LEGO Bricks (video game)
| LEGO Bricks | |
|---|---|
 Promotional artwork | |
| Developer(s) | Cobra Mobile |
| Publisher(s) | Hands-On Mobile |
| Platform(s) | Mobile (J2ME) |
| Release | 10 July 2006[1] |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
LEGO Bricks is a 2006 puzzle video game developed by Cobra Mobile and published by Hands-On Mobile. It was the first LEGO video game for mobile phone platforms
Gameplay
LEGO Bricks is a falling block tile-matching game. Groups of three LEGO bricks in a row fall from the top of the screen; each brick in the group can be coloured red, yellow, green, or blue. While falling, the brick groups can be moved left or right, rotated, or sped up. Once placed, matching lines of three or more bricks of the same colour will be cleared from the screen. Matching lines of bricks increases the player's score, and reaching certain scores increases the player's level. Each new level causes bricks to fall slightly faster; in some versions of the game the background image of the playing field changes too. If one of the columns under where bricks are dropped reaches the top of the playing field, the game ends.[2][3]
Besides the four basic colours, there are a few special bricks as well. Groups will sometimes contain danger bricks, marked with horizontal or vertical lines. When matched, danger bricks will destroy all bricks in their row or column regardless of colour any other danger bricks in their destruction path will also be set off. There are also ice bricks, which fall as only a single light blue brick. Ice bricks create a line of ice filling the row they land on, blocking all other bricks until they eventually melt.[2]
Development and release
LEGO Bricks was developed by Cobra Mobile. The company was founded in 2005 to develop mobile games for the J2ME, BREW, and Symbian platforms. The developers spent six months creating internal tools and developing prototypes to test game concepts. In early 2006 Cobra started pitching their game prototypes to mobile publishers. Although their titles recieved positive feedback, publishers did not want to sign off on anything without an established brand name attached to it. One of their game prototypes was noticed by the LEGO Group, however, and Cobra was asked to rebrand it as a LEGO title, which became LEGO Bricks.[4]
The game was announced on 28 April 2006 in a press release from publisher Hands-On Mobile,[note 1] which had signed an agreement with TT Games Publishing to market mobile LEGO products; it was the first mobile game published under this agreement.[7] LEGO Bricks was available for preview in Hands-On Mobile's stand at E3 2006 in May. The game was launched on 10 July 2006.[1]
Reception
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Pocket Gamer | 6/10[3] |
Chris Maddox of Pocket Gamer, playing on a Nokia 6280, gave LEGO Bricks a score 6 out of 10. Maddox praised its gameplay and its "clear and colourful" visual presentation, but felt that it lacked depth and originality, concluding that the game was "best used for five to ten minute bursts of boredom busting".[3]
By April 2007, LEGO Bricks was still considered a best-selling mobile title, along with Cobra's other launch title Sensible Soccer Skillz.[8]
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bennallack, Owain (10 July 2006). "LEGO Bricks drops Tetris style onto mobile". Pocket Gamer. Bath, Somerset: Steel Media. Archived from the original on 10 August 2006.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cobra Mobile (2006). LEGO Bricks (J2ME) (1.1.3 ed.). Mforma Group. Scene: "Help" menu.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Maddox, Chris (3 August 2006). "Lego Bricks". Pocket Gamer. Bath, Somerset: Steel Media. Archived from the original on 10 August 2006.
- ↑ daiashi (April 2013). "Game Zone: iBomber Attack". The PCLinuxOS Magazine. Vol. 75. p. 16. Archived from the original on 23 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ↑ IGN Wireless (April 6, 2006). "MFORMA Becomes Hands-On". IGN. Archived from the original on April 8, 2006.
- ↑ Cobra Mobile (2006). LEGO Bricks (J2ME) (1.1.3 ed.). Mforma Group. Scene: "About" menu.
- ↑ "Hands-On Mobile to Distribute LEGO" (Press release). San Francisco: Hands-On Mobile. 28 April 2006. Archived from the original on 27 November 2006 – via Kiloo.
- ↑ "Cobra Mobile Releases Mind Games". GamesIndustry.biz. Eurogamer Network Ltd. April 25, 2007. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
