LEGO has finally gone MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online)!

Our initial thoughts on LEGO Universe were that this was gonna be an MMO mainly targeted for a younger audience, with perhaps some familiar MMO elements built in; nothing major.

But boy were we wrong. LEGO Universe is an expansive, fully functional MMO, with unique features that only LEGO can provide.

When you first begin the game, you can customize your LEGO avatar by selecting a decal for all of your face features, as well as your body, and legs. Each decal in the set is fully animated when the character is created. You then begin your quest to bring back the LEGO Universe that’s been shattered to pieces by an evil force attempting to suck creativity/imagination out of the universe.

The game pretty much plays like your standard MMO. You run around, you can select and equip different types of armor, weapons and items, and you go around hacking away at enemies. During our demo, we saw the building class in action. This class can basically “build” helpers, much like summoning monsters. In the demo, the player was in a pirate world, where the builder built a mermaid to lull the pirates into a deep slumber, making them vulnerable to attacks.

Speaking of building, one of the biggest draws we saw for LEGO Universe is exactly that. By progressing through the storyline, you can collect items to equip, as well as LEGO parts you can use to build things with. You are initially presented with a LEGO property. You can build whatever you want on it, given you have the necessary pieces, and you are able to go and visit your friends properties. You can build castles, swing sets, rocket ships, trucks and pretty much anything.

The great thing is that you can either use a quick build function, where you can choose from a predetermined set of objects, or use a different build function that lets you basically drag and drop parts together, or, you can actually build an object completely from scratch, piece by piece. Now THAT is LEGO.

The objects built using the first two options are immediately visible to the public, but an object built by the player then goes through a screening process, where a rating team for LEGO Universe verifies that it is safe and appropriate for all ages. But, your friends can visit your property in the process of building, and will be able to see what kind of masterpiece you’re working on.

The sweetness of LEGO Universe doesn’t stop there. After building them, you can actually give each object a behavioral attribute. For example, you can set a bike to move forward 10 spaces and make it do a wheelie every time you approach it. These behaviors are programmed via a very user-friendly command inputing UI. You can basically drag and drop commands and chain them together.

This gives LEGO building an entirely new depth, giving you the power to fully animate your LEGO creations and bring them to life! By utilizing this, you can create your very own mini-game, making your property a custom-built amusement/entertainment center. In fact, we could definitely see ourselves spending hours just building LEGO mini games!

Of coure, all of the functions in LEGO Universe have been kid-tested, assuring that every child can actually enjoy all the features this game will provide. We were very impressed with the level of depth and freedom LEGO Universe provides, satisfying players of all ages, whether they are die-hard LEGO fans or not.