We're standing on top of a castle wall at Helm's Deep, in a perfect recreation of the Lord of the Rings world. The only difference is, here, everyone's made of plastic. Outside, literally hundreds of little LEGO orcs are storming down a hill towards our castle, anger burning brightly in their LEGOy eyes - although apparently not brightly enough to melt their little LEGO heads. Suddenly, a ladder smashes up against the side of the keep, and the baddies start to pour in. Our defences have been breached. But the fellowship are prepared. Legolas (whose name Tolkien seemingly planned in advance for the game) starts to pick off enemies from a distance, Aragorn wades into the middle of the fight, looking gruff as ever, while we, playing as Gimli, ran around like a headless chicken, swinging our little plastic axe at anything in sight.
This, is LEGO Lord of the Rings, the second of three LEGO games planned for this year (the other two being the recently released LEGO Batman 2, and the upcoming Wii U launch title, LEGO City Undercover), as developers Travellers Tales look to prove the old adage, you can never have too much of a good thing. Taking the epic fantasy of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and distilling the countless characters, massive story, and numerous themes into one, family-oriented game, LEGO Lord of the Rings is quite possibly the team's most ambitious title yet - at least, until Undercover launches in a few month's time.
Unlike previous games, LEGO Lord of the Rings uses voice acting taken from the film, lending it an air of epic authenticity - but also potentially reducing the scope for comedy. At least in cutscenes.
And as the young child in front of us in the queue at a recent preview event proved, if you've ever played a LEGO game before, you'll be on familiar enough ground here. With two-player drop in, drop out co-op, things are as easy to pick up and play as you'd imagine from a game carrying the LEGO branding, with the series staying true to its roots - bash your way through LEGO objects to break them into smaller pieces and collect studs; use the broken bits, and build them into something more useful; and solve rudimentary co-op puzzles to make your way through the game's many levels. So far, so LEGO.
Back to the demo. With the orc hordes now having breached our defences, with the help of some plastic ladders, it was up to us, as Gimli (the natural choice, seeing as he's short, rotund, and hairy. Just like us), to fend them off. Surveying the scene, we had a go at whacking the ladders (and the orcs coming off them), but, being a dwarf, we couldn't actually reach them. It was clear we needed a new approach - and then, we noticed the glowing patch of LEGO, embedded in the ground. As has been the way in previous LEGO games, each of the characters has their own special move - Gimli, being short, can squeeze into small tunnels in order to reach hidden areas - but he can also make use of his whopping great axe. As you progress through the level, you'll come across the odd cracked pieces of LEGO slab - and Gimli's axe is the only thing tough enough to smash through them. Leap into the air, and press a button, and you'll pirouette in mid air, before crashing down on the slab with all the force of a small, plummeting, hairy dwarf, and smash right through it. Realising what we had to do, we smashed through the slab, which sent the ladder plummeting down to the ground. But then, we came across a problem.
The second ladder the orcs were using had another slab - but this time, it was vertical. Attached to the ladder, and much higher than dwarf height, there was no way we were going to reach that - unless we had some help. Like previous LEGO games, LEGO Lord of the Rings has a strong focus on co-op gameplay, and encourages two players to work together in order to solve its rudimentary puzzles - especially if they can get a quick laugh out of it in the process. Switching to Aragorn, and strolling over to Gimli, we pressed a button, and scooped the dwarf up in our arms. We knew what had to be done. As Gimli mentions in a later cutscene "You'll have to toss me. Don't tell the elf." Facing Legolas, with the push of a button, we tossed Gimli in his direction, in an odd game of pass the dwarf, before chucking him, beard and all, at the slab, smashing it to pieces. It's a funny enough sight, flinging a dwarf at a slab of concrete - and it raised more than a few smiles amongst the kids, who couldn't stop chucking him into things - enemies, walls, and even cliffs...
Many of the puzzles require co-operation - luckily, if there's just one of you playing, the computer helps out.
But although much of what we played was fairly narrow in scope, with the level guiding you from place to place, or platform to platform, outside of the levels, LEGO Lord of the Rings will really open out. In fact, one of the main challenges with the game has been to try and digitise one of the main themes of the films - the idea of going on an epic journey, a quest to the end of the Earth, with a group of your friends. Although the section we played was a pretty standard level, much of the game actually takes place in on open, free to explore world. The entirety of Middle Earth's been recreated for the game in a slightly more plasticy form, from the peak of Mount Doom, to the depths of the Mines of Moria, and, from what we've heard, you'll be able to wander almost freely across the land. Whether or not the open world part will be in addition to, rather than instead of the levels remains to be seen - but the idea of exploring the world with a friend in tow is enough to get us excited.
With a whole world to explore almost freely, littered with side-quests, hidden items waiting to be found, and new weapons and abilities that your character can acquire, there's certainly plenty of reason to explore. One of the main draws of LEGO games has been to try and collect every collectible going, watching the completion percentage tick up towards 100% as you go - but the items in LEGO Lord of the Rings serve a little bit more of a purpose than before. As you explore the world, you'll come across keys, weapons, and items, some of which you won't have to use until much later in the game. Letting you find a key in the Shire that you won't have to use until you reach Mordor (and after all, one does not simply walk into Mordor), and collect Mithril, a rare element as you go about your travels, which can be crafted into new weapons at the Blacksmith shop, the world of Middle Earth will be packed with things to discover, including characters that offer side quests, and LEGO game staples like gold bricks.
With over 60 characters to unlock, the whole of Middle Earth to explore, a new focus on storytelling, and the film's official soundtrack providing the backing music, LEGO Lord of the Rings looks set to capture the LEGO magic all over again. With a release set for the end of the month, this is a game that's bound to be on plenty of Christmas lists this year. Check back soon for a full review.
