LEGO The Lord of the Rings
Year: 2012
Rating: E10+
Time Played: ~15 hours
In the early 2010s, the one franchise I could trust to create faithful adaptations of movies into video games was none other than LEGO. Their formula of action, puzzle solving, and exploration worked for other franchises like Star Wars and Indiana Jones, so when it came time to adapt what is arguably one of the best cinematic trilogies to grace the big screen, I was all on board for the LEGO The Lord of the Rings video game.
Following the events from the three films that came out a decade before this video game, LEGO The Lord of the Rings captures the feel of those movies in the individual level segments that follow the plot. As per usual, you need a variety of characters to reach all the collectibles in each level, which sometimes necessitates re-playing levels after beating them the first time. Using these collectibles, they can buy upgrades that make the game slightly easier—although not a complete pushover. Overall, there’s nothing too incredibly new in this game compared to other LEGO movie adaptations.
Where this game excels is in its open roam section. I don’t even remember most of the individual levels in this game because I spent so much time getting lost in the world of Middle Earth. This “hub world” is its own adventure, and you can literally “walk to Mordor” in this game. This single innovation made all the difference in how this game played. Of course, with such excellent source material, including the fantastic score by Howard Shore, I would say this is the definitive LEGO video game adaptation for any movie ever.
The absolute best way to play through the events of The Lord of the Rings, I give LEGO The Lord of the Rings 5.0 stars out of 5.
