Recently we here at Mouse n Joypad had the chance to get some hands on time with LEGO Jurassic World, the new game from TT Games and Warner Bros. that will launch in June the same day as the movie of the same name. Now we all love the LEGO games from the youngest to the oldest of us, even if we don’t admit it, we still play them because they are made to be fun and interactive for the whole family. They also cover some of our most favourite movies and characters from Batman to Lord Of The Rings, they have given us all hours of enjoyable gameplay in a unique world. Even as a child I can remember spending hours and hours playing with those plastic blocks, building what ever came into my imagination at the time. Some may say having these move to the media of games stifles the imagination of children who would otherwise have to play with them for real, I disagree as having two young boys myself I am constantly tripping over LEGO bricks that they still spend hours playing with.
Now you guys don’t want to hear all of that, you want to know about LEGO Jurassic World and everything I found out on the day from Tim Wileman, Associate Producer at TT Games. LEGO Jurassic World may have the same name as the new movie but it will actually cover all four of the Jurassic movies, over 20 levels. That is five levels per movie, and we had the chance to play a few sections from the very first movie, Jurassic Park. It began with the scene where paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler came across a sick Triceratops, you then have to figure out what to get in order to heal the animal. Just like in the movie Dr. Ellie Sattler digs into the droppings of the animal to figure out what the problem is, but this time instead of just sticking her hands in she actually leaps into big piles of poo. The park keeper that accompanies her has a tracking ability and switching between the two soon solves the problem of the sick animal. Now this is the part you have all been waiting on, you then have the ability to be the Triceratops and actually play as this mighty beast to smash through barriers and aid you in progressing through the section. I have to say that playing the dinosaur was just tremendous fun, as you really got the sense that you were controlling a massive beast. Dr. Ellie Sattler has the ability to grow flowers and vines to help reach high places and even span water when needed.
We then moved on to 
the famous scene where the T-Rex escapes and the jeeps are stranded in a big storm. This scene is where Ian Malcolm, Dr. Alan Grant and the two children Lex and Tim Murphy must escape from the jeeps by distracting the T-Rex in various ways. One of these ways was to use a big bone, something that immediately reminded me of the movie Night At The Museum where the guard was throwing the bone for the T-Rex to fetch, but after asking Tim about it he said no, they just wanted to add in some tense moments without the frightening aspect by relating the dinosaur to a dog. This scene also showed off the new dynamic lighting and weather effects TT Games have added into this game. I can honestly say that this is the most visually stunning LEGO game I have seen to date. During this section Lex has the ability to break glass with her high pitched scream, if you ever watched the movie that is all she really does throughout the entire thing, but this is one thing that totally got on my nerves as I could just see my kids making her scream over and over again. We then played the section where the T-Rex is chasing the jeep through the park in the rain and wind, now you can throw flares at the T-Rex to distract it, but if you get 5 of them directly in his mouth you will be rewarded for it. Tim said that in the full release you can go back and actually play as the T-Rex chasing the jeep in this section which I very much wanted to do, but unfortunately it was not possible on the day. The final part we got to play was escaping to a helicopter across the rooftops while being chased by Raptors. This section was definitely exciting as you pull down roof tiles to make the animals fall as you jump for zip lines, it all had the feeling of panic and urgency you probably would feel if you were experiencing it for real.
Talking to Tim he was clear to point out that there is some very exciting stuff in the new movie section of the game, but was unable to talk about them due to the veil of secrecy that surrounds the movie tie in. However he did tell me that there will be around one hundred characters from all four movies to play within the game, twenty of these will be actual dinosaurs. They are also doing something new with LEGO Jurassic World in the form of a Hub, where you will have two islands to use. These will be for different things, but I can tell you that one will be filled with your very own dinosaurs. LEGO is built to be taken apart and put back together how you wish, Tim said this is something you will be able to do with the dinosaurs. You can actually take the head of a T-Rex and place it on the body of a Brachiosaurus for example, making your very own breed of dinosaur. These can then be placed to roam about your island and act as they would in the wild, or you can pit them against each other in a one on one battle to the death. That’s right folks you can not only make your own prehistoric animals but you can then fight them too.
Also making a big appearance in the game will be Mr. DNA, you know the little cartoon guy that explained everything to the visitors on their arrival to Jurassic Park. He will be on hand to give you and the kids fun facts about the dinosaurs and will also be a playable character in the game. As with all LEGO games there will be collectables to find and these will unlock further dinosaurs for you to play with. The demo build I played on the day was short and showed very little of what seems to be the most ambitious LEGO game to date. We only had short sections of a couple of levels to play but they demonstrated how spot on TT Games have managed to capture the atmosphere of the first movie. With the addition of the dynamic weather and lighting the game looks stunningly beautiful and brings the world of LEGO to life like never before. I am definitely excited to see more of LEGO Jurassic World as it will be one of the best sellers this year, guaranteed!
The ability to play around with the dinosaurs and make your own, whilst also keeping them on your island will enthrall kids and big kids alike, I am already thinking up names of my creations, and looking forward to battling them against my son’s. This year Warner Bros. and TT Games are not just bringing us another LEGO game they are bringing us something far more advanced and evolved. With all I have seen and the inclusion of a virtual toy box of dinosaurs to play with, I am extremely excited for this years LEGO game. It is clear that TT Games are not interested in just making generic titles for every franchise out there, but are committed to producing new and inventive ways of bringing LEGO to life.
