The LEGO brand has changed considerably since I was a kid. When I played with them, there were generic vehicles and eternally smiling characters that no matter what peril I put them in, they would grin their way through it. I suppose it worked out best that way, as I used to come up with my own adventures and characters. Normally I would watch late-night cable television and then come up with scenarios that would be inspired by the nights previous viewing. Imagine how happy my mother was when I asked her for the LEGO houses instead of some other violent toy I was always asking her for and then her joy turning to horror as I re-enacted a zombie invasion through the LEGO city, with survivors holing up at the gas station and fighting off the undead with the wrench and antennae that every kid used as a sword ... ah, good times.

Now kids have all sorts of popular franchises that are being given the LEGO treatment - Indianna Jones, Star Wars, Batman and others. It was inevitable I suppose, with kids always wanting the latest craze and frustrated parents wondering why that virtual pet they spent $89.99 on last month is no where to be found. LEGO saw a way to help boost their image and they took it.

But I digress, today's game in the ever-popular LEGO series of games is based on their Space, Pirate and Castle themes. These are strong sellers for the company and a well timed release of the game may help parents keep their kids entertained on long vacation car trips. Remember that, I am currently in Montana and the 12 hour car ride was tempered a bit by the boys playing this game.

 
"Where was this guy when I was a kid?"

In the game, you start off with the LEGO Castle portion, here you are given a walk through that does require some reading by the player, the tutorial walks you through the ins and outs of building soldiers, workers, buildings, castles and even the King, which has been renamed "hero" as the king will prove to be a powerful character. From there you are shown how to engage your troops in battle, how to destroy enemy encampments or towns, and build your own town up. This is done by selecting different colored LEGO bricks on the touch screen and engaging the icons that are associated with it. Now it is at this point where I think your kids are going to begin stretching their levels of patience. Only dedicated players can power through these tutorials because of their depth and similarities, smaller children (like my six-year old) will insist you show them how to do it or set it down in frustration. My older son, was able to handle the learning curve and bless him, was able to show my smaller son the way to play. This, of course, is terribly simple to an adult and those older players who love RTS games will view this as simplistic. Think of it as a RTS game for beginners or seven-year olds.

The game has a bevy of cute cut scenes the series has gotten famous for, humor abounds and the developers maintain an even, engaging game even though older players will start seeing repetition. Repetition is familiarity to small children and that can be comforting. Controlling everything is a bit of a chore and if you don't keep an eye on literally everything the action will stall out. Sending troops across the map is really an invitation for them to get stuck in the landscape until you highlight and move them yourselves. Workers (just like real life) will stop working and you need to kick 'em in the pants and get them going again. In some ways it's like managing a job site.

The graphics are a decent enough; things may be small but are easily identifiable, and running through the tons of LEGO sets the game calls on from its actual history of play sets can be a rewarding experience in itself as I identified many sets I owned as a child. When the screen gets too busy with sets and people, it can be a struggle to get all your characters going in the same direction.

I will give props to the game's music as it is top shelf quality, especially for a LEGO game. Strong, almost massive musical scores help drive the game forward. Dare I say it is epic?

As you go, you will play the game across 70 plus levels which eventually take you to space and the pirate world. As you play, you unlock sets (like I said) but more importantly when you get to the multiplayer portion of the game and go against your brother in a battle, you can start pitting different genres and sets against one another. Imagine, if you will, pirates vs. aliens, astronauts vs. knights, skeletons vs. the pride of the British fleet. It is a hoot and easily the game's best feature. All sorts of gaming possibilities were realized and an awakening becomes apparent - you must beat the single-player game in order to unlock all the possibilities a multiplayer match could cover. Brilliant design by the development team.

Gameplay: 7.0
It can be tricky for small children to get all the gameplay controls, but adults should sail through it. Funny cut scenes are still something to look forward to.

Graphics: 6.6
They are basic, but get the job done considering how small everything is. You must baby sit the A.I. constantly.

Sound: 8.2
Great theme music and full sound effects make the game that much more enjoyable to play.

Difficulty: Easy for adults Medium for children
LEGOs are for everyone as far as I am concerned, a difficulty option that jacks up the difficulty would be great.

Concept: 7.0
Nice to see LEGO going to their own well to provide some entertainment, they don't all have to be licensed characters, not everyone loves Harry Potter.

Multiplayer: 8.8
The game's best feature is the multiplayer mode that pits player against player using literally every faction and set found in the game.

Overall: 7.3
I am a fan of this title, because it moves the series forward in a positive direction even if some other things are sacrificed. The second LEGO Battles will probably fix the minor problems and be an even better experience. This is a quality game.