Comment Re:How's the game? (Score 1) 116
Oh no -- it's definitely very different.
You run around, you smash things, you collect things, but you also do a lot of building, a lot of racing, and a LOT more customization than is present in the TT games. You're building up your character -- clothes, equipment, weapons, armors, special pieces that give abilities. You're competing -- there are foot races and car races -- you're building specialized space ships and hunting around for hidden treasure chests that hold rewards.
The TT games had very limited collectibles. You basically collected money and special golden bricks -- I don't think there was much else in the way of collectibles, and you couldn't buy much with your stuff -- just more characters. In LU, you can not only collect money (to buy clothes or equipment), but you can also buy pre-made models to go on your property, or you can buy race car parts, or rocket ship parts, or whatever -- and then there's the whole thing of just finding and collecting those parts on their own. There are flags to find, pets to find, special bricks to find, special blue bricks to find, achievements to find, challenges to complete, etc etc etc.
A BIG thing in LU is pets -- there are tons of unique pets in the game in every world, and finding, taming, and collecting them all is a large minigame that spans the entire set of worlds. You can name pets and have a whole menagerie. You have your own properties that you build up with things that you've collected in other worlds, etc.
The TT games didn't really have "collecting" the way LU does. LU lets you "collect" a VERY wide variety of things -- shoulder parrots are a fun one to collect because they're extremely rare and really fun to have flap around on your shoulder. There are also a wide variety of "elite" weapons that are very rare -- you can collect all manner of elite weapons -- not just swords and spears, but also silly things like pushbrooms or oars. It's impossible to collect everything in the game, and there's a lot of depth and opportunity for showcasing your collections -- this is VERY different from the "collect" aspect of TT.
There is also a story here with factions -- something that isn't present in the more linear TT games.
All that to say -- it's NOT "pretty much the same". I more just meant that their strongest appeal is with the LEGO branding, and if that wasn't enough to draw you into the TT games, then you'd be hard-pressed to come up with a justification for your monthly bill.