Okay, I've really gotta get this off of my chest.

The appeal of Lego, and why it's probably the greatest toy ever invented, is that your imagination takes control. When kids play with Lego, they aren't trying to build what's on the box. They aren't trying to recreate the actual "intended" Lego set. Or, you shouldn't be. That's not what you do with Lego blocks. Lego is about giving you building blocks to build whatever is deep within your heart, yearning to break free and take form in physical space. When I was a kid, I just took my pile of Lego blocks and built World War II battleships, the RMS Titanic, BattleMechs with gantries, USS Enterprise starships, aircraft carriers... whatever I could think of. It was pure delight and the reason Lego is so popular worldwide. That gift of creation is universal and appeals to everyone.

So... I really just don't fucking understand what's going on with these Lego games with Traveller's Tales . What is going on here? I watch videos of the gameplay, and it just seems like arcadey action games where you shoot stuff and gold Lego chips fall on you. Well, who the hell wants that? Who wants to play a bland arcade game with a Lego block aesthetic? Who cares about shooting stuff for points? They've completely missed the point of Lego! Where is the act of putting blocks together to form whatever you want? Where is that joy of physical construction? That tiny tug of frustration when you realize there's a piece that's stuck on too tight and you have to wiggle it free in order to perfect your creation? If I wanted to play as Batman in a video game, I'd play Arkham City, not Lego Batman.

I dunno. I just don't get it.

I understand what you mean because I bought LEGO STAR WARS when it first came out and had a hard time getting a grasp on the camera style and the whole feel of the game and I sold it but a few years later I gave it another go. To be honest... if you give them a shot they're not as bad as you might think. Like I said I understand your frustration with locking us Lego lovers "inside a box" but I also have to admit it -is- fun running around a destructible LEGO environment breaking things apart as collecting studs (money: as well ALL used for currency at one stage or another in some kind of playset) or finding bouncing blocks that mean you get to build something that can help you out. It's fun getting dropped into a familiar environment (Star Wars, Indiana Jones) and being given the ability to run around in LEGO form. I spent a good chuck of my childhood building stuff (much like you) did and had a helluva good time doing it. The games aren't all bad. There is a guilty pleasure being an adult and having a friend over (who shared your LEGOs) and playing some co-op as well.

There is a certain magic that has been removed with these games from what the whole appeal of LEGO really was but it also has it's own charm in a way. (Except LEGO STAR WARS III.... that game sucked balls)

@Delta_Ass: Wow!

Gotham City Imposters is that bad?

The whole point of Lego is to build the set you see on the box. They are awesome, and professionally designed. You then learn new techniques to build your own creations with the pieces from the sets! But yes, the Lego games don't seem to do a great job of capturing the building experience. They are more focused on what it is like to play with the built models.

I like both physical lego, digital lego(lego digital designer) and the lego games, they are fun beat em ups(?) with a fun look. also they got great charm. Its nice seeing adaptions of other movies etc in lego kindof like the star wars special of family guy, robot chicken or whatever..

Also the games are fun (imo) and there good for whenever you just want something easy to play. It's a shame the updates btween games are kindof small, with so many games having been made they should have perfected them by now, but i still enjoy them very much... dependant on the property they are basted off obviously.

Maybe you should stop thinking of them as lego games and instead as movie based games that doesent suck.

Tbh Minecraft should have been 10 years ago and called Lego World.