The Traveller's Tales/TT Games LEGO series

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ratsoalbion
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The Traveller's Tales/TT Games LEGO series

Post by ratsoalbion »

Please leave your opinions and experiences of any of the many, many LEGO titles - specifically those developed by TT Games - from Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (2005), all the way through to The Lego Movie 2 Videogame (2019).
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Billy
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Re: Our next podcast recording (15.1.22): The Traveller's Tales/TT Games LEGO series

Post by Billy »

I'd like to single out Lego Jurassic World as a particular highlight of TT's Lego games.

As a massive fan of the original films and novels, I think TT delivered not just their best Lego game, but also the best Jurassic Park game. The established formula has never better suited its chosen IP with all aspects of the franchise explored for gameplay variety. It was a game made with obvious love for the fiction and not just to tie in with Jurassic World.


It launched at the same time as Arkham Knight and I had booked some days off work to play the much hyped Batman game but I found myself constantly returning to Lego Jurassic World. The joy of the game was infectious and is one of the rare games I tried to get a Platinum trophy in.
From the deep cut character library to the excellent original score that seamlessly meshed with the licensed John Williams music, I was thoroughly impressed at the commitment to detail. True to John Hammond's philosophy, they "spared no expense".
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Npiper12
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Re: Our next podcast recording (15.1.22): The Traveller's Tales/TT Games LEGO series

Post by Npiper12 »

My brother and I had great times with the original Lego Star Wars on the PC in 2005. We were in our teens, had loved Lego and Star Wars as kids, so it was a must buy. The goofy slapstick style seemed to fit really well with the then current prequels, and seeing iconic moments from those films done in mime (or with the wrong characters) was comedy gold to us. A couple years later I bought Lego Star Wars 2 for the DS at launch and it was my first experience buying a game that was decidedly not finished. Most of the game was fine, the LEGO style translated well to the limits of the DS, but the final few levels just didn't work right and it was impossible to actually defeat the Emperor and finish the game.
In later games, I wasn't a fan of the change to use the actual dialogue from the movies. To me the slapstick mime cutscenes were a great part of the Lego formula. As a result of this, and being in my late teens / early 20s, I missed the rest of the games except for Lego Dimensions, which I really liked.
I really enjoyed Dimensions as a "Lego game for licenses that probably wouldn't get their own big game", like The Simpsons and Dr. Who. Being the first new Portal game since 2011 was probably the most compelling aspect, though. They managed to mix the gameplay styles and crucially the humor of Portal + the Lego games very well and I loved that this extended to a surprise Portal style end credit song.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (15.1.22): The Traveller's Tales/TT Games LEGO series

Post by JCVanDan »

It's not common for me to hate any video game, but I do feel a strong sense of hatred for the Lego games that I've played. Normally if I dislike a game I just don't play it again but I have a small child who loves Lego, general pop-culture, and as a result the Lego games. So I'm stuck playing them with him.

I've played the Jurassic Park and a couple of the Marvel games, and in all of them the actual mechanics of the game are terrible. They basically consist of small area after small area that must be unlocked by going through an arbitrary series of actions: Smash up this object then tap circle to build something, swap to character X and stand next to this piece of scenery and hold square, and on and on and on. It's completely inane but yet somehow they frequently manage to make such simple tasks obscure enough that I will spend 5 minutes walking around quite a small area not knowing what the heck to do. There is no satisfaction when you do eventually figure it out, as it isn't a puzzle and it doesn't require any lateral thinking. You also aren't really using any of the characters abilities as all you're doing is standing in a spot and holding a button, it's just the most basic of basic game design.

The gameplay actually reminds me of terrible movie tie-ins of the PS2 era where they would pump out these bare bones games knowing that kids would buy them due to licensing. In fact, that's basically what these Lego games are. They are just highly polished re-skins of a really really bad core game. If these games didn't have licenses there's no way they would be as popular as they are.

What I will say though is my 5 year old thinks they're great, and I guess as they're aimed at kids they most likely succeed in what they set out to do. However, this isn't very impressive to me as peak entertainment for a 5 year old boy usually consists of passing wind and people playing with toys on YouTube.
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rmachell
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Re: Our next podcast recording (15.1.22): The Traveller's Tales/TT Games LEGO series

Post by rmachell »

This is the one, my first game. As a 90's kid, I (like many others) fell victim to thinking that the Star Wars prequels were good. Dad got a PS2 with a phone plan, and had no games (it was exclusively a DVD player). Then one day at EB games I saw a deal I couldn't refuse. Someone mashed my 2 favourite things, Star Wars and Lego, and stuck it into a fun little game. Mum gave it the all clear, thought it couldn't be too bad, and I had my first video game.

Lego Star Wars taught me to move in a 3d environment, to platform, performing basic melee and ranged combat, and basic puzzle solving. As a beginners game it couldn't be any better, and as a 7 year old kid, learning to interact in a virtual playground in my favourite franchise was a very defining moment in my life. While I haven't gone back since I 100% some 15 odd years ago, I can't help but hold it in a special place in my heart as the gateway drug for my most life consuming hobby.

3WR: Perfect beginners game
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Re: Our next podcast recording (15.1.22): The Traveller's Tales/TT Games LEGO series

Post by Tleprie »

Lego Star Wars 1 & 2 have a permanent place in my heart among my all time favorites.

The wide cast of characters, the humor, the collectibles. All great! I rented the first game at launch, and was delighted by it as a 9 year old who loved both Lego and Star Wars more than most other things. I've since bought it for myself and every few years boot up a fresh save and 100% it.

One of my best friends in middle and high school had The Original Trilogy on his Xbox, and we spent a lot of time digging through every corner, until he eventually maxed out the stud limit, and we played a bit more after that.

As the releases continued and I, for some reason, aged, I enjoyed them less and less. The voice acting was a bummer, when they had such a great unique voice in their voicelessness. I felt the puzzles became too convoluted and bogged down in extraneous cutscenes. Levels felt too long overall.

BUT! I did very much enjoy the open worlds in dimensions, and absolutely love the vast amount of characters pulled in from every corner of the Marvel and DC universes for their entries.
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