LEGO Games--Goofy Fun for All Ages

As a kid LEGO's were handsdown my favorite toys.  Every holiday, birthday, or opportunity to get a present was marked by the request for LEGO's.  I requested pirate LEGO's and my brother would get the knight/castle themed sets.  We would meticulously read through the instructions and then make my Dad build them for us.  He was really good at building them and most likely has nightmares about building LEGO sets.  The introduction of LEGO themed video games might seem a little odd, but to a fan of these amazing building toys they are great.  Many popular movies and comic book heroes have now been adapted to LEGO videogame form.  While I haven't played all of the LEGO games I have very much enjoyed the few I have experienced.

LEGO Star Wars manages to be fun and goofy.

I first picked up a used copy of LEGO "Star Wars" for my Gamecube.  I was a little worried that it might be too childish, but it was actually a lot of fun.  You play through a "Star Wars" themed world as different LEGO piece characters like Luke Skywalker or Han Solo.  The world is made up of LEGO pieces and part of the fun is destroying the different set pieces and gathering the in-game currency made up of small LEGO pieces.  One fun aspect of these games is the goofy sense of humor--the pieces don't talk and often lose their limbs or heads in highly entertaining ways.  As you progress through the game you unlock new characters that can possess specific abilities--some can crawl through small tunnels, some can activate certain types of panels, and the rest are just fun to collect.  There are also special hidden pieces to collect that can be "built" into LEGO objects.  One nice feature is that you can go back and replay levels with new characters to access areas that were previously closed off due to not having unlocked the character with the right set of skills.

Since the introduction of LEGO "Star Wars," the LEGO gaming world has grown to include games from the "Harry Potter" world, "Batman," "Marvel Superheroes," "Lord of the Rings," "The Hobbit," and "Indiana Jones." I own and have played "Star Wars," "Lord of the Rings," "Harry Potter," and "Indiana Jones."  The "Lord of the Rings" game takes on a more open world approach and allows you to travel around a large LEGO filled world inspired by JRR Tolkien's books.  It's quite different than the other games, but sill very fun.  The "Harry Potter" games allow you to cast spells with a wand and hang out at Hogwarts with the characters from the movies.

If you're a parent these games are perfect for kids.  They are goofy and fun without any objectionable content.  The nice part is that after the kids are done playing you will probably enjoy them too.