October2018
Review LEGO DC Super-Villains - Proof That It's Good To Be Bad
Embrace your darker side
For the last 23 years, TT Games has been making all manner of games full of studs, bricks and other Danish building blocks. The LEGO series, in its many forms, has hardly been a bastion of consistent innovation but has always offered a fun and safe place for some light platforming and basic combat. LEGO DC Super-Villains...
June2018
Review LEGO The Incredibles (Switch)
Family values
With LEGO Dimensions nothing but a brick-based memory, TT Games’ seemingly endless conveyor belt of licensed LEGO games has returned to regular full-game releases, and with its cinematic inspiration now playing in cinemas the world over it’s the turn of the super-powered family of The Incredibles to receive the Danish block...
July2017
Review Cars 3: Driven to Win (Switch)
Cruisin' in 3rd gear
Nintendo systems often get tie-ins for popular family movies, fleshing out the multi-platform offerings that are available. It's absolutely understandable considering the fact that young audiences do get drawn to Nintendo hardware, and that's continuing with the Switch. Cars 3: Driven to Win is an early contender in this...
September2016
Review LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Wii U)
It's LEGO, all of it...
The LEGO series has been an ever-present for a number of years, covering a broad range of franchises. It seems that as long as an IP has scope for action, it can be a LEGO game, though the success rate can vary when TT Games struggles to turn the source material into exciting gameplay. This summer LEGO Star Wars: The Force...
February2016
Review LEGO Marvel’s Avengers (Wii U)
Not quite Marvel-lous
The LEGO series is one of the most prolific in modern gaming, capturing hearts way back in 2005 with the earliest Star Wars titles and since evolving into a hugely lucrative franchise. LEGO as a toy brand has arguably never been bigger, and with the IP muscle of Warner Bros. and the specialist skills of developer TT Games / TT...
October2015
Review LEGO Dimensions (Wii U)
LEGO loans required
If ever there was a time for parents to put their collective foot down and tell their young ones to choose one favourite toy to buy, this may be it. The toys-to-life market has never been busier as three huge brands go head to head, and LEGO Dimensions arguably - or factually, in terms of the toy market - has the biggest brand of...
July2015
Review LEGO Jurassic World (3DS)
Don't go into the long grass
In case you've been living under a rock or have been crystallized in amber for millions of years, a new film in the Jurassic Park series has been unleashed into the world. As has been the case with so many film franchises before it, this release also brings along with it a LEGO video game adaptation. Welcome to the 3DS...
Review LEGO Jurassic World (Wii U)
Fun but lacking InGen-uity
A whole lot of chaos has ensued on the islands of Isla Sorna and Isla Nublar. Since 1993 we've seen two state-of-the-art theme parks abruptly go defunct and two rescue missions disastrously unfold on these isolated chunks of land. The crazy thing is, we relish in the spectacle that results from these unfortunate events...
April2015
Review LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin (3DS)
Left in the dark
At this point, "Oh, look! Another LEGO game!" is a phrase that can only be said with genuine excitement or seething, bitter sarcasm. Regular releases in the LEGO series of video games have become such a constant in the industry that these action-adventure titles are on the verge of becoming a genre of their own. Not to leave the...
April2014
Review Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - Deluxe Edition (Wii U eShop)
The broken Bat
For as long as portable games have existed, the trend of developing handheld versions of popular console titles has been present and correct. These games tend to be inferior versions of the originals, taking a substantial hit graphically and often limiting gameplay, depending on what the portable console is capable of. In some cases,...
February2014
Review The LEGO Movie Videogame (3DS)
Movie Mildness
Video game tie-ins have been haunting films since the inception of the interactive medium, especially when those films are deemed "kid friendly." Essentially used as a marketing ploy, video games based on motion pictures are usually ill-fated projects that never stood a chance from the very beginning. From Disney cartoons to sci-fi...
Review The LEGO Movie Videogame (Wii U)
Almost everything is awesome
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or have been otherwise indisposed from newspapers, radio, television, the Internet, or any of the other countless forms of communicative devices that the news media uses to infiltrate our lives in 2014, you’re probably well aware that a new movie based on your favourite...
January2014
No friend of mine
Warner Bros. Interactive and Hellbent Games' LEGO Friends is a bad game. There's no nicer way of putting it. A squandered opportunity to make another gaming hit out of a popular LEGO property, LEGO Friends feels like a cynical cash-in designed to provide young gamers with a few minutes of mindless diversion before they request the...
December2013
Review LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril (3DS)
Another bag of bricks
With a great franchise comes a great number of releases. In the case of the LEGO video games series, their multi-platform games have hit just about every major gaming console of the past 10 years. Having no desire to be left out of the series’ success, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril brings an original adventure...
Review Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (3DS)
Throw away the key
Being ambitious is no easy task. Playing a full, big-budget console game on a portable system is likely in every gamer’s wildest fantasies, but due to hardware limitations, we’re often left disappointed by half-hearted ports. Armature Studio, in its infinite wisdom, recognized this concern and chose to take this one in a...
Review LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (Wii U)
Super studs
There was really no way to predict it so long ago, but the modern series of LEGO franchised games are undeniably great. When the first LEGO Star Wars game hit store shelves in 2005, it’s probably safe to assume that Traveller’s Tales didn’t foresee the growth that the franchise would go on to enjoy. Eight years and more than 10...
November2013
Review Batman: Arkham Origins (Wii U)
Same hero, less refined
Whenever a video game franchise moves from one developer to another during its lifetime, there tends to be a few raised eyebrows. There are definite examples of licenses that have significantly improved following the move from one studio to another, such as the console games in the Skylanders series jumping from Toys for Bob...
May2013
Review LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii U)
Holy year-old port, Batman!
LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes on Wii U finds itself in an unenviable position. Released last year to critical acclaim and heralded as a new beginning to an increasingly stale series of games, it is only now releasing on Wii U, a system that has recently played host to what some consider the new pinnacle of LEGO games,...