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LEGO Legend of Chima Online launches into testing
We understand if you miss LEGO Universe. It's gone, and unfortunately nothing's going to bring it back. But that doesn't mean you have to give up on the idea of a brick-based MMORPG altogether, especially since another one has just launched into open testing. LEGO Legend of Chima Online, a cooperative venture from LEGO and Warner Bros Games, is now available for everyone to play. And it's got some accessibility upgrades over its predecessor. Legend of Chima Online focuses on a single LEGO property rather than the franchise as a whole, for starters. It also requires neither up-front payment nor a download, as it utilizes the Unity 3D client for in-browser play. While the game is technically in beta, it's an open beta, and the cash shop is already in and working with no clear plans for a server wipe. Those of you mourning over LEGO Universe can't have the game back, but this might ease the sting.
The world of World of Warcraft recreated in Minecraft
Minecraft players are well-known for their insane, over-the-top LEGO building projects, but one may have all the rest beat. A player named Rumsey is in the process of recreating the entire world of Azeroth from World of Warcraft inside the game, and while it's not completed quite yet, it's already incredibly impressive. Rumsey says that he had to cheat a little: Instead of placing every single block by hand, he wrote a piece of software that helps to automate the process of making full-scale version of the world. He's recently completed one continent -- Kalimdor -- and has plans to do the others as well as all of WoW's dungeons. He says that the only problem he's run into is Minecraft's height limit of 128 blocks, so he's had to employ mods to get around that. When the project is complete, Rumsey has hopes that it will be hosted online for tourists to visit this much blockier version of their favorite WoW stomping grounds.
LEGO Universe builds community via community building
The fun of playing with LEGO sets is only half in the assembly -- a lot of the enjoyment comes with showing off what you've created to others, no matter your age. It's an element that LEGO Universe has taken to heart, as a recent release talks about the community events the game has run thus far and the plans for more events in the future. Each month of the game's operation has been based around a core theme for community events and challenges, giving players unified goals to work toward. March is the Battle Month, with the final event taking place this weekend in the Battle for Nimbus Station. Players who successfully face off against 29 waves of enemies will be in the running to win a variety of in-game prizes as well as some real-world LEGO sets. The Creation Lab has also been a major area of development, allowing user-generated content to come front and center in the community. Even if you're not currently playing LEGO Universe, you can take part in some of the contests and get your own buildings in the game -- sharing what you've built with everyone even if it's not made out of plastic bricks.
LEGO Universe unveils newest zone for flipping out and killing people
The LEGO brand is nothing if not a universe of heterogeneity -- race cars, aquatic explorers, space police, and even Batman have long existed side-by-side. The newest kid on the metaphorical block is the just-begun Ninjago line, and it's being celebrated in LEGO Universe with the addition of the newest zone, Crux Prime. But the zone has more to offer than just a cavalcade of ninja, with brand-new gear, weapons, and decals for players to unlock as they progress through the zone's new content. Players will be tasked with finding the long-lost Sensei Wu amid the ruins of the Ninjago Monastery to learn the powerful skill known as Spinjitzu. They'll need it, too, with Maelstrom Skeletons attempting to steal the beacon of Imagination from the tower in Crux Prime. With over 100 new missions for players to undertake and an ongoing story that promises to unfold over time, LEGO Universe players should find plenty to like about Crux Prime. Take a sneak peek at the zone in the gallery below as well as the trailer past the cut. %Gallery-113923%
LEGO Universe hosting a race contest for the New Year weekend
If you or your favorite youngster has been enjoying LEGO Universe, this weekend would be an especially good time to play, not only because it's a holiday weekend with plenty of free time for everyone, but because a special contest is being held in the game up through January 2nd. Twenty winners on the Space Blizzard Race Track will start the new year with prizes in-game, and the luckiest three winners will be driving away with an entire prize pack of LEGO World Racers sets. To qualify, players must complete all three races on the track before the end of Sunday, January 2nd. The time at which the contest ends varies by the local time of each server. The setters of the top 20 times will be rewarded with prizes, with a full giftset going to the top 10 racers over the two-day period. LEGO Universe players still have enough time to get onto the track and get to racing, so go ahead and see what you can accomplish.
LEGO Universe launch day roundup
Many of us at Massively have been looking forward to the launch of LEGO Universe, and we're pretty sure a lot of you have too. Most of us never really outgrow LEGO bricks, so translating them into an MMO format seems like a recipe for fun. The months leading up to today's launch have been full of opportunities to check out the game -- we took multiple trips into the world of LEGO Universe to check out different areas and report on what we found. In between were interviews, some awards, and an avalanche of images and trailers. Follow along after the jump for the highlights of the past months, from the launch date announcement to the heaps of just-before-launch-day goodies!
Microsoft sends out Lego Windows Phone 7 mockup to executives
A helpful tipster hit us up with this little photo today: a Windows Phone 7 mockup styled of Lego bricks. The fake phone is apparently being sent out in real invites to real executives for Microsoft's upcoming sure-to-be-swanky Executive Event for Windows Phone 7 in November (not to be confused with the sure-to-be-pretty-great launch in October). Our question: where's the Duplo version for Windows Mobile 6.5? Alternate groan-worthy end zingers: "We suppose that puts a whole new spin on 'bricked,' huh?" "Where's the Technic version for Windows Mobile 6.5?" "Micro$oft? More like Blacktron!"
CES 2010: LEGO Universe unveils trailer full of zombie pirate awesome
As if the idea behind the LEGO Universe MMO wasn't already pretty awesome in our books, this shiny new trailer straight from the CES floor has cranked up the previous levels of awesome to 11. In the new launch trailer we're treated to zombie pirates, ninjas, characters building race cars in bullet-time, rockets, and all manner of other cool-looking LEGO craziness. Along with the shiny new trailer, we've also managed to get our hands on a good number of screenshots that not only show off some of the environs that Netdevil have created, but shed some more light on how things will work inside LEGO Universe. According to what we've gleaned from the CES reports, the "LEGO brick lies at the center of the experience" so players will be able to use them for everything from completing simple building challenges to "sophisticated brick-by-brick building." Netdevil has also tapped a group of LEGOmaniacs called LUPs (LEGO Universe partners) to help them build imaginative content for the game. We've got the trailer for you behind the break, and gathered up the screenshots into the gallery below. Either way you go, it looks like we're in for some seriously fun LEGO Universe adventures! %Gallery-82359%
