LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean Confirmed

LEGO Group and Disney Consumer Products Announce Building Sets Inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean Films

BILLUND, Denmark, Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — The LEGO Group and Disney Consumer Products today announced an upcoming collection of LEGO® brand Pirates of the Caribbean construction toys that will set children’s imaginations sailing on thousands of build-and-play adventures. Scheduled to launch in spring 2011, eight new building sets will bring the action, stories and characters of the entire series of Pirates of the Caribbean films to life in LEGO form, including the spring 2011 premiere of the fourth installment, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” “The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is a classic favorite among families and children around the world,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president licensing & entertainment at The LEGO Group. ”The pirate theme is always a strong player in the LEGO portfolio, and the Pirates of the Caribbean brand offers the quintessential pirate experience with familiar characters, stories and scenes, allowing us to develop even more authentic and exciting models for children and collectors.” “Collaborating with The LEGO Group on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is sure to be another great example of how together, we merge timeless characters and stories with a versatile play pattern to create exciting ways to play for children and fans of all ages,” said Vince Klaseus, senior vice president of global toys, Disney Consumer Products. ”We look forward to giving children a chance to recreate the adventures from the big screen, while adding their own creative twists and ideas through LEGO building.” In a companion release today, Disney Interactive Studios, TT Games and the LEGO Group announced that LEGO Pirates of Caribbean: The Video Game is scheduled for release on multiple video game platforms in May 2011.

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lego-group-and-disney-consumer-products-announce-building-sets-inspired-by-pirates-of-the-caribbean-films-108925804.html

These photos below are from a locked display case at Comic-Con, could these be the actual Jack Sparrow minifig, put there as a type of teaser? The quality of the minifig would suggest that it's legit, but then again, we've seen some high quality custom minifigs in the past. We will have to wait and see when the Sets are announced.

LEGO Universe Review by Dan Key from PlatformOnline

Lego Universe Impressions

Posted on Thursday, November 11th, 2010 in Gaming & Tech, Gaming Feature.

We explore Lego Universe to find out what the brick builders can bring to the MMO genre.

Attendees of GameCity 5 were given the opportunity to play a demo of the new, eagerly awaited Lego Universe title for the PC and Mac. The title is the newest in the long-running Lego franchise, this time scrapping the film tie-ins in to take on the world of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games.

The game’s mechanics and layouts will be instantly familiar to those who have played popular MMO World of Warcraft. At first glance, Lego Universe will seem little more than a game to tap into a younger audience with a WOW clone. However, after playing for a brief period, it’s easy to see that the game has a lot more to offer than you might expect.

The game controls use a standard MMO format. You control your character by using WASD keys and select enemies to attack by using the mouse. You’re given a wide array of moves and items to obtain along your quest, giving a lot of variety in the way you can fight enemies, though we were only able to play long enough to use the standard sword available. The game incorporates two main gameplay elements that feel very unique to Lego and help to distinguish it from its MMO counterparts – imagination and construction. Imagination acts as a magic power bar and allows you to easily create things like Lego gun turrets by using blocks on the ground. While construction allows you to make more elaborate things like bridges or springboards.

As you’d expect from a Lego title, the game offers a huge amount of customisation options ranging from character appearances and attributes to the Lego block building tool allowing you to create your own private properties out of any parts available and assign behaviours like making them move. While it’s possible to create any shape with the custom build tool, your creations are sent off to moderation before being introduced to the general public (a feature used to discourage those with more active imaginations we’re sure).

Though the game is widely imaginative, the game’s clear target is a far younger audience than the average MMO player. The game’s staff maintained that it has been thoroughly designed with children’s safety online as the number one priority. Things like very strict word filters in the chat function are incorporated for any sceptical parents who may feel like the game is too open for young gamers.

Lego titles have shined amongst video games in recent times, largely due to the heart and imagination poured into every nook and cranny. Lego Universe certainly lives up to the franchise’s good name with a truly unique and (more importantly) fun take on the MMO genre. However, only time will tell if younger gamers latch onto its creative features long enough to convince their parents to fork out the monthly subscription fee and create a vast online community of new Lego lovers.

Dan Key