 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
LEGO Battles
- Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi
- Price: $29.99
- Genre: Strategy
Common Sense Media says
Simple strategy game is competent but uninspired.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is a beginner's real-time strategy (RTS) game featuring mild violence. Tiny characters hack at and shoot enemies and buildings with melee and projectile weapons, but everything is so small that it's difficult to make out what's happening. There is no blood or gore. Note, too, that the game often feels like a promotional tool for LEGO building toys, particularly those in the Danish company's Castle, Pirates, and Mars Mission series.
What's it about?
LEGO BATTLES, unlike other recent LEGO games, does not play off of a movie or comic book property, but instead makes use of the Danish company's own licenses -- specifically, its Castle, Pirates, and Mars Mission series toys. It's a traditional real-time strategy game that sees players constructing castles, farms, mines, and other buildings, then creating tiny people to go out and harvest various resources that are used in the construction of yet more buildings and units. Grander objectives involve ridding the land of evil enemies, such as skeletons or pirates, and finding and collecting hidden items, including LEGO studs and treasure chests containing minikits that allow for the construction of extra units.
As RTS games go this is a simple one; maps are small, missions are swift, and the touch screen controls are highly intuitive (draw boxes to select units, then tap the location that you want them to march to). Kids should be able to figure out how to play via the brief, in-game instructions.
Is it any good?
If you've played other LEGO games, which have earned kudos for their original visual flair, it will be hard not to be let down by this title's lackluster production values, which are bland and fail to justice to the toys' unique visual aesthetic. Also disappointing is that you don't actually get to build things -- or at least not in the traditional LEGO sense. You do have to collect LEGO studs, which act as resources, but the buildings you create simply spring from the ground fully formed, with no player interaction required. They don't even appear to be made of LEGO bricks. In other words, LEGO Battles would have played exactly the same had the LEGO brand and a few recognizable LEGO objects been absent -- which makes one wonder why they're there at all (other than to provide a recognizable license that helps sell the game, of course).
At least LEGO Battles is well designed. It's highly derivative of other real-time strategy games, but there's not much wrong with how the game plays. It's just a shame that LEGO Battles fails to tap into the properties that make the Danish building blocks such great toys.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about why LEGO appears in this game. Does the LEGO brand appreciably enhance play? Do players get to exploit the toys’ construction properties? Or is it simply a matter of a recognizable license being employed to make a game more familiar and attractive to consumers?
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AGE
Fun game for kids 10 and up
This is a good game, although it kind of advertises lego stuff. I love the little lego dudes running all over the place and the funny story modes.
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Kid, 10 years old
June 12, 2009
AGE
trying lego
trying lego
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AGE
PERFECT
INTENSE STAGE COMBAT AND SOME OTHOR STUFF BUT VERY GOOD
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Kid, 12 years old
March 19, 2011
AGE
Violence (M): Characters do many bad things, most really violent.
Consumerism (E): The whole world is LEGO.
Social Behavior (T): You can play as heros or villians. Characters however burn down churches and other areas.
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AGE
i loved it it so cool i think that because i like legos and bloody wars ecept some levels are confusing but the graphics are good but they could have made it seem more real.
ps.i reccomend it to a friend.
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Kid, 12 years old
November 1, 2009
AGE
good
it is a vary good game, but it has some levals in it that are troblesome. it has a good story line. the fighting in it is not an issue. over all I rate it 3 stars ***
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AGE
what happened to the good lego games
not a very good game
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| Platforms: | Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Strategy |
| Developer: | Warner Bros. Games |
| Release date: | June 8, 2009 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| ESRB rating: | E for Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief |
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