Guest review by Fischloops A.K.A. Danielmakesmusic.com

I have to admit, my interest in gaming has been waning as of late.  60’s – 80’s Chinese and Turkish cinema, peach cobbler, listening to records and my actual job responsibilities seem to be winning my attention ALTHOUGH… I still will turn on a Lego game and blast through handfuls of levels at a time.  Lego games are super easy to play and demand very little of me.  My favorite Lego game is Batman.  I haven’t played Batman 2 yet but will be purchasing it soon.  The trick is to wait a couple months and voila! the game costs only $19.99.  Lego Star Wars is my least favorite although I’d play it over most all non-Lego games (except for Mario Kart).

Anyway, let’s get to PAX and Lego’s upcoming release The Lord of the Rings.  The most enjoyable part of PAX for me is when the developer or someone directly involved in the creation of the game is there to talk shop with.  I feed off their enthusiasm as I play the demo.  Unfortunately, only an intern who said that he doesn’t usually play Lego games was there to walk me through Lego’s Lord of the Rings demo.  I asked haphazardly about the future of the Lego game series and he vaguely commented about some kind of tension going on with corporate.  I tried to drill further but he wouldn’t budge and then tried to assure me that more games were likely to come.  He was helpful though and played along with me pointing out how to get through certain parts of the game. 

      Now, I really liked Lego Lord of the Rings right off the bat.  I like how the characters can do a variety of different things and how you utilize each to advance (which is one of the reasons I liked Batman with all the villains).  I also felt like the game play was in cahoots with the story (which is a complaint of mine about some of the other Lego titles).  I will definitely be purchasing Lego Lord of the Rings when the price drops to $19.99 a few months after the release date.