Lego Video Games

This is a bundled review, covering several Lego video games all at once. Our family has all of these games, but some are on the PC, some on the Wii, and some on the DS. To summarize, these games are fun. They're fun for my kids, they're fun for me, they're fun for everybody.



There's something about Legos that just makes them cute, so it's hard not to like them. But these are especially cute because of the cut films and actions that are included in these games. Many of these cut films are laugh out loud hilarious, and at the end of each level you are rewarded with a new one.

All of the games have the same mechanics. It's one or two player, and you work cooperatively to get through several side scrolling levels. Along the way you collect studs and try to find pieces of mini-kits. Once you complete a mini-kit, you get bonus studs. These studs can be traded in for more playable characters, weapons, or comical features like mustaches. Once a level is complete, you can replay it with any character you've unlocked. Often, certain areas of the level are only accesible this way, so you need to replay the same level at least a few times in order to find anything. But don't worry, searching around for things and finding new stuff on a previously completed level is part of the fun! You do not lose lives when your Lego character is hit. You simply lose a bunch of studs and then re-generate, so you can continue to play until you finish the level.

One great feature of all these games is the drop-in/drop-out functionality. I don't understand why every game in the world doesn't include this. Basically, a second player can drop in anytime, even in the middle of a level, to help out the first player. And if someone has to go answer the phone or set the table for dinner, that person can drop out while the other player continues.

Some of the games also include some customization features, where you can create your own Lego characters instead of just using the ones that come with the game. This makes for some interesting combinations.

These games are rated E-10+, but I have no problem letting my younger kids play these. There is some very mild violence, punching and shooting, but since all the characters are Legos, they simply fall apart without any blood or gore.

I wholeheartedly recommend all these games, and I encourage you to play them with your kids. You will have fun.

In addition, there are two more coming soon. Another Star Wars themed game coming in October


and a Harry Potter game coming next week!

Stratego

I like games.  I dropped several large hints that for Father's Day, I wanted to get one of the many games listed on my wishlist.  So I was excited to open up this gift:


I know this game has been around forever. I played it when I was a kid, and you probably did too. I was suprised at how much fun it was to play this again though. I haven't even finished the game I started with my son last night, but I enjoyed getting started. I'd like to advance into more complicated games, but this game is a great beginning strategy game.

I also really like the wooden box. It is very solid, and fits better on a bookshelf than than the normal flat box in which games are packaged. The pieces are plastic, and the print on them is somewhat difficult to read, but it may have been the light. The set does come with some neat plastic trays for the pieces. I'm not sure if these are meant just for shipping or for long term storage, but I'm going to be using them for long term storage because they seem so useful. The board is rather thick and appears to be very durable.

So if you are interested in rekindling some childhood memories and getting your child to use their brain a bit, I recommend this game, and specifically this packaging. Usually my son gets very distracted playing board games, but he sat still almost the entire time we were playing last night.