Every year the global strategy consultancy Brand Finance releases a list of the world’s most powerful brands. In 2014, Ferrari topped the chart, but this February, the Italian super car manufacturer was usurped by a toy. It was, of course, Lego.
This classic product, conceived over 60 years ago, has proved infinitely extendible in the modern era. The Lego Movie, a film based on the toy, was itself turned into a series of Lego playsets, while Minecraft, a game often referred to as digital Lego, is now available in plastic form. It’s a perfectly circular business.
And, of course, we have the Lego video games from UK-based studio Traveller’s Tales. Each of these bright, funny action adventures is expertly crafted to exploit both the appeal of the blocks themselves and the various licences - from Star Wars to Harry Potter - that have been converted into playset form.
Now it is the turn of Jurassic World, and for those familiar with the Lego game formula, there isn’t much new here besides a change of IP.
In the main story mode, players run through scenes recreated from the current blockbuster, as well from the original Jurassic Park and its two subsequent sequels - all filled with puzzles and appended by TT games’ quirky Lego humour.
The levels are packed with characters from the cinematic series - not just the obvious leads, but also obscure extras - as well as instantly recognisable dinosaurs, vehicles and locations. And this time the game comes with an inbuilt tips guide in the form of “DNA”, the cartoon helper from the Jurassic movies who bears a disconcerting resemblance to Microsofts legendary paperclip - although fortunately he’s actually useful.
As ever, while exploring film scenes, you’re also smashing up the landscape to collect Lego studs - the small round pieces that usually get sucked up into your vacuum cleaner. These convert into game points that unlock rewards and extra content. The general rule is, if a scenic feature looks like a Lego set, then hit it.
Meanwhile, in certain places, piles of unbuilt Lego will bounce enthusiastically around you, and with a tap of the button your character will build some incredible structure to move you further on in the level.
Each character also has their own special skills, from throwing a grappling hook to following tracks, squeezing into small holes, or diving headlong into large piles of dinosaur poo and having a good rummage for something useful.
Lego dinosaurs, it turns out, like to eat useful items. You can switch easily between the characters involved in your level, and if a situation presents itself where another character might be useful, they often begin to leap about vying for your attention.
The stand out feature for Lego Jurassic World is the ability to control the dinosaurs. Jumping, charging and biting your way through the level as a velociraptor is good fun but these moments are all too short and sporadic in the Campaign section. It’s in the “free play” mode where you can make the most of the dinosaurs and vehicles, creating your own reptilian beasts and roaming the Jurassic islands - like a sort of prehistoric Grand Theft Auto.
As in other Lego games, the graphics are clean and the cartoon style perfect for its plastic subjects. The humour is suitably silly and it’s clear that the design team poured a lot of love, knowledge and nostalgia into the game, particularly in the section dedicated to the original movie.
What Lego Jurassic doesn’t do is innovate on the previous Lego games a great deal - nor does it really need to. This is aimed squarely at children - or more specifically at parents who want to share some nostalgia with their kids while making use of the perfect drop-in/drop-out co-operative option.
Everything has been designed to make it safe for children who may not be ready for shocks and scares. Character deaths from the films, for example, are replaced with various light-hearted moments such as an unfortunate Lego worker being hoisted from a dinosaur cage, clutching only his dino-patterned pants. There’s also less fighting in this game than previous Lego titles - most of the time you’ll be running away and the only scuffles you see are with the odd baby dinosaur.
More recent Lego games have become increasingly open-world in their design allowing the player to choose where to go next - not so much for this one though. Yes, there’s a map, and a hub world structure, but aside from some bonus levels and odd mini-game, the campaign is mainly linear, pushing you forward through the story towards the next cut scene. It also offers less challenge than some of its predecessors: everything is a little more obvious and the puzzles rarely have you searching for very long.
There is a sense that Traveller’s Tales is one day going to have to overhaul its approach to producing Lego titles, but while they’re selling like - well, Lego - it’s doubtful that publisher Warner Bros will be in a hurry to demand changes.
Those suffering from Lego game lethargy, then, may find this lacking. But for fans who want a good family-friendly game that will keep the children entertained through the summer holidays while providing the opportunity to relive some classic movie moments, then this park is open and definitely worth a visit.
Warner Bros; 3DS/PC/PS3/PS4 (version tested)/Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One; Rating: 7+
Guardian News & Media Ltd, 2015
