E3 2012 - LEGO The Lord of the Rings (Impressions)
The short demonstration showed off critical sequence against the Balrog in the battle at the bridge of Khazad-dûm. Cutscenes showed a LEGO built Gandalf struggling against the great beast as he fell from the bridge. From there the rest of the fellowship carried on through the mines of Moria, using special abilities to get through roadblocks in their path, and to take down LEGO orcs. The traditional LEGO styled brawler gameplay was present, making it feel familiar to other games in the LEGO franchise. It will also retain that linear progression, but will have a hub world that players can explore as well. Players will also be able to join their friends at any time with drop-in drop-out multiplayer, along with split screen multiplayer for local games.
In a slight departure for the LEGO games, LEGO The Lord of the Rings will feature a fully voiced cast of characters that are completely accurate to the movie. How this will work with the comedic angle that Traveller's Tales likes to take will be interesting to see. Traveller's Tales has also taken care to be faithful to the LEGO brand, the representative giving the demo made it clear that the game was using objects that can be readily purchased on store shelves, which is an interesting fact that I did not know about.
LEGO The Lord of the Rings looks to retain a lot of the charm that has made the LEGO games a success in the past, we'll see how well it does when it becomes available in October this year for consoles and handhelds.
