LEGO Lord of the Rings

by Warner Bros

• Explore all of the open-world of Middle-earth and experience epic battles with Orcs, Uruk-hai, the Balrog, the Witch-king, and other fearsome creatures.
• Wield the power of the Palantír or Seeing-stone (?one that looks far-away?), and jump between multiple storylines.
• Experience the LEGO The Lord of the Rings heroes come to life in an all new way with the minifig characters delivering the dialogue from the films.
• Discover and unlock over more than 60 playable characters, including Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf, and many others.
• Collect and use a variety of weaponry and magical items, including the Light of Earendil, Elven rope, swords, and bows.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0088MVP4M
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 13, 2012
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (198 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #5 in Video Games > Wii > Games > Adventure

Product Description

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Amazon.com

LEGO The Lord of the Rings is based on The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy and follows the original storylines of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Now the entire family can team up in pairs as adorable LEGO The Lord the Rings minifigures to experience countless dangers, solve riddles and battle formidable foes on their journey to Mount Doom.

Explore all of the open-world
of Middle-earth

Players will take on the
form of their favorite members

Destroy The One Ring

Synopsis

LEGO The Lord of the Rings takes players along on the adventures of Frodo Baggins and his unlikely fellowship as they set out on a perilous journey to destroy The One Ring and save Middle-earth. Kids, tweens, teens and parents can traverse the Misty Mountains, explore the Mines of Moria, knock on the Black Gate of Mordor, and partake in epic battles with Orcs, Uruk-hai, the Balrog and other fearsome foes while harnessing the humor and imagination of LEGO gameplay to solve puzzles and explore Middle-earth. Players will take on the form of their favorite members of the fellowship – Frodo the Hobbit, Aragorn the Ranger, Gandalf the Wizard, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Boromir a Man of Gondor, and Frodo's Hobbit friends Sam, Merry and Pippin – as they relive the most momentous events from the films.

Key Features:

• Explore all of the open-world of Middle-earth and experience epic battles with Orcs, Uruk-hai, the Balrog, the Witch-king, and other fearsome creatures.
• Wield the power of the Palantír or Seeing-stone (‘one that looks far-away’), and jump between multiple storylines.
• Experience the LEGO The Lord of the Rings heroes come to life in an all new way, as they deliver the dialogue from the films.
• Collect, combine and forge new items in the Blacksmith Shop using Mithril, the most precious metal in Middle-earth.
• Discover and unlock over more than 60 playable characters, including Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf, and many others.
• Collect and use a variety of weaponry and magical items, including the Light of Earendil, Elven rope, swords, and bows.
• Play with family and friends with easy access drop-in, drop-out gameplay option.

Product Description

Based on The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy, LEGO The Lord of the Rings follows the original storylines of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, taking players through the epic story events reimagined with the humor and endless variety of LEGO play. Trusted with the dangerous task to destroy an ancient magical ring that threatens all that is good, Frodo is forced to leave his peaceful home. But the ring wants to be found and the road to Mount Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed, will be perilous and riddled with Orcs and fouler things. To help Frodo, a Fellowship is formed —Aragorn the Ranger, Gandalf the Wizard, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Boromir a Man of Gondor, and Frodo’s Hobbit friends Sam, Merry and Pippin. Players relive the legend through the LEGO minifigures, as they explore wonders, solve timeless riddles, and overcome endless foes in their quest to destroy the Ring.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 99 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Light-hearted fun in Middle Earth November 15, 2012

By J. Grant

Platform for Display:Nintendo Wii

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

This game takes place over the course of the three Lord of the Rings books (it does not include the story of The Hobbit). I've been playing it nonstop since I picked it up at launch, and here are a few points of interest:

1. Like the other Lego games, this is a light-hearted version of the story. If changing canon for the sake of a few laughs upsets you, stay away from this one. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and I found myself laughing quite a bit.
2. The more mature parts are cleaned up for younger players. Carrots in place of beer, milkshakes in place of Hobbit weed - you get the picture. Safe for the kids.
3. Like the more recent Lego Batman 2, there are actual voice actors speaking dialogue during the cutscenes, as opposed to the pantomiming in the earlier Lego games.
4. There are elements of the story from the books, excluded from the movies, which are included in the game. I won't spoil the surprise.
5. A new inventory system lets you collect and combine gear to add a few RPG elements to the game.
6. If you're unsure about picking this up, there is a demo available for the PC. While it is on a different platform, you'll get a general feel for the game.

A great game, and I consider it the best of the Lego series.

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but overly complicated November 26, 2012

By Kelly Davis

Platform for Display:Nintendo Wii|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 3.0 out of 5 stars   

My son and I are big fans of the Lego games. We've played all of them but Indiana Jones 2, which we were advised to avoid. The games are a perfect match of fun, comedy, puzzles, and activities to perform for those who wish to get "100%". This works well for father/son gaming. He wants to blow through the levels and watch the humorous cinematics, I want to go back and meticulously go through every nook and cranny and unlock all the secrets. We play together and by ourselves and everyone is happy.

We love the Lord of the Rings franchise (books, movies, games) and it is a good fit for the Lego gaming experience. The folks at Traveler's Tales Games have really tried to push the envelope of Lego gaming by adding a more open play space, quests and a map function.

This is one of the first titles to use dialogue, Batman 2 being the first. LOTR pulls dialogue directly from the films, including the grunts made during jumps and when fighting. It's a mixed bag. Some scenes it really works but I found that both my son and I missed the 'lego language' of previous games. Not a big deal, just a little issue. The humor level is down a bit from other games. There are occasional sight gags that made us laugh out loud but the jokes are less frequent.

It's more to do with the subject matter but the color palate is pale and muted. When you are walking around you will get lost just like Sam and Frodo. Tan hills, grey hills... Get ready for grey bricks, dark grey bricks, tan bricks, brown bricks, dark brown bricks. I know, it's reproducing medieval fantasy but it gets a little dull busting up chunks of rocks all the time. It must be taxing for the Wii because you will be walking along and the background will suddenly appear. "Oh, we're in Hobbiton, finally."

There are classic silly minigames (lots of goat and pig races) that bring back the lego game flavor. There are powers and people to unlock, getting you access to more and more - this is the part of Lego games that I love. You gain a new guy, go back into freeplay missions and unlock things previously denied to you. There are red bricks to achieve, through world spanning mini-quests offered by people you find around the map. These quests are silly (A woman in Hobbiton says her husband lost the house key in Moria). You find them via freeplay, and you can use them to unlock 'cheats' like stud multipliers, just like you are accustomed to. One new addition is the gold brick has been replaced with Mithril bricks. These can be spent to forge items at the blacksmith's. Many of these items are used to satisfy mini-quests, others help you level the playing field, gaining other character's special powers.

There are special powers that make every character important. Samwise is by far the most valuable character and you get him from the start. Going through the game you will unlock more powers (like when you are gifted the elven rope).

The giant world is both a curse and a blessing. It's really nice to walk around and feel the topography and music change to announce you are in a new zone. Each area has several characters to find and purchase, a handful of mithril bricks, and maybe some new blueprints for the blacksmith. There are also several mini quests to gather in each area.

There is a system to set destinations, making the blue 'ghost bricks' give you a path to follow. It's not always easy to figure out. There are also map statues around to allow you the gracious ability to simply pop over to another statue in a different locale. Walking around you soon discover some of the issues the game has. A compass would be nice. The default camera angle is odd at times and unless you use the d-pad to move around, you'll find yourself walking off bridges and falling off cliffs. Nobody can swim. You are given a few moments to frantically press A to jump back on shore. Woe to someone who falls off a cliff into water. You can end up rebounding back and forth as you slip off the edge again and again. I've also fallen through the earth into blackness before. I recommend waiting. Eventually the game would revert to a nearby saved point. There are sequences where you must hop from point to point or face zooming back to the start. These can be really frustrating due to camera angle.

The screen split is constant when playing two player, which can be confusing. It's hard to coordinate walking together. My son and I were constantly getting separated. You can use C to switch characters but sometimes characters are only available at a given time, meaning you switch to their current location in Middle Earth instead of right where you needed them. An "EVERYONE ON ME" command would have been nice for the world exploration mode.

In closing. The mini quests and tedious world exploration might be frustrating to the younger set, and might not be enough for older gamers accustomed to Skyrim and other traditional rpgs. I like the game but just wish it was a little simpler. I use Lego games for relaxation and bonding with my son. I think they achieved gaming nirvana with the Star Wars complete Saga game. I would have been happy with a game like that, with a LOTR facelift.

[EDIT] We have finished the story mode and finally can play together in the Middle Earth Map. It's still difficult to coordinate movement, and the split screen can make targeting things with the wii remote (Like Legolas's bow) annoying, but at least we are able to use every character we have collected. I'm keeping the review at 3 stars because many of the puzzles are frustrating due to camera position and the fact that nobody can swim (and falling in water sends you back to land, and not the most recent platform you jumped from).

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A slight change for Lego gamers November 16, 2012

By carrie Van Dorn

Platform for Display:Nintendo Wii|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

I pre-ordered this game and have played for several hours already. There are a few changes in the structure of the game which make sense given the story. Like a couple of the other Lego games you have the ability to change characters via a character wheel, which makes it very helpful for several of the puzzles. The map ability is a new and very helpful feature so that you can see where you are and eventually jump from map point to map point. I have not used the inventory feature a whole lot yet, but I can see how it will be useful further on in the game. It seems like Lego is seeing what works and doesn't in the past few games and is improving for customer satisfaction.

Other than a couple of slightly glitchy (which you can't catch everything) or very dark (just turn up the brightness) levels, its a highly enjoyable game for both Lego lovers and fans of the series.