And My Axe.

LEGO City Undercover was surprisingly cool -- so cool, that I was compelled to investigate other open-world LEGO adaptations. Mission accomplished, TT Games. You've really got your hooks in me now.

Let me disabuse you right now of the notion that LEGO LotR is just another bullshit licensed game. This isn't some sketchy superfan cash-in; this is an open-world game, set in the entire fucking Middle-earth, with playable characters spanning the breadth of Tolkien, and oozing with a sense of care and love for the franchise -- plus a healthy amount of LEGO-game slapstick humor, and a shit-ton of extra activities and collectibles. The game's missions (at least the ones I've played so far) include all of the Peter Jackson films' most memorable moments, even the parts where Frodo and the hobbits hide from the nazgul, and when Faramir fights the oliphaunts. The expansive world map is full of scenery invoking all the power and majesty of the films' imagery; and the incredible movie scores just ice the cake.

Whereas Undercover unlocked major abilities by giving Chase McCain new costumes, LEGO LotR divvies them up into primary characters, e.g. Frodo can light dark caves with the Light of Earendil, Gandalf can levitate shit, and Legolas has a bow and can high-jump. When a mission requires you to use multiple abilities to clear an obstacle or solve a puzzle, you'll switch between party members, which fosters a strangely satisfying notion of teamwork, even when you're playing alone.

Oh, and there is two-player co-op -- with a twist! Most of the time, both players will play some part of the active party at once - like Frodo and Sam, or Aragorn and Legolas - but during certain parts of the story, if two players are present, they can actually play two different scenes simultaneously. For instance, when Gandalf falls in Moria, one player will continue on with the rest of the group while the other player fights the balrog! And while one player takes the Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli party to Helm's Deep, another can follow Faramir and the hobbits to Osgiliath! This mechanic doesn't always work well, but the fact that it exists at all is amazing, and I can only assume it will be further improved in the inevitable LEGO The Hobbit.

Clearly, much of my love for this game comes from my infatuation with the mythology and with the Peter Jackson movies. But it's also a well-structured game with a lengthy campaign, a diverse team of characters, and a buttload of open-world stuff to do. At times it can feel like it lacks some polish, but hell if I care. This game rocks.

Progress: Just finished the Battle of Helm's Deep