Any reviews of LU yet?

[Maltem]

Checked IGN, nothing there.

The game is in stores here now, but i'm not sure if i like to pay 39 Euro if it isnt any good :)

[MightySlickPancake]

Hey, my personal view is that it is an epic game. I was a beta tester from start to finish, I think that it is amazing in quality and is very addictive, even if you have nothing to do! My only problem was - content, I could finish a whole faction in two days or about 10 hours if you know what you're doing or maybe 15 if its your first time. I know thats not very helpful but only 5 worlds and only a possible two more to come, its awful.

- In short its epic and if price isnt a problem for not getting it the I say, get it. Just be read for a lot of doing nothing and still being addicted.

Hope this helps a bit, CB

[Stash2Sixx]

Addicting, just like any MMO out there.

I've got two concerns though. I'm halfway to being fully decked out in my Tier 2 gear, and I've been playing less than 20 hours total. So...I hope they are planning on adding new worlds very frequently. Also, I'm not a real big fan of the chat function. Many words and phrases are restricted and I'm not even trying to start trouble. When trying to get the imagination brick at Red Blocks, it was a chore to type what was allowed and carry on a conversation.

But, spend the $40, buy the game, and play for the first 30 days, see what you think. That's the best advice I can give. It is very entertaining!

We should have a list where we can list our characters and the servers we are on so if we are looking to team up with others.

[mrfootball]

My 6-year old loves the game. He and his cousins think its the best thing ever.

[Dodger]

It's good for what it is, but has a LOT of problems.

1) The racing is basically broken. Whoever is in the lead at the first corner will win, as they get all the speed boosts and will just stay in front, unless they're an idiot.

2) The backpack space is very limited, and there's no off character storage. So you end up having to ditch most of the cool (useless) stuff to make room for important things. For a game based on customisation, this is pretty terrible.

3) Rampant kill-stealing. Last hit gets the kill. So you can spend ages (and a few deaths) whittling down that ape, then someone wanders past, gets one hit, and picks up all the loot. Needs fixing.

4) Content. I know launch MMOs are usually quite light on content, but LU is criminally sparse. Play a couple of hours a day and you will have finished everything available in a week. Seriously.

5) The building areas are all private instances, and the building engine is pretty clumsy to use. Needs refining.

6) The Chat system is SO locked down (for safety) it's basically unusable. It often won't even allow words that are actually in the game. For example, I had a Spanner weapon. I wanted to trade it, but when I put "Anyone want a Worthy Spanner?" in the chat, the word "spanner" was disallowed. Completely ridiculous. So the game is played in silence, as no-one can talk!

7) No grouping. Want to team up to kill that (pretty tough) dragon? No can do, and last hit get's the reward for all the work (see 3).

So what's good? Let's remember the target audience is kids.! It's bright, colourful and well animated. The controls are very simple. It can also inspire them with things to make from real lego.

My 5 year old loves just running around smacking things, which is the only reason I'll keep it past the free month. Because honestly, anyone 8+ will finish all there is to do within a week, and the only thing then is to run through it all again with a different Faction.

Also, most of the problems above are easily fixable, if the desire is there to do so. However, all of it was brought up in the beta and was met with a deafening wall of silence, so we'll have to wait and see.

Overall I'd say great for kids as a drop in, drop out game. Flawed, but with a solid foundation and tons of room for improvement. Could be great if the problems are fixed and more content comes soon and regularly.

[Oky]

I had a Spanner weapon. I wanted to trade it, but when I put "Anyone want a Worthy Spanner?" in the chat, the word "spanner" was disallowed. Completely ridiculous.

Hmm, that really sucks. Could this have something to do with the fact that one of the German translations for "Spanner" is "Peeping Tom"?

[Cara]

I absolutely agree with Dodger. We tested it for a few months. The kids (in the age group lego is aiming at) loved it. So much that I had tantrums when I restricted access.

I couldn't use it. Its so clunky.

I couldn't chat. At all.

Couldn't group.

No storage chest and lack of inventory space.

No way to move items between characters on the same account.

Totally lacks the ability to manipulate the interface and move things around.

You can only move using the arrow keys - no mouse ability. It felt like a 1980's arcade game.

For younger kids its fabulous but as a parent I'm not paying a monthly fee for something I have to limit their usage of! If this had have been a $60, one time buy the game, I would have done it.

We will be sticking with our Starwars the complete saga. Since two can play that at once and its effectively the same functionality for the kids. They do not come in contact with any other player except to fight over who gets a kill

My conclusion is that it might as well have been an off-line game.

Edited November 1, 2010 by Cara

[Dodger]

I absolutely agree with Dodger. We tested it for a few months. The kids (in the age group lego is aiming at) loved it. So much that I had tantrums when I restricted access.

I couldn't use it. Its so clunky.

I couldn't chat. At all.

Couldn't group.

No storage chest and lack of inventory space.

No way to move items between characters on the same account.

Totally lacks the ability to manipulate the interface and move things around.

You can only move using the arrow keys - no mouse ability. It felt like a 1980's arcade game.

For younger kids its fabulous but as a parent I'm not paying a monthly fee for something I have to limit their usage of! If this had have been a $60, one time buy the game, I would have done it.

We will be sticking with our Starwars the complete saga. Since two can play that at once and its effectively the same functionality for the kids. They do not come in contact with any other player except to fight over who gets a kill

My conclusion is that it might as well have been an off-line game.

I agree with the offline part, as there is virtually no social interaction possible. But then they couldn't charge monthly /cynic

I can help you with a couple of points though:

You can move the inventory window on the screen. Don't know if this is new to the final version.

You can move with the mouse. Right button+move moves the camera around and click on middle mouse runs. You still need keyboard for jump though.

That reminds me of another peeve. There are a couple of times where you have to look around, or make a tricky jump, and a hint window pops up. EVERY FLIPPIN' TIME!! Yeah LU, I learned the double jump in the tutorial I don't need to be remind 8000 times.

[Dodger]

Well well! Looks like something might be coming for storage:

There's definitely something in the works...

Figmentia

Figmentia is a mod on the official game forums.

[Superkalle]

My conclusion is that it might as well have been an off-line game.

Ouch. Being a MMORPG, that's got to hurt (for TLG that is)

Oh, and I'm too waiting for reviews in the games magazines and on-line sites. Anyone seen anything yet?

[Maltem]

Ouch. Being a MMORPG, that's got to hurt (for TLG that is)

Oh, and I'm too waiting for reviews in the games magazines and on-line sites. Anyone seen anything yet?

IGN got a review up, 5/10 or something, very very low score.

I will wait to get this one.

[Superkalle]

And here is the link to the IGN review

And another one at Platform nation

[Dodger]

And here is the link to the IGN review

And another one at Platform nation

I think the IGN comment about it being a 'fixer-upper' is spot on. Despite all the negative points I listed, there is a lot to like. I think in a few months it will be worth revisiting, right now I'm probably not going past the free month. I have the console lego games to distract the little 'un anyway ;)

[carpenter1]

And here is the link to the IGN review

And another one at Platform nation

Tnx for sharing the review!I'm just a newbie in LEGO Universe but I like this game! XD

[Corvus]

2) The backpack space is very limited, and there's no off character storage. So you end up having to ditch most of the cool (useless) stuff to make room for important things. For a game based on customisation, this is pretty terrible.

I really do miss my old exceptional guitar. However, there just didn't seem to be enough 'fun' stuff. There were lots of opportunities to obtain backpack space, but it still wasn't enough. If you have too much backpack space, though, it's a nightmare to find stuff.

3) Rampant kill-stealing. Last hit gets the kill. So you can spend ages (and a few deaths) whittling down that ape, then someone wanders past, gets one hit, and picks up all the loot. Needs fixing.

I don't know about you, but I build the anchor to get rid of the ape. That tends to work faster . It is a problem, but part of that is probably the target audience- they're kids. They might not have picked up on the 'Chivalry of the MMO' yet (if there is one...). As for dragons, I'm not really sure what happens with them. There appear to be separate treasure boxes for each person, but I think everyone has access to the loot once it's opened.

4) Content. I know launch MMOs are usually quite light on content, but LU is criminally sparse. Play a couple of hours a day and you will have finished everything available in a week. Seriously.

An easy fix would be to allow players to join multiple factions. I know I hated having to go start over again just to try out another class.

6) The Chat system is SO locked down (for safety) it's basically unusable. It often won't even allow words that are actually in the game. For example, I had a Spanner weapon. I wanted to trade it, but when I put "Anyone want a Worthy Spanner?" in the chat, the word "spanner" was disallowed. Completely ridiculous. So the game is played in silence, as no-one can talk!

I gave up on using it. I've had a few glorious moments (mostly at the concert) when someone realizes that, "Oh, hey, do you need help in building all of the stage effects at once?" But these instances are pretty rare.

7) No grouping. Want to team up to kill that (pretty tough) dragon? No can do, and last hit get's the reward for all the work (see 3).

It's pretty much the luck of the draw. I stand around the game loader waiting for someone who looks useful. It's worst in the Avant Gardens battle area- the only people who seem to play there are fresh characters with nothing on them except their beginner sword. It makes the team matches absolutely worthless.

My conclusion is that it might as well have been an off-line game.

Yup. In fact, I probably might prefer it. I can't talk to people I do know, and there's no real way to team up with them if I could. No online play means no kids, and no monthly bill.

[justinkemp]

Seriously. They have an embargo on reviews for the game until the 11th apparently and the only review (exclusive review) gave it a 9/10. Kind of weird to only allow one publication to review the game before release.

There's something dodgy about this game.

Seriously. They have an embargo on reviews for the game until the 11th apparently and the only review (exclusive review) gave it a 9/10. Kind of weird to only allow one publication to review the game before release.