Monday 6 June 2011

E14 Top 5's - LEGO Games We'd Like To See


LEGO games. There’s been a fair few of them, but they all manage to be fun. LEGO: Pirates of the Caribbean was the most recent one, which I enjoyed recently. There’s inevitably going to be a game based on the final three Harry Potter movies, but what else is there to do? Have they run out of ideas? Today, E14 casts aside all notion of reality and fantasises on what the LEGO franchise could see next in its catalogue.

LEGO: The Matrix

This one would satisfy some of the unspoken criteria of a LEGO game. The original Matrix trilogy has (obviously) three movies to work from, as well as the Animatrix, which could work really well as bonus content or the fourth chapter that seems to be finding its way into a couple of LEGO games recently (most notably LEGO Harry Potter and LEGO: Pirates of the Caribbean).

Covering all three movies would be a big task indeed, but there’s plenty of action footage that they can use. From the first film alone, there’s Neo’s escape from the Agents at the beginning of the movie, which could be handled very well by the bods at Traveller’s Tales. There’s Neo’s actual training with Morpheus inside the Construct (see, I learned all my fancy lingo to write this – impressed? No? Fair enough), which would make for an entertaining level, particularly if the usual blend of LEGO humour was infused into the game. The game could then round off with a two-part level covering the rescue of Morpheus followed by the final titanic battle with Agent Smith.

One thing that sets this idea apart from some of the others that follow is that this game could make great use of some altered reality gameplay mechanics, which haven’t really been tried in LEGO games before. True, there’s Han Solo’s spinning dodge in LEGO: Star Wars II, which allows him to deflect and return blaster fire, so they could always modify that. Plus they’ve had double-jumping characters in almost all of their games, so it’s not a tremendous leap of faith to think that these mechanics could be serviced for a LEGO: The Matrix game.

LEGO: Spider-Man

A bit of an obvious one to go the way of comics, considering that LEGO: Batman was such a popular game (and is hailed by a lot of people I know as the best one). Part of the reason it’s so popular could be down to the fact that it takes familiar characters from the universe and writes a brand new (if not entirely deep) storyline allowing you to meet the villains of the game one after the other. A Spider-Man game could work really well in the same regard, if for no other reason than web-slinging would be awesome, and a big open-world main hub which you can swing around would be…more awesome.

However, they could just as easily make a game based on the Spider-Man movies which would have plenty of material for a LEGO game. Three movies with plenty of action set-pieces to get you engaged. Even more exciting as an idea for me personally, though, would be a game which merges the comic book world and the movie trilogy canon, giving you some set pieces from the movies as levels, and then filling them out with comic-inspired villains and quests. If the game versions of the Spider-Man series do anything, they prove that going outside the film’s comfort zone can result in a very enjoyable game (and one of my regrets from last generation is that I didn’t get a chance to have a proper go with the Spider-Man 2 game).

LEGO: James Bond
This is a series that I’m amazed has not been even hinted at as one that they’re working on. With one of the richest histories of any film franchises ever, the James Bond franchise has over 20 movies to reference and does pretty much everything that the LEGO games has been known for, while at the same time offering development opportunities for brand new gameplay mechanics that have thus far not been tinkered with in any significant depth.

The obvious bits that James Bond films have, which lend themselves well to the LEGO series, are the gunplay, the unarmed combat sections and plenty of driving in fast cars. Girls, though a fixture of the series, are not really something that can be reproduced accurately in a LEGO game, save for the addition of a button which allows you to make them swoon or maybe sweep them off their feet.

The stuff that they haven’t really done in the past in any significant depth is the stealth stuff, and this would be a great opportunity to develop the series in a new direction. Characters could follow a set path, and wait at specific times to miss the patrols of enemy soldiers. It doesn’t sound particularly exciting, granted, but if they incorporated it into levels amongst scenes of a more action-packed nature, then it could work really well to break up the action.

Some of the movies that I’d like to see incorporated into a LEGO game include:
Dr. No, simply for the game’s tropical setting (and I have a guilty wish to see the iconic Ursula Andress bikini scene done in LEGO form, purely for morbid curiosity’s sake).
Goldfinger, if for no other reason than its iconic status as one of the classic Bond movies associated with the character. Plus the scene with the laser would be cool.
Goldeneye, because I think at their core, *everyone* wants to drive a LEGO tank through St. Petersburg.

LEGO: Alien vs LEGO: Predator

Here’s one that I know for a fact Brad agrees with, as when I told him I was writing it up, he revealed that he’s been hoping for one of these games since the first LEGO: Star Wars was released. In terms of likelihood, regrettably it’s probably one of the most unlikely, as the series tends to go with the more family-friendly franchises. However, it’s genuinely a shame, as there is plenty of scope to make this one of the biggest games in the history of the series (besides maybe LEGO: Star Wars – The Complete Saga, which added all six films and some extra Bounty Hunter missions).

Merging everything of the Alien franchise, the Predator franchise and then the Alien Vs Predator franchise (hence the use of LEGO twice in the name of the game – clever, eh? Thought I’d fucked up? How dare you…), the game could encompass the very best bits from up to NINE films and bring it all together into one big fuck-off game (or two or three normal-sized LEGO games).

And while we’re browsing the fantasy catalogue, why don’t we expand the scope of the game even further and follow the game series? Why not add in separate Alien, Predator and Marine campaigns in order to fully flesh out the world? Exciting, eh? Somewhere in the world, Brad just jizzed in his pants, and doesn’t know why (though he suspects, I’m sure, that it’s related in some way to AVP).

LEGO: Sherlock Holmes

This is a bit of a departure from the usual series model, but I really think that if it was a smaller downloadable game, like an Xbox Live Arcade title or a Playstation Network game, a LEGO detective game could work really well. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a Sherlock Holmes game, I just think that it would make the most sense to be a recognisable character, though I could quite happily buy a game simply entitled LEGO: Detectives.

Obviously, the LEGO series is all about simplifying the usual mechanics of games, in order to make them accessible. Applying this to detective games could work really well, as identifying a murder victim (or just someone with their head popped off, as LEGO would undoubtedly do), would consist purely of matching eyes, smiles and skin colours to the database of a local town or something along those lines. One could process evidence either using mini-games or just through questioning in the same vein as L.A. Noire.

Also, the game would lend itself well to DLC if the series caught on. Much in the same vein as PSN downloadable game Blue Toad Murder Files, which has six total episodes (and is totally fucking awesome if you haven’t already played it), the series could be expanded upon with new cases very simply once the engine was in place. Plus, if it did turn out to be a Sherlock Holmes game, you could mix up your cocaine using a mini-game.



THE CRUEL SEA GIVEAWAY


The novel The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monserrat was an unflinching portrayal of life at sea during WWII on a boat tasked with protecting convoys and seeking and destroying U-boats. A runaway success, the novel had already sold over 4 million copies in just 2 years when Ealing decided to make the film version.

Filmed aboard an actual Royal Navy corvette, The Cruel Sea tells the story of the sailors aboard the HMS Compass Rose: the bonds that form between them, the daily pressures they face and their epic struggle to overcome the enemy. Nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Film, The Cruel Sea stars Jack Hawkins, Sir Donald Sinden and Stanley Clarke, and is a gripping insight into the lives of unsung heroes at sea during the war, and the agonizing decisions and incredible peril they faced on a daily basis.

Thanks to our friends at optimum Releasing, we've got three copies of The Cruel Sea on Blu-ray to give away! For your chance of winning, send your name to emotionally14@hotmail.co.uk before midday on Monday 13th June, making sure to put "The Cruel Sea" as the subject. The first three entries out of the electronic hat after the competition closes will receive a free copy!

Don't forget to put "The Cruel Sea" in the subject line. Incorrectly labelled or blank entries will be discarded.

The Cruel Sea is available from Monday 13th June.

Entries limited to one per household. Offer open only to postal addresses in the UK and Ireland.

1 comment:

  1. LEGO: The Evil Dead :)

    Army of Darkness in LEGO would rock.

    ReplyDelete