this.

Not many games are as consistent as the LEGO titles. Consistently good, consistently charming...consistently

the same. But although there’s certainly a sense of “been there, done that” in

LEGO Lord of the Rings, it doesn’t stop you from having fun with it. It’s an awesome

game, even if you’ve basically played it before.

I mean, it’s like second breakfast.

We reviewed the 3DS version of LEGO Lord of the Rings back in November, and the Wii version

is actually quite a bit different. Again, the 3DS game isn’t quite as sharp as the

console versions...but this Wii version, obviously, doesn’t have the same graphics and polish

you’d find on the HD consoles. In fact, this is perhaps the prettiest LEGO game ever

on the Xbox 360 and PS3. But on the Wii?

Well...how do you say “blurry” in elvish?

Nonetheless, the game still plays great on Wii. Like prior LEGO titles, this one takes

a popular franchise—in this case, Lord of the Rings—and recreates the entire world

with LEGO blocks. Only this time, it’s telling a condensed version of the actual films. That

works to its benefit and detriment, because while it’s an interesting approach, it does

result in fewer of those creative LEGO liberties.

Of course, the problem with these games is that their simplicity has gotten stale, since

it’s always pretty much the same thing over and over. That applies to Lord of the Rings,

as well. The combat is rudimentary button mashing, and the puzzles are your common “pick

the other character” variety. There’s nothing wrong with mindless fun, which the

game certainly is...but it can get a bit old at times.

It’s gotten the point that recommending these LEGO games is as easy as it gets. You

like Lord of the Rings or prior LEGO games? You’ll freaking love this one. But if you’ve

been getting tired of the same old, same old from this franchise...there’s nothing here

you haven’t already seen before. LEGO Lord of the Rings can be a lot of fun.

But like the One Ring...one LEGO game pretty much is all you need.