LEGO Legends Of Chima: Laval’s Journey Review

[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”LEGO Legends Of Chima: Laval’s Journey” developers=”TT Games” publishers=”Warnerbros” platforms=”3DS/Vita” genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”3DS”]

LEGOSTORY
Chima is a land where anthropomorphic animals lived in peace with one another until a conflict caused a civil war with the eight animal tribes: Lion, Eagle, Raven, Wolf, Gorilla, Rhino, Bear, and Crocodile. The members of the factions fiercely battle over a powerful natural resource called Chi, which could allow its possessor to create or destroy. Once a pristine, natural paradise, CHIMA has become a battle ground for eight animal tribes. Best friends are now enemies. The animals fight for control of a natural resource called CHI, a powerful element that is both a source of life and potential destruction. Only a few brave heroes in CHIMA understand the true nature of CHI, and the possible downfall of CHIMA that will result from its misuse. Their stories, and the stories of those who seek to destroy them, are known as the legends of CHIMA.

LEGOPRESENTATION
LEGO Legends Of Chima runs quite well on the 3DS. Colours are extremely vibrant and the graphics are extremely enjoyable. The 3D effect is extremely subtle but works well and the framerate holds up despite the game taking place in an open world environment. I did have quite a few graphical glitches however. I constantly found myself falling through walls and off ledges. The sound is average as it is with most 3DS games however not much more can be expected in a children’s adventure. The story is told through pre rendered cut scenes which look quote well for a 3DS. The graphics really help Lego Chima feel like a real world.

LEGOGAMEPLAY
The gameplay in Lego Legends of Chima is not too different from what we’ve come to expect over the past few years. I did notice quite a more streamlined game though. You go through the game mission by mission unlocking different animal tribes. Unlocking these animal tribes allow you to access parts of the game that were not available to you before. Each of these tribes vary greatly in their ability and moveset. The different animals didn’t just feel like reskinned characters as has happened with recent LEGO games. I think that the novelty of playing in a theme movie world definitely takes some of the fun away but it’s there’s enough depth there with the animal tribes to keep children and even some adults interested for the whole way through.

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I definitely felt like the combat could’ve used a bit of an overhaul. I was disappointed to see that the animals still fought like lego humans. I really wish they took advantage of the fact that they had all of these awesome characters and made them feel more like animals rather than people.

One of the biggest problems in Lego Chima is without doubt the loading times. I was extremely surprised to find that the game has a huge open world with a ton of shops. To get into each of these shops you’re looking at a 30 second load screen and the same when you’re finished looking. It’s just unacceptable for a game today.. especially one that runs on a cartridge.

LEGOSCREEN
Whilst the puzzles in the game were extremely enjoyable due to their difficulty, the platforming made them unenjoyable at times. I constantly found myself missing jumps or rolling through the world for no reason of my own. This is extremely frustrating and definitely something that happened on multiple occasions. It instantly pulled me out of the experience.

There is a bunch of items to complete after collecting the game which makes the game last around 10-15 hours in total. You can also link with the LEGO website to gain some stuff as well as street pass other players to unlock new items.

LEGOCONCLUSION
LEGO Legends Of Chima: Laval’s Journey is a decent game for the young ones. I found myself enjoying it for the first hour or so but soon figured out that the game was plagued by graphical glitches and long load times. Apparently a patch is on the way to fix some of these issues which will definitely help improve the game but we can’t help but feel that this was rushed to release or just not given the usual love and care that go into normal LEGO games. At a budget price we’d recommend it for your kids. They’ll instantly fall in love with the characters and story.

LAVAL REVIEW CONCLUSION copy