14 DAY TRIAL // LEGO mania is moving to the Nintendo DS. After the runaway success of games like LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Batman and LEGO Indiana Jones, TT Games and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are planning to create a new title in the series exclusively for the Nintendo DS. It will be called LEGO Battles and will likely arrive sometime during summer.
The idea is to put together three of the most successful LEGO settings, Space, Pirates and Castle, and to create a videogaming experience that connects them in meaningful ways, allowing players to build their bases and armies before engaging in epic combat against their enemies. Two of the most important ideas behind the gameplay will be customization and humor, making sure that players are entertained while they labor away at their LEGO pieces on the DS screen.
There will be six different storylines offered by the game, making up no less than 70 levels. The main objective of the player will be to put together a LEGO squad that can take on the challenge of ninjas, pirate ships, dragons, wizards, spacecraft and armored swordsmen. Multiplayer will be handled through the wireless capabilities of the Nintendo DS.
Tom Stone, who is the managing director of TT Games Publishing, stated that “LEGO Battles offers players the action-packed and humor-filled gameplay that make LEGO games great, along with the added bonus of linked multiplayer battles on DS. We are excited to introduce a new LEGO videogame experience to fans and young gamers and look forward to expanding upon the beloved toy lines.”
It will be interesting to see whether LEGO Battles manages to be as successful as the previous LEGO-branded games. Their appeal lied in using the LEGO bricks to re-interpret various well-known stories, adding humor and customization. The new game will need to attract without having the luxury of showing a popular character in a stylized LEGO look.