Historyīefore “ Lego Star Wars“, Lego games cemented the iconic gameplay we know today, Lego games had a variety of different gameplay as well as different inspirations.
Today, Lego games are mostly tied to movie franchises such as “ Harry Potter ”, “ Star Wars ”, “ Jurassic Par k”, as well as films such as “ The Lego Movie ”. Instead, older Lego games from the ’90s to the early 2000s took inspiration from the sets that were out at the time under the “ Lego System ” logo. “Lego System” consisted of a variety of different themes such as Town, Castle, Space, Pirates, and Aquazone. Nowadays you have more complex themes that include their own stories such as “ Lego Ninjago” and “ Lego Hidden Side“. So let’s go back in time to a simpler era before the more complex themes emerged. Let’s go back to an Island in the middle of the Phanta Sea. “ Lego Island ” is considered the very first Lego game.
Lego rock raiders pc game windows#ĭeveloped by Mindscape and released in 1997 on Windows PC, “ Lego Island ” offered players an open-world experience.
The idea was to create a world accurate to the Lego pieces themselves. At the time this was done pretty well with the main characters and NPC behaving the way Lego mini-figures would and never feeling like the limbs were too stretchy. Some of the buildings around Lego Island are inspired by some of the sets that existed at the time. The game was intended mostly for children so many of the activities are basic, ranging from races, delivering pizza, or driving a vehicle from point A to point B. Despite this, “ Lego Island ” gained a cult following. Possibly the most iconic mission of the game is the Brickster chase sequence which serves as the endgame. This endgame would become a recurring scenario in future “ Lego Island ” games. “ Lego Island” was originally intended to be part of a line of six different Lego games developed by Mindscape and released subsequently. However, after the release of “ Lego Island” the four planned sequels were scrapped. The only hint at what would have been “ Beneath the Phanta Sea” is available as an in-game easter egg. The third title was simply known as “ Dig” and would have revolved around archeology.
Lego Island did not receive any console ports, however, in the years to come it did manage to spawn two sequels, comic book segments, and a few spinoff sets under the name “ Island Xtreme Stunts”. Even today “ Lego Island” is so fondly remembered that a fan-made sequel to the original games is in the works under the name Project Island. Lego Racers (1999)Īnother early Lego game was “ Lego Racers”. It was released on Nintendo 64, PC, and Playstation in 1999 while getting a Gameboy Color port a year later. Lego Racers used many of its Lego System characters and themes for inspiration. Classic Lego characters such as Captain Redbeard and Johnny Thunder were used as bosses and their respective builds and themes were used as inspiration for the tracks. Gameplay-wise, “ Lego Racers was a basic racing game featuring a variety of different tracks and a few power-ups along the way. What set it aside was the ability to create your own car using lego bricks you could unlock as you complete different circuits. You could also customize your characters true to the spirit of Lego. “ Lego Racers” spawned a Sequel, “ Lego Racers 2” which came out for PC, PS2, and Gameboy Advance. Once again taking some inspiration from Lego themes at the time as well as launching its own. “ Lego Rock Raiders” was a theme that existed in the late ’90s. The premise was that a ship becomes stranded in another galaxy after being slammed by an asteroid belt. With no power to fly the ship home, a team of engineers, scientists, and geologists must travel to a nearby planet in search of Energy Crystals to make repairs and return home. The videogame was released on PC (1999) and Playstation (2000). Despite sharing the same title, each game played differently.