Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced a new trio of LEGO video games under the Legends of Chima banner, scheduled to launch this year.
Legends of Chima is actually a newly-announced universe within the LEGO brand that will include construction sets, vehicles, television content, and more like these new games. It is “a fantasy adventure set in land inhabited by different magical animal tribes and tells the classic story of good and evil, friendship and family,” according to a press release issued by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
What’s most interesting here is that there are three games in development, all of which take place in the same universe but are billed as “three distinct videogame experiences.” This won’t be anything like the LEGO Batman or LEGO Indiana Jones series, by our estimation, but something closer to LEGO Island or the upcoming LEGO City Undercover.
The idea behind the multiple games is that they can cater to multiple audiences under the same banner. Does that mean we can expect a mature-rated Halo-style shooter alongside an Animal Crossing-style adventure simulation, all set in the LEGO universe? Signs are unfortunately pointing to no, as the games announced for the franchise are actually for three different platforms as opposed to two similar-yet-different game experiences under the same umbrella.
The first game actually launches tomorrow, January 3rd, for iOS. Called LEGO Legends of Chima: Speedorz, this racing mini game will race against “famous” (even though the franchise was just announced) Chima characters, battle through “iconic” Chima locations (again, even though the franchise was just announced), and unlock the power of CHI to boost their characters along, whatever that means.
The other game in the franchise has been developed for Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita and is called LEGO Legends of Chima: Laval’s Journey. This game is scheduled for release mid-year as well as for the Nintendo DS later in the fall. Players will take control of Laval and command he and his allies to victory all within the world of Chima.
The final game is called LEGO Legends of Chima Online, because, you know, every good franchise needs an online version. This free-to-play game is developed by WB Games Montreal (the other titles are under development at Tt Games) and will let players customize their kingdom in the world of Chima. They’ll also be able to take on missions to help Laval, and use LEGO bricks to build gadgets and weapons.
There will apparently also be a points system that players can utilize to get bonuses within the LEGO Legends of Chima Online game. Few details are given on it at this point, and a release date is also notably absent from the press release we were given, though the Fall 2013 timeframe is mentioned.
How will LEGO fare launching a bunch of new games within an entirely new franchise and platform all in one breath? We have no idea, but LEGO tends to have a good handle on things, so our bet is that they’ll do pretty well. While you wait for the games, take a look at this beautiful landscape, which we can only assume to be concept art, but could be from the television show.
