Review: The Lego Ninjago Movie Game

The Lego Ninjago Movie Game is the latest title in the ever-expanding Lego universe and as you may have guessed from the not so subtle title, it is a tie-in to the new film. The latest release gives us some new characters which feature new abilities, but if you are a fan of the previous Lego games, it is very much as standard with a few new upgrades.

Ninjas Lloyd, Nya, Jay, Kai, Cole, Zane and Master Wu are in charge of defending the Ninjago City, which is located on a secret island. When the city becomes under threat from the evil Lord Garmadon and his Shark Army, Lloyd tries to stop him, but in the process does more harm than good. With the island now at risk, Lloyd and his team must go to the heart of the island to find the mysterious power that will save the day.

The ninja aptitudes of the characters are incorporated into the game allowing you to perform parkour with grappling, jumping and wall-running. In addition, each of the main characters also have their own unique abilities based on the elements such as water, ice, fire, earth and lightning which they can use to complete tasks.

In addition to the normal game play, there is now the ability to perform a combo attack rather than the single strikes which we have seen in previous entries. When you are striking an opponent, you can now complete a continuous strike; before finishing with a final blow, body slam or juggle them in the air before throwing them to the floor. As with most of the Lego moves it’s incorporated easily into the existing game controls.

The games combo attacks are the highlight of the game and this works best when testing your combat skills in one of the Challenge Dojo’s. This sub games involves fighting through a wave of enemies, before taking on the Dojo Master, to get more coins and unlock new characters.

The game continues to incorporate some of the comedy from the film and is inter-cut with scenes. Although they look good, it feels disjointed and confusing, because there is no consistency between the story and gameplay. Unless you have seen the current movie, it’s difficult to follow and just disrupting the overall flow of the game. It was in these cut scenes I also found several sound bugs in the game, with the sound suddenly stopping, whilst the video was still playing.

With so many different Lego titles coming out, it’s difficult for them to evolve enough to make the next entry worth purchasing. This game is aimed at fans of The Lego Ninjago Movie, but apart from the abilities of the players and the combo attacks, it doesn’t offer enough to the series to make it stand out. If you are a completist or enjoy the Lego style of gameplay this is a title worth getting, but for the general gamer I don’t think the game offers enough originality to justify a purchase.