Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Gnarled Forest

We were off again to a Temple of Doom-styled jungle forest world that played host to not only some indigenous baddies, but a host of pirates that somehow managed to crash there. We donned some better gear - any player can equip any piece of equipment, generally speaking - and gear also provides new abilities. With each new weapon, I was surprised to note that not only the combat animation changed, but the players default stance changed as well. It sounds like a small thing until you see the myriad weapons choices available to you.

The Gnarled Forest quickbuild bridge and skull torches.

The storyline mission is all about helping the pirates out of their mess, but since time was at a premium, we steamed on through the world. Our first stop was a quickbuild that drew a red “X” on the ground, denoting pirate treasure. If we had a pet, we could dig up that treasure, but we had to pass by for now. Coming to a ravine, we had another jump puzzle before us, and true to the game’s form, tips appeared when we got into trouble. Ryan took time to note that the flaming LEGO skulls on stakes at the foot of the bridge would rotate and waggle their jaws if clicked on. Unfortunately we didn’t have a squirt gun, which we were told snuffs out the torch until the skull spits back water in your face.

We continued on to a spooky cave filled with undead pirates, which proved to be a tougher fight than any we’d seen yet. A new quickbuild was before us after the fight; it consisted of three movable jump platforms that had to be arranged in the correct order before we could hop out of the cave. Ryan pointed out the golden “Imagination Brick” hovering overhead. There’s only one of these per level, and it would take some clever placement of the platforms to grab this special brick.

And after the cave, to lighten the mood, we saw a bunch of very alive pirates scrambling in fear from a monkey in a tree that had somehow found a pistol. We mollified the monkey with one of the life-restoring bananas taken from a nearby tree. After moving through an area with those classic LEGO prisons built into the walls, we came upon another social area with a pirate ship somehow stuck in the trees. Completing an achievement here unlocks a shooting gallery in the ship, which like the racecourse in Avant Gardens, is some pure unlockable leaderboard-driven fun.

The Gnarled Forest social area.

Speaking of pure fun, Ryan demoed an achievement ability that makes all your nearby friends dance a pirate jig, and that will no doubt be great fun for at least the first hundred times it happens. But the real kicker was the element of the game most popular with kids: burning your butt at the nearby campfire. It’s classic slapstick, and the ensuing animations make full use of the comic moment. Burning butt minifigs jumping around like popcorn in Gnarled Forest might just be the new Night Elves dancing on the mailbox, but we’ll have to wait and see.  

Living in LEGO Universe

We wrapped up the demo in a private build area that each and every character will have to call home, and to me this conjures up so many memories of playing with LEGOs as a kid. It alone, for a LEGO nerd like me looking around an office cluttered with "serious" LEGO models, would be worth the price of admission. Here’s where you can invite friends to play with your blocks and build absolutely whatever you like: a castle, a dragon, Yankee Stadium, a scale replica of Serenity. The only limit is the blocks you’ve collected; you can color and arrange them however you like. It’s LEGO nirvana without the trip to the upscale mall and the hefty price tag, but perhaps the coolest thing is that you'll be able to order a kit with all the actual physical pieces for any of your creations. To wit, the rocket ship we constructed early in the demo, in all its various forms, sat on the table in front of me during the demo.

That’s as close as the game will get to microtransactions, however. Mark Hansen explained that LEGO Universe will be a subscription game. Parents and gaming purists everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief - virtual bricks, pieces, and accessories won’t be available for purchase with real money, and glorious LEGO constructs will be as much a sign of LEGO U saavy as creative ability (since you'll have to collect all your bricks in game first). Ryan and Mark hinted at some form of PvP in the game, whether it’s smash ‘em up racing, minigame hijinx, or perhaps something a little more close and personal, and also noted that while items make the minifig in the early going, you might have to make some permanent choices later in the game. 

Overall, we couldn't be more impressed with what we saw of LEGO Universe. The graphics and art direction are absolutely top-notch, the gameplay looks to be as solid as anything we've seen in the LEGO niche, and what we saw - especially the showcases and private build area - absolutely captures the creative spirit of LEGO. Our only concern is that subscription MMOs have traditionally depended on compelling yet cyclical gameplay (large-scale PvP, dungeons, raids), but NetDevil's plans for the "elder game" are still a secret. Nevertheless, given NetDevil's philosophy of "vertical slice" development, many of the pieces seem to be falling in place, so to speak, for the game's targetted release in 2010, and we'll look forward to more information on LEGO Universe in the coming months.