and Lord Business. The problem with adapting the story directly into a game like this, is that it's balanced well for a 90-minute movie, but for a game it needs to last a good deal longer than that, and so it either needs some filler to pad out the story or it has to be stretched into lasting longer. Both methods have strengths and both have flaws. TT has gone with the padding and the flaws of this choice are pretty evident, with stages that feel over inflated and a story that really drags at points.
There are still plenty of great levels and moments across, though. For example, Cloud Cuckoo land is faithfully recreated in its psychedelic goodness, including the ability to go on a Unikitty rampage. Old West World is a particular highlight too, with armies of robotic enemies and fast-paced segments, and all of these stages can, of course, be taken on in the usual drop-in/drop-out, couch co-op. As with every LEGO game, there are some extra mechanics on top of the familiar ones. For example, each of the regular characters require instructions to build LEGO creations, whereas master builders get a new type of analogue flicking mini-game. Considering the LEGO Movie had such a great jump to the big screen, you'd expect that there would be a shared style between the game graphics and the movie cut-scenes. While LEGO Dimensions managed to deliver a seamless transition between FMVs from the movie and gameplay, this is noticeably separate. Similarly, while the voice actors do a great job, when the game uses audio snippets from the movie, it's very noticeable.
6GoodFilled with the series familiar and fun mechanics, The LEGO Movie Videogame is enjoyable for series fans, but ultimately doesn't live up to the fantastic games that have come before it, and once again goes to show that TT does its best work when left to craft original stories instead of adapting existing properties. Out now Out now None Out now Comment on this article You can comment as a guest or join the Cubed3 community below: Sign Up for Free Account Login Preview Post Your Name: Enter the letters in the image to validate your comment.Anyone who finds an Xbox One video game console under their tree is guaranteed a very merry Christmas. The Xbox One, which sold a staggering 1 million consoles in the first 24 hours of its release, levels up your video gaming experience with exclusive games like “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition,” “Halo 5” and “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” apps for live sports, movies and TV, and “backward compatability” that lets you play your Xbox 360 games on this next-gen console.
The Xbox One typically sells for $349, but we’ve found plenty of Xbox One Black Friday deals where you can get a lot more for a lot less money. For the sake of this list, we only considered Xbox One gaming console deals. (If you insist on the pre-2013 Xbox 360, has it pre-owned on Black Friday for $119.99.) Most of these deals are “bundles” that combine the Xbox One console with the biggest, best-selling games available for Xbox. Let’s take a look at who has the best Xbox One Black Friday discounts and who is offering extra freebies that are too good to pass up. You can get just the Xbox One console for $299.99 at as part of its Black Friday $50 off all consoles sale, but this is not your best option. There are other wonderful deals that throw in awesome freebies for the same price. Let’s shift our focus to the Xbox One deals that come with freebies. You can get the same Xbox One console for the same $299.99 price plus a free copy of “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition,” the combo that plays all three previous “Gears of War” games if activated by Dec. 31.
This offer is available at (all weekend), (Black Friday only), and (Black Friday only). Want more than just a free copy of “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition” with your $299.99 Xbox One? is offering a free $60 gift card on top of your purchase of the Xbox One “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition” bundle in a “while supplies last” holiday weekend sale. Gamers who really like to game the system should pay attention to this deal. has the standard $299.99 Xbox One console bundle sale seen elsewhere on Black Friday, this version with “The Lego Movie” video game. But Kohl’s also is offering $15 in Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent for the duration of Black Friday weekend. Doing the math, we see that a $299.99 Xbox One purchase produces $75 in Kohl’s Cash. There are restrictions, of course — you have to make the Xbox One purchase after 6 p.m Thanksgiving Day but before 1 p.m. on Black Friday, and you can only redeem the Kohl’s Cash between Nov. 30 and Dec 6. But still, that’s $75 worth of free holiday shopping at Kohl’s.
Those who prefer Lara Croft to Legos or “Gears of War” can also get an Xbox One bundle at $50 off. The new “Rise of the Tomb Raider” game comes with this Xbox One bundle for $349.99 at Best Buy on Black Friday only. GameStop doubles the size of your Xbox One hard drive with an Xbox One 1 TB console plus “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition” and your choice of another game. It’s discounted by $50 at $349.99 at GameStop all the way through Sunday of the holiday shopping weekend. The premium 1 TB solid-state hybrid drive comes with this bundle, priced $50 off at $449.99 at GameStop all the way through Sunday of the holiday shopping weekend. One of the great upgrades on the Xbox One is the multiplayer online feature connecting you with players all over the world. But this is not a free option — it requires an Xbox Live subscription. GameStop is also featuring $10 off a three-month subscription to Xbox Live in a deal available through Sunday of the Black Friday shopping weekend.