The newest of the current consoles increases its LEGO catalog with a good port of one of the best titles in the franchise.
"He has succeeded … That crazy son of a bitch has succeeded," Ian Malcolm
Spielberg has never included her among his 5 best films as a director, but it is undeniable that Jurassic Park, an adaptation of a bestselling book by Michael Crichton, is one of the most iconic films of his career. He is over 25 years old and he does not forget, he remains in the collective imagination. And any attempt to continue the film universe – such as the 2 installments of Jurassic World – always makes clear that as the original, none. Jurassic Park is part not only of the 90s, but of popular culture. And LEGO knew how to dedicate one of his best games 4 years ago.
"We have not repaired parts"
Launched in 2015, in time to take advantage of the premiere -and finally, the box office- of the first Jurassic World, LEGO Jurassic World was not merely a corkscrew adaptation, but one of the best virtual tributes that IP has had in play. Nintendo Switch was the only one of the current systems that had no conversion, something that TT Games has solved with a port that adds to the entire LEGO catalog that is having a second life on the Switch.
We go with the essentials before entering the subject, does this version add something new that the previous deliveries did not have? Well it depends on the point of view: if we talk as a desktop game, we better recommend the PS4 and One versions, the most powerful graphic level of all. But if we speak as a portable version, then yes, because this LEGO JW far exceeds the versions of Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita and provides the desktop experience in portable format.
"I bet a thousand pieces that falls …"
As with the Lord of the Rings, LEGO makes a very fanservice gift to all fans by implementing a level-based development but united by an open mapping to explore at ease. And that is to travel the Nublar Island in the same vehicles of the first JP from the heliport to the T-Rex cage through the meadow or the Visitor Center, or Sorna Island of The Lost World with the caravan and always with The iconic music of John Williams in the background, is a damn joyful fanservice – just like when in LEGO LotR we could advance from Hobbiton to Mordor in real time through Middle-earth.
Thus, after a tutorial based on the first scene of the first film, TT Games is right to offer the user the option to play the original trilogy or enter the new universe of Jurassic World. And all, as always, with a gigantic level of fidelity. In purely numerical terms, we have 4 movies adapted to video games that provide a 20-level Campaign mode between 8-10 hours
But of course, this is a LEGO game, and therefore it is full of secrets like finding all the golden bricks or minikits in each level, which doubles the duration for the complecionistas. Let's add free exploration and a fun DNA mode in which we can play to be gods and combine parts of dinosaurs until we find our own Dinotopia, which requires finding the elements of amber scattered around all the hubs that make up the game.
"So you two dig up pieces?"
At the playable level, although the bases are the same as 14 years ago LEGO Star Wars became fashionable, LEGO Jurassic World was a pleasant surprise while its gameplay reduced the amount of fighting in pursuit of an adventure with greater weight in exploration and puzzles – there would have been little faithful to mess up with the kidnappers, for example.
In this way, the combination of each character's abilities – digging up pieces, breaking glass, growing plants, lighting dark areas, managing InGen portals – becomes essential to move forward, challenging us in an advance that, as you imagine given your audience base, it is not difficult but it is well spun.
In addition, and in the style of others such as the LEGO Batman trilogy, this game features chase scenes that recreate memorable and spectacular moments such as the chase of the T-Rex or the Gyrosphere. And of the hundred characters that we can handle, 20 of them are dinosaurs – like the Raptor in the JPs of Mega Drive or the Lost World of Saturn and PSone. There are limitations, such as Pterodactyls cannot fly beyond the Aviary, but others are available in free mode. To this we must add that the Switch edition contains the 3 DLCs that came out for the previous desktop versions, which add 4 vehicles and 12 more characters
"Isn't he mentholized ??"
As always a visual joy, the key to the LEGO games is the quality of their textures, fluidity of animations and photorealism in the lighting system and scenarios. In this case, and as is often the case with all Port Switch, the graphic quality is a bit downgrade with respect to PS4 and One, and a slight reduction in detail in the scenarios, or polygon load in the textures is noticeable. But it is still mild, does not spoil the gaming experience, really.
At the sound level, what to say: if played in the original version we have the dialogues of the films taken as is from the tapes, along with Williams BSO to finish off the set. Of course the game keeps its dubbing in Spanish, although they are not the same voices that doubled the films in Spain.
CONCLUSION
Pure fanservice of the good, LEGO Jurassic World is a love letter to the saga and an example of the enormous fidelity that TT Games and Warner put into their works. Touring the park on Switch is as fun as 4 years ago, even more so because it is the complete desktop experience, and not covered as in 3DS and Vita. Of course, it does not add anything more than the DLC, it is the same game, even a little worse at the graphic level. Nor does it take to put things in Jurassic World 2 that would have been a detail. If you played it 4 years ago, this version depends on how much you want to have it also portable.
THE BEST
- The desktop experience, on laptop
- It is still a gift to fans with those open islands to travel
- To opt more for exploration, puzzles and adventures than for combat or platforms
- Only 4GB on Switch, thanks Nintendo for thinking about our memory cards
WORST
- The graphic downgrades. Mild, but there they are
- It does not add more than the DLC, if you have already played it it will not bring you anything new. A shame that they have not taken advantage of to put things in Jurassic World 2
Good
It meets the expectations of what a good game is, it has quality and does not present serious failures, although it lacks elements that could have led to higher levels.
