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Some LEGO Batman details to whet your appetite for vengeance
Was that super-quick teaser trailer not enough to satisfy your need for all-things LEGO Batman? Well, like the Dark Knight himself, GamesIndustry.biz has swooped in to provide a few concrete facts about the fearsome superhero's adorable LEGO-themed title.Using the same optional cooperative gameplay system as the LEGO Star Wars games, LEGO Batman will allow players to play as either Batman or Robin, with one friend able to join in the crime-fighting mayhem -- no four-player co-op this time around, it seems.Villains such as the Joker and Penguin will appear, as Batman and Robin explore Gotham City. Vehicle construction will also return from the LEGO Star Wars series. We're still dying for more details, but with the game's release around a year away, there's still plenty of time for new details to surface.
See the first trailer for Lego Batman
OK, we're going to warn up front before you cl- ... you already clicked on it, didn't you? Well, as you've probably already seen, there's not a whole lot to absorb in this brief Lego Batman teaser. But its definitely worth watching, especially considering how little time you'll be investing into the process. It also gives us a look at exactly which systems the game will be released for. (Answer: All.)No, it's not gameplay, but how about when he slips his hands on like they're his gloves? ADORABLE. We keep getting more excited about Lego Batman, even if five pieces of conjoined plastic are the least believable Dark Knight ever ... except for George Clooney, of course.
Lego Star Wars developer travels to Warner
Travellers' Tales, the British developer most recently known for their Lego Star Wars series, will soon be acquired by Warner Bros. Luckily, this does not spell the end of their popular series, as they have announced that they will maintain their current partnerships with Lego and LucasArts. Quite a relief for those looking forward to the upcoming Lego Indiana Jones game.Just about the only relationship this new acquisition calls into question is that between Travellers' Tales and Sega. TT has had a longstanding partnership with Sega, developing high-profile games like Sonic R, Sonic 3D Blast and Super Monkey Ball Adventure. Of course, those aren't the best three Sega games, so maybe it's not much of a problem for them to be off the market.
Lightsabers in Wii's Lego Star Wars exactly what you hoped for
...that is, if you hoped for shaking the Wiimote to swing your lightsaber and shaking the nunchuk to use the Force. If you were hoping for something a little more ... fun intuitive from Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga on the Wii, you're out of luck. If it sounds like we're disappointed, we're not, we know that the real 1-to-1 Star Wiirs experience isn't due until The Force Unleashed. Still, it was nice to dream. We wish there was some sort of geekiness conversion chart to help us figure out if the presence of Indiana Jones is enough to make up for mediocre lightsabering. We suspect it is not.
Joystiq impressions: Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (DS)
LucasArts recently showed off the in-development DS version of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The company tried to remain positive -- or at the very least, civil -- about the previous DS bomb, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. But this showing was clearly to prove to journalists that the DS version of the new game won't follow the murky fate of its predecessor. Lego Star Wars creator, Traveller's Tales redeveloped the game for the DS instead of re-using the old DS engine, and it shows. The new game more closely resembles LSW on other consoles. In my brief play session, I was impressed with the top-screen 3D graphics; LSW Complete could be the graphical leader for 3D DS games with its November 6 launch.%Gallery-7861%
Lego Indiana Jones announced
Traveler's Tales' Lego Batman may be bricking our consoles this fall, but it looks like Indiana Jones will be whipping us into shape in the summer of 2008 (YOU CALL HIM DR. JONES, DOLL!!). Lego Indiana Jones will chronicle the famous archaeologist across all three movies in the franchise. No platforms are announced yet, but all we can say is if we aren't getting Simon Belmont's whip on the Wii, we'll gladly take Dr. Jones'. LucasArts also points out that they remain hard at work on their internally developed Indiana Jones video game which takes place a year after The Last Crusade. The story is being overseen by George Lucas, but there is still no word on a release date for that. [Via Press Release]
Saints Row and Lego Star Wars II go platinum
Got some money leftover from Easter that's still burning a hole in your pocket? For less than the cost of a $3.95 latte every day for a month solid, you can score yourself Saint's Row and Lego Star Wars II for the Xbox 360 ... and still have enough left over to pick up a full-priced title of your choosing. Saint's Row stretches out the GTA-style replay value with downloadable content, and Lego Star Wars II is about the most fun you can have bashing Lego bricks, so either one ain't a bad value.
New Transformers info revealed
Considering it has a transforming 360, it's no surprise that Transformers the movie will serve as inspiration for Transformers The Game. Activision has made a new fact sheet available for the game, revealing its features and platforms. The game is set to hit every console known to man, including our beloved 360. The game is being developed by Traveller's Tales, who recently made a splash with the LEGO Star Wars games. Transformers The Game will feature both Autobot and Decepticon campaigns, allowing players to choose good or evil, respectively. Player characters will be able to transform on the fly, offering various combat options. The environments are destructible and can also be used as weapons during combat. The fact sheet also mentions "head-to-head" battles though it is unclear if this refers to multiplayer or not. The game promises a huge lineup of playable characters including Optimus Prime, Megatron, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Barricade, and our personal favorite, Starscream.Transformers The Game is currently scheduled for a summer 2007 release.[Via 360 Arcadians]
Lego Star Wars uses the force, sells 1.1 million copies
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy has sold over 1.1 million units in just over a week. That's a lot of LEGO blocks. Someone please keep this information away from George Lucas, if at all possible. Or else we could be seeing LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Enhanced With New CGI Midichlorian Edition. Still, possible future linings of Lucas' wallet aside, kudos to him and LucasArts for continuing to put out new editions of this game, which really have an irreverent take on the Star Wars universe. The back of the box alone features Darth Vader wearing Princess Leia's bra from her slave girl outfit. That's hot.
UK sales charts, September 9-16: Lego leads the board
Despite entering the charts at number three last week, Lego Star Wars II has proved a popular favourite with the British public, rising to snatch the top spot from Dead Rising this week. The rest of the chart follows in similar vein, demonstrating only a slight shuffle from last week's positions. Several Xbox 360 titles are selling well, but the multiformat nature of Lego Star Wars may have tipped it to the top -- that, and it's Lego, man. 1. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy 2. Dead Rising 3. Saints Row 4. Cars 5. Test Drive Unlimited 6. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training 7. New Super Mario Bros. 8. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 9. Lego Star Wars 10. The Sims 2
Metareview - LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Traveller's Tales was on to something when they decided to take the popular LEGO brand of Star Wars toys and make a video game based on our favorite bricks. The resulting LEGO Star Wars was a novel, family-oriented romp through the galaxy far, far away. LucasArts was more Force sensitive this time around and assumed publishing duties from Eidos for the sequel, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. Overall marks are only slightly higher than the first game, but critics agree the stronger source material makes The Original Trilogy worth its weight in galactic credits. GameSpy (90/100) thinks the sequel's enhanced "born to build" features will appeal to the kid in all of us: "There are a lot more LEGO elements scattered throughout each stage than there was in the first game. By blowing up LEGO objects, you'll often be able to rebuild the scattered bricks into new items that can be used to reach otherwise hidden areas. It really gives you the feeling that you're playing within a living LEGO world." 1UP (80/100) knows the only substitute for a good blaster is a good ship: "While the vehicular stages vary in terms of quality, the mere fact that so many exist really adds to the scope of the game. Lego Star Wars II offers a surprising amount of playtime, and is much larger and longer than the original game (which was one of its biggest criticisms)." GameSpot (77/100) discovered that fancy next-gen visuals not make one great: "The current-gen console versions all look slightly better than the original Lego Star Wars, while the PC version looks a bit better than those, since it can run at much higher resolutions. The Xbox 360 version has the most graphical flair, with better reflections, better explosions, and a cool lens-focus effect. It's definitely the best-looking version, but it's also got a very minor frame rate problem that crops up when there are a lot of particle effects." See also: Batman to LEGO brick consoles everywhere
LEGO Star Wars II jumps onto the Xbox 360
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will now be making an appearance on the Xbox 360, along with its earlier announced platforms (which include pretty much every current-gen system). Whether creating a Han Solo-Greedo, lightsaber-wielding humanoid hybrid is really the wisest course of action or not is a debate best left to the fan community, however. (A green HanGreedo on the 360 -- it could work.) Our only hope is that the original LEGO Star Wars will make its way onto the official Xbox backward-compatibility list by the time the sequel's released in September. Getting those unlockable characters from the prequels onto the next generation would be awfully nice. (Transferable saves? Even better.) The complete Lucasfilm press release follows below. See also: LEGO Star Wars II out with OT DVDs Sept 12 Original Xbox Games Playable on Xbox 360 (last updated in March)
LEGO Star Wars II out with OT DVDs Sept 12
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will be out this fall when it releases with the unaltered original trilogy DVDs on September 12th. Sure, the limited-edition double dipping on the theatrical version of the films may rile movie collectors, but fans do want Han shooting first on their Star Wars DVDs. (The "theatrical" release will only be available until December 31st.) The simultaneous release of game and film on DVD follows in the tradition of the Star Wars Battlefront games releasing alongside the special-edition release of the original trilogy as well as the retail launch of Episode III. The special-edition versions will also be included on each two-disc set. [Thanks, Spindash54, Phil Theobald, Princess Zelda, John, & Jonathan] See also: More LEGO Star Wars II character details Trailer with Yodarth, See-Chewpio, and Princess Obi-Wan Kejawa Hands-on with LSWII; visual mix-up with Diablo 3 ad snafu at IGN Wicket W. Warrick's blog on the game over at 1UP.com Wikipedia entry on "Han shot first"; also, the PvP T-shirt
More LEGO Star Wars II character details
Three new screenshots and a number of new playable character descriptions have been released for LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy... and Lucasarts has decided to share the LEGO love with us! Excerpts detailing the new characters and their abilities follow after the jump, as do the three screenshots mentioned, which capture Chewie, Han, Leia, and even Obi-Wan doing his best non-canon work (as can be seen in the Free Play shot aboard the Blockade Runner featured here). If you played through the original LEGO Star Wars on consoles or the PC, you'll be able to import its unlocked characters into the sequel, which should come in handy to begin General Grievous's training with Yoda. (More prequel characters = more sequel lightsabers.) And if you unlocked that secret (but short) bonus level--after completing all the mission requirements in the prequel--you know that you'll need to get your hands on the sequel. Anyone else lookin' forward to more LEGO action this fall? [Thanks, Chris]
More pics from LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
A few more screenshots from LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy have been posted for our viewing pleasure. Move along quickly, as these very well may be the droids you've been looking for (especially if you've had the privilege of playing the first game, as millions already have). We were originally going to link to an IGN developer diary on the title by director Tom Stone of TT Games and producer David Perkinson of LucasArts, but it turns out that most of the info given was actually spilled by David in an interview we covered near the middle of last month. Which leads us back to those lovely new LEGO screenshots--three they may be, but they do cover all the bases: Luke and Obi-Wan takin' in the town, the Millennium Falcon doin' its best speedy getaway, and the Dark Lord of the Sith chokin' up some Rebel scum. Lovely... truly lovely. [Via Eurogamer] See also: LEGO Star Wars II: Developer Diary LEGO Star Wars II: Return of the Original Trilogy
LEGO Star Wars II: Return of the Original Trilogy
IGN has netted an interview with David Perkinson of LucasArts to discuss--brace yourself--LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. If you loved the first game, you may be equally enthralled by the sequel. Key highlights from the interview include: The game is set in the world of the Original Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI). For those of you who don't know about the first 3 Star Wars films, shame on you. Over 50 new characters, plus the ability to import characters from the original LEGO Star Wars, bringing the total to just over 100 choices. Character creation: mix-and-match LEGO body parts from all of your unlocked characters. 2-player Co-Op mode, no online multiplayer, and DS players can enjoy 4-player Co-Op as well as a single-cart versus mode. Completely reworked vehicle system; non-droids can now enter and exit any vehicle they see at any time, and are free to roam about: "If you want to do the trench run in the Millennium Falcon, or even on a landspeeder, you now can." Sweet. Chewbacca can now rip off LEGO arms as a melee attack. Super Sweet. The title is being developed by Traveller's Tales, who worked on the original (and just recently began development on Super Monkey Ball Adventures), and should be released this fall for PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBA, PSP, Nintendo DS, and the PC. [Thanks, Princess Zelda] [Update: Forgot a word; thought I'd add it back in.]
Sega announces Super Monkey Ball Adventures
If there's one thing this current generation taught us, it is that putting monkeys in hamster balls is a great idea. Sega today announced another title in their Super Monkey Ball franchise, Super Monkey Ball Adventures, set for release Q3 2006 for the PSP, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo GameCube. This time out, in addition to 50 new 'classic' puzzle stylings, there will also be a story-driven platformer element to the game - our favorite simian protagonists will have to reform five feuding feral families, or "Monkey Ball Kingdoms." Sega also promises to bring 3 classic party games (our picks: Monkey Fight, Monkey Target, and Monkey Bowling) and 3 new ones (Monkey Kombat? Hey, we can dream). Super Monkey Ball Adventures is currently being developed by Traveller's Tales (Lego Star Wars). All previous Monkey Ball games - even the N-Gage one - had been developed by Amusement Vision. We're not sure why Sega decided to shift houses, but the screenshots released do look pretty. [Thanks, JamesO]
Super Monkey Ball to go bananas on the DS
When Super Monkey Ball came out as a launch title for the GameCube, it was a breath of fresh air for everyone who grew up loving Marble Madness. It was the perfect combination of puzzle game (hundreds of levels) and party game (the first edition had eight well-crafted games, including the infamous Monkey Target). Monkey Ball has since arrived on every home console, the GameBoy Advance, and even the N-Gage. And now Nintendo DS fans will get their chance to roll a monkey trapped in a ball off a cliff. In the latest issue of Famitsu magazine, Sega has announced that Super Monkey Ball will is bound for the Nintendo DS. (Update) A very kind Joystiq reader by the name of Ombre has given us a scan of the Famitsu article, so click here and enjoy. Thanks, Ombre.
