PaigeFTW: The Enduring Joy of LEGO
As a little kid, I found I enjoyed Lincoln logs more than LEGO blocks, though that may simply be because it was much easier to knock down my unimaginative wooden towers than my colorful plastic buildings.
As a grownup, I have a great fondness for the rigid methodology of LEGO model sets, with my pride and glory being the Death Star, though I have great hopes of one day acquiring the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
Anyway, sitting between those two extremes is my shameful affection for the LEGO video games. I have finished three of them: LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes.
They are, of course, designed for children: simplistic in design with wonky controls and bugs galore (seriously, my PS3 has never frozen as much as when I play a LEGO game). Most adults (or at least those without kids) will never play a LEGO game, and that is just fine. Honestly, you’re not missing any gaming masterpieces.
But at the same time … you kind of are.
The marriage of destruction and immediate monetary reward is as old as Link smashing pots for Rupees or Mario finding the secret room full of coins.
LEGO games are all about smashing things. There is literally no point to a LEGO game besides smashing things. You just barrel through each level, shooting switches and breaking walls, vacuuming up studs left and right. You can earn billions in a single level with the right settings. Doesn’t matter if you have a lightsaber or a sword or a dinosaur: It’s clobberin’ time.
Somehow, TT Games has captured the gamer’s ultimate rush and turned it into an entire 30-hour experience; this is a game that promises all highs and no lows in your sublime joy of pillage and plunder. It’s base, childish — but it’s true.
Now, I’ve probably got to get around to starting that LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes game I’ve got lying around …
