![]() The reason the velociraptor scene is timeless is the ever-present danger of the kids being found, the unsettling purring noise the raptors make, approaching closer and closer until the children are right under their noses. While it's quite pleasing to stroll through these set pieces as you progress through the game, you never feel like you're in danger in the slightest. Iconic scenes are replicated as Lego-built levels, like when Lex and Tim try to evade hungry velociraptors in a kitchen or a T-Rex stampeding through San Diego as Jeff Goldblum speeds in front of it. This makes for adventuring that is bereft of tension and friction, leading to a game you just stroll through with very little resistance. Lego Jurassic World is four games in one. It's all focused on throwing exactly one obstacle at you at a time with very little stopping you in between. Granted, this is the baseline for how game levels are built at their core, but Traveller's Tales does nothing to hide this pattern, nor does it add any complexity to how scenarios play out. ![]() In reality, you're moving from one spot in a level to another, where you activate a thing that lets you move on to the next thing, and so on. She might be performing a high-pitched scream to break some glass in your way or building a giant replica of a hot dog to distract a rampaging dino. ![]() Another unfortunate side effect of this approach is the fact that the things you're doing in-game aren't nearly as interesting as the things your in-game avatar is doing. You never get the chance to noodle around with the mechanics or improvise since there's always just one solution to every obstacle the game puts in your way. The different abilities are simply keys to unlock progress or secrets. The problem is that you can't actually experiment with anything in any real sense. It's great to be given go many options to play, especially once you get through the main game and just want to unravel as much of what's still out there as you can. Here, you get to embody the famous dinos we all found so fascinating as kids, like the velociraptor and, of course, the star of the franchise, the T-Rex. But the big draw with Lego Jurassic World is the fact that you can play as the dinosaurs themselves. And the open world bits fit right into the theme park conceit perfectly, though it doesn't work quite as well in The Lost World and Jurassic Park III since the settings are just more wilderness. Ellie, for instance, can water sprouts to make them grow (because she's a paleobotanist, you see) and jump into giant piles of dino poop to find useful things (because other characters can't stand the smell). The characters' special powers also go with their personalities quite well and in unexpectedly hilarious ways. Several boss fights pit you against some of the larger dinos, but they play out the same as the regular levels.Ī big part of the appeal of the Lego games is the fact that you can switch between characters at will and play around with them. Tying everything together are hub worlds that you can wander around in and collect red bricks (which unlock the ability to buy certain perks) and gold ones (which unlock certain optional sections once you have enough of them), so you get a little bit of structural variety as you progress, which is a nice counterpoint to the very linear levels proper. Cooperation is also encouraged thanks to hop-in multiplayer and a cavalcade of characters to take control of, each of which has special abilities you need to use to progress through the game. Combat takes a back seat to simple problem solving as you find ways to clear environmental obstacles, which often takes the form of building new things out of loose bricks that are lying around. If you've played any of the recent Lego games, you know exactly what you're getting into: solidly designed platforming amidst a world made of bricks. Lego Jurassic World encompasses just that with style and undeniable charm that will melt your cynical heart, but the boring things the game makes you do hamper the joy. That's why setting a Lego game in the Jurassic Park world is such an enticing prospect: it's a series that naturally combines the cinematic with the sprawling. ![]() The Lego series of games by Traveller's Tales has perfectly embodied these conflicting design philosophies across the many franchises it's taken on and put them in a kid-friendly package. Or we may think of the glut of open world games we've seen flood the market, all complete with minimaps covered in dots of things to do or collect, compelling you to comb the landscape and visit every single one. When we think of high-budget games, we may think of the cinematic experiences that drag you along a roller coaster-like ride through scripted set pieces and quick time events, like Call of Duty or Uncharted.
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