LEGO Universe: Looking at LEGO, Part One

Stradden

MMORPG.com's Mike Bitton recently had the opportunity to sit down and get some eyes-on time with the upcoming NetDevil MMORPG, LEGO Universe.

I recently traveled into the city here in New York to check out a demonstration of NetDevil's upcoming family-oriented MMORPG LEGO Universe. As you might guess, LEGO Universe is a game based on the LEGO building blocks many of us grew up with and love to this day.

Ryan Seabury, the Creative Director at NetDevil, took us through the demo which attempted to compress the game's many features into a roughly hour long event. Ryan kicked the demo off by taking us through the login screen and commenting on how even something as simple as the logging in process takes into account the team's emphasis on playfulness, as the UI featured a very "bouncy" presentation and Ryan demonstrated the interactivity by toying with the LEGO mini-fig on the screen who attempted to snatch his mouse pointer as he dragged it near him. NetDevil is also taking child safety very seriously (we'll talk more about that later) and even the login screen itself reflected this. As Ryan typed in his password, the LEGO mini-fig at the screen covered his eyes, which is a subtle thing they put in to remind kids that their passwords should be a secret!

Check out the article, here.

eric_w66

While NetDevil has burned me a couple of times in the past (AutoAssault, and Jumpgate: The Vaporware), I still think this Lego game could be a fun diversion.

 

BTW, a typo in the story that leaped out at me: "Players in LEGO Universe can time a wide... "

 

I immediately had a vision of minifigs standing at a track with stopwatches watching animals run around.

wildtalent

i've been playing this game in beta, and it is surprisingly a lot of fun.

Thorqemada

This game is much fun and much charme - its more action oriented with its combat system and the minigames and i believe this is the right approach.

Question is how much crowd it will attract and how long the fascination of minigames and bulding will last.

Tara_Windwalker

This game is fun!    There is something for everyone: combat, building, puzzles ... and it truly is for all ages.   Don't just think Lego blocks ... think Lego Universe.

Purplesaurus

Nice article, but I would've liked a bit more critique. I'm in the beta and enjoying it very much, still debating on preordering only because of the price ($10 sub fee for a "child's" game, hmmm).

Hrotha

Cmon lego? N mmo?

Bet: close in 2Months.

hado

I believe this game will be a great sucess for NetDevil.  Tonnes of fun, I was very surprised and delighted.

Binny45

This game is a lot of fun.  I think it's going to be a sleeper hit.  All I can say is try it yourself and see.

maplestone

*looks at the big box of Lego under a layer of dust in the closet and wonders exactly when I stopped playing with it*

MMOExposed

when does this shit come out? just wondering.

 

Could be a cool sandbox mmo in the future

Badgered86

Seems neat. I look forward to open beta or launch.

Frettizelli

From the informative videos i've seen in the LEGO webpage, i definitedly might like it, i love game where you can construct fortresses or cars or anything, i even liked Garry's Mod on Half life :P

Entropy14

2 months you say hey ?? Well I would gladly bet lots of money it will last much longer, Seems Lego Universe would only be good for 5 year olds, well seems that everyones whos playing it is surprisedand thinks the game is fun.  You dont need orc and elves to be successful.

 

I have a feeling this game will be a big hit for a lot of people

ghost521

I wish every MMO out there can inherit this "free roaming" gameplay, while still has the graphics quality of Vindictus/Blade and Soul.

el_furioso

Have they finally added the ridiculously-common "Invert Mouse" option yet? Without it, Beta has been a pretty but frustrating endeavor.

crunk001Bgay

Originally posted by crunk001

Cmon lego? N mmo?

Bet: close in 2Months.

 

You sir, are an asshat.  2 months?  pfft.  You obviously are an idiot.

pjladyfox

I'd be more interested in not only getting this for myself but for my nephew if not for one simple problem - complete lack of gamepad support. My nephew got VERY fustrated when I tried to introduce him to keyboard and mouse control for Battlefield Bad Company 2 that I wound up selling the PC copy I intended to give to him and got him the console version.

Developers really need to get over this entire "PC MMO = keyboard/mouse" mindset and start gearing their games towards use of a gamepad. The two best examples of this that I'm aware of are Final Fantasy XI and Champions Online both of which can be played exclusively with just the gamepad. Until developers start taking advantage of this more and more up-and-coming gamers will continue to shy away from the PC platform in preference to the more user friendly console platform.

crazyjane

The game is fun initially. I think their biggest issue is going to be content...or lack there of. They are charging like a AAA MMO but they have maybe 1/10th the content. An average gamer will work through what they have now in maybe a month, 2 months if they are slow.

I wish them all the luck in the world because I think this would add to the "younger" game crowd's choices but they really need to address the content issue.