AlphaStriker
Member
This thread is for discussing and reminiscing the Lego games we played growing up. The early Lego games could have easily been lousy, quick cash ins, but they were actually quite fun and diverse. So without further ado, lets begin!
Prologue:
Lego Island
Genre - Adventure
Year - 1997
Platform - PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E__I3KVf_o8
The one thing I remember well is the zany soundtrack. Its a cheerful synthesized sound with a random dude going Hey hey! hey Lego!. Almost hypnotic even...
Im sure many of you remember this game, but what I really wanted to focus on are the Lego games that followed.
Lego Creator
Genre - Building
Year - 1998
Platform - PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXvRniXD1d8
When this game came out, my computer could hardly handle the 3D visuals. It would take forever to load the game and even just to bring in a Lego piece into the 3D world space would take minutes at a time. But the results were worth it as I had never played a game like it before. It was a bit of a precursor to The Sims where you could design your dream house only out of Lego bricks.
Lego Chess
Genre - Chess
Year -1998
Platform - PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxQWbeZv200
Lego Loco
Genre - Simulation
Year - 1998
Platform - PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT68KbekvuU
Lego Racers
Genre - Racing
Year - 1999
Platforms - PC, PS1, N64, GBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgq51iAZEv8
The power up system was similar to the one in Diddy Kong Racing where if you collected power ups of the same color, you would get better variants. What really made this game special was the customization as the players avatar and kart racer was fully customizable. I remember this was the reason I went out and got a controller pack for my N64, just so I could save my car designs. As you defeated the games bosses, their karts and respective parts became unlocked. I probably spent more time customizing my racer, than racing on the tracks. Years later they released a sequel with some open world elements, but Id say another sequel is long overdue.
Lego Rock Raiders
Genre - RTS/Adventure
Year - 1999
Platforms - PC, PS1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZPFlW8kNhk
The weird caveat was that the workers could not be directly controlled. I guess it was implemented to make an easier experience for younger players. So if you wanted to drill a section of the wall, you would click on the wall and a nearby worker/vehicle would then start digging. Additionally you had to be aware of oxygen levels as it would steadily decrease over time and the mission would end, so in a sense all levels are timed. Still the game was fun for what it was but there was definitely room for improvement. Unfortunately I dont think well ever see a spiritual successor.
Legoland
Genre - Theme Park Management
Year - 1999
Platform - PC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_PWO-vaJlw
Lego Alpha Team
Genre - Puzzle
Year - 2000
Platforms - PC, GBC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFyaYn0jgwE
As you progress through the levels, youll rescue more captured agents to help you solve the environmental puzzles which were quite challenging for me, or probably because I was just young. My favorite part was after every success, a guitar riff would start to play and then agents would do their celebratory dance! woo!
Epilogue
Lego Star Wars
Genre - Action
Year - 2005
Platforms - PC, PS2, GCN, GBA, Xbox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwfIowx2ydY
Discussion
Hopefully I rekindled some of your childhood memories, or at least introduced you to the quirky fun Lego titles of the past. I neglected to mention a few other Lego titles but these I felt were the standout examples. As great as the Lego Star Wars formula is, it would be nice if Lego reintroduced more unique gameplay of the past instead of using the same ol cookie cutter formula. At least give us Lego Racers 3!
Prologue:
Lego Island
Genre - Adventure
Year - 1997
Platform - PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E__I3KVf_o8
No Lego game discussion would be complete without mentioning Lego Island, the first ever Lego video game. Here you play as Pepper, the pizza delivery boy, who accidentally frees The Brickster from prison and must then catch him before he destroys the Island! Lego Island is played in first person where you can drive and fly Lego vehicles as you freely traverse the island.
The one thing I remember well is the zany soundtrack. Its a cheerful synthesized sound with a random dude going Hey hey! hey Lego!. Almost hypnotic even...
Im sure many of you remember this game, but what I really wanted to focus on are the Lego games that followed.
Lego Creator
Genre - Building
Year - 1998
Platform - PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXvRniXD1d8
This game is pretty much a virtual Lego toy box. You can bring in as many different lego pieces and build whatever you desire. However the pieces are of the basic variety with a focus on city elements, so you cant really build things like medieval castles or alien spaceships easily. The game allows you to start from scratch or use pre-assembled buildings to populate your town. A neat feature is that minifigures and vehicles can be directly controlled in first person so you can explore your town from a minifigure perspective.
When this game came out, my computer could hardly handle the 3D visuals. It would take forever to load the game and even just to bring in a Lego piece into the 3D world space would take minutes at a time. But the results were worth it as I had never played a game like it before. It was a bit of a precursor to The Sims where you could design your dream house only out of Lego bricks.
Lego Chess
Genre - Chess
Year -1998
Platform - PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxQWbeZv200
Its basically what the title says but charming nonetheless. You can play in three different settings: medieval, wild west, and pirates where the chessboard and chess pieces are minifigures of the respective theme. Whenever a chess piece is captured, a short funny cutscene occurs showing the captured piece being outwitted by the capturer. There is a unique clip for every capture scenario and for each theme. Of course these cutscenes can be disabled after youve seen a pawn capture another pawn for the hundredth time.
Lego Loco
Genre - Simulation
Year - 1998
Platform - PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT68KbekvuU
Heres a game that is pretty similar to SimTown, or for those of you that dont know, a very lite version of SimCity. I dont remember too much from this game, probably because I had no idea what the goal was, but basically you are free to lay out any train track design you can think of and place roads and sidewalks as well. From the toolbox you can place houses which will then populate your city with people. From what I can recall, I dont think there is any resource system or any managing you have to do, its just a simple town simulation game.
Lego Racers
Genre - Racing
Year - 1999
Platforms - PC, PS1, N64, GBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgq51iAZEv8
Simply put this game was awesome. Sure it may not have been as refined as Mario Kart 64, but it was fun nonetheless. Im surprised Lego hasnt thought of making another sequel as it no doubt would be a sure-fire success. Perhaps they forgot about this game? Lego Racers centers around challenging the best racer of all time, Rocket Racer. In order to do so, the player travels through time racing in different locales based on the Lego playsets of the time. Settings included pirates, adventurers, space, medieval and finally Rocket Racers home track.
The power up system was similar to the one in Diddy Kong Racing where if you collected power ups of the same color, you would get better variants. What really made this game special was the customization as the players avatar and kart racer was fully customizable. I remember this was the reason I went out and got a controller pack for my N64, just so I could save my car designs. As you defeated the games bosses, their karts and respective parts became unlocked. I probably spent more time customizing my racer, than racing on the tracks. Years later they released a sequel with some open world elements, but Id say another sequel is long overdue.
Lego Rock Raiders
Genre - RTS/Adventure
Year - 1999
Platforms - PC, PS1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZPFlW8kNhk
This game was very unique in that there arent many RTS games aimed for children. The objective is to order your workers to dig through the surrounding environment and collect ores and minerals in the process. Youre workers can be trained in different classes and with enough resources you can call in vehicles to expedite the digging. Occasionally, rock monsters would appear and harass your workers so you had to build an armory and arm your workers with laser guns.
The weird caveat was that the workers could not be directly controlled. I guess it was implemented to make an easier experience for younger players. So if you wanted to drill a section of the wall, you would click on the wall and a nearby worker/vehicle would then start digging. Additionally you had to be aware of oxygen levels as it would steadily decrease over time and the mission would end, so in a sense all levels are timed. Still the game was fun for what it was but there was definitely room for improvement. Unfortunately I dont think well ever see a spiritual successor.
Legoland
Genre - Theme Park Management
Year - 1999
Platform - PC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_PWO-vaJlw
This was a pretty standard themepark game but like a very lite version of roller coaster tycoon. I dont believe there is any sort of track editor for the rides, you just populate your park with shops, decorations and prebuild rides. This was the one game I didnt get to play as the 3D visuals were a bit too demanding for my PC at the time.
Lego Alpha Team
Genre - Puzzle
Year - 2000
Platforms - PC, GBC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFyaYn0jgwE
Ah here was the Alpha Team and their quest to stop the evil Ogel (Lego spelled backwards). These days such a concept would probably translate into a third person action platformer, however the development team decided to take a different route. The gameplay is similar to games like Lemmings or Mario vs DK: March of the Minis where you direct your agents by manipulating the 3D environment. There is a switch in each level that your agents must activate in order to proceed to the next level. Along the way, you must ensure the agents dont fall into the hazards below or come into contact with Ogels henchmen.
As you progress through the levels, youll rescue more captured agents to help you solve the environmental puzzles which were quite challenging for me, or probably because I was just young. My favorite part was after every success, a guitar riff would start to play and then agents would do their celebratory dance! woo!
Epilogue
Lego Star Wars
Genre - Action
Year - 2005
Platforms - PC, PS2, GCN, GBA, Xbox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwfIowx2ydY
Lego Star Wars The Videogame; thats pretty much my three favorite things in life embodied in one product. I remember playing the demo endlessly and it was my sole reason to upgrade to Windows XP as it was the system requirement. The huge assortment of playable Lego characters traversing through the prequel environments was a dream come true. As awesome as this game was, it marked the end of the Lego games of the past, and began the trend of Lego games we see today.
Discussion
Hopefully I rekindled some of your childhood memories, or at least introduced you to the quirky fun Lego titles of the past. I neglected to mention a few other Lego titles but these I felt were the standout examples. As great as the Lego Star Wars formula is, it would be nice if Lego reintroduced more unique gameplay of the past instead of using the same ol cookie cutter formula. At least give us Lego Racers 3!