Lego has gone well beyond blocks and is now enrolling in the school of rock while 27 gold medal events are being waged on the Wii. The Olympics in Vancouver are a few months away, but well before the world’s top athletes compete in February, Mario and Sonic have returned for their own Winter Games.
The last time SEGA and Nintendo brought out their beloved characters for an Olympic-themed game, their Beijing ‘Summer’ edition sold over 10 million copies. Now comes ‘Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.’ It’s for kids and chock full of cartoon antics. The variety and accuracy regarding the actual venues is worth noting and the events themselves are simple enough for most kids to master in no time.
As for an entirely different set of popular characters, over the years we’ve seen Lego-character themed games for franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman and last year Indiana Jones. Now, new from LucasArts the sequel ‘Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues’ allows you to create your own levels and engage in adventures from the four Indy films.
But the Legos really rocking out these days are part of the latest extension of the Rock Band games. As ‘Lego Rock Band’ is geared to audiences of all ages with its playlist, but seems most appropriate for parents who want to buy their kids’ first real six string with five colored buttons at the five and dime that hasn’t yet been run out of business by a big box store.
The game is whimsical in a Spinal Tap meets the Sex Pistols at the pediatrician’s office kind of way. It’s simple, safe bubblegum pop, like Top-40 radio, and while not the rockingest of the Rock Band offerings it’s still a good gift for a boy or girl who’s crazy about Elvis… loves horses… and you know…
Laurence Scott checks out the latest on the game console each week with his reviews seen on NBC stations around the country.
