I had the opportunity to be at Comerica Park for Opening Day but unfortunately was tied up in court having to handle 50 traffic ticket hearings instead of being able to be at the ballpark watching the Detroit Tigers play. So, I appreciated this video from LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan that let me enjoy the spirit of the downtown festivities I missed out on participating in. Was geeked to view their LEGO-ized version of a parade on Woodward Avenue and the Tiger's baseball stadium.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan in the suburb of Auburn Hills located inside the Great Lakes Crossing mall has an impressive MINILAND that recreates downtown Detroit made out of more than a million LEGO building bricks. The Comerica Park replica itself is made from 25,000 LEGO bricks and weighs a whopping 250 pounds. It is filled with more than 400 LEGO mini-figures representing fans and players.
Visitors at this LEGOLAND Discovery Center can even interact with the stadium playing a pinball-style baseball game where they can “go to bat” and try to score everything from a single to a home run. The MINILAND often has special exhibits based upon current events such as a Thanksgiving Day parade and Christmas decorations to alter the appearance of its downtown streets and buildings. For Opening Day, the MINILAND had a baseball celebration parade on display and had a celebrity singing the National Anthem on the field of Comerica Park. It is always interesting to see what may be new in the MINILAND during a visit to LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan.
In addition to the MINILAND exhibit, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan has two amusement rides (Kingdom Quest + Merlin's Apprentice), a 4D cinema, build-a-car race track and more. For directions and additional information, head over to legolanddiscoverycenter.com/michigan
"Classic Space," the first downloadable themed content pack for the LEGO Worlds video game will be available to purchase beginning July 5, 2017 for $3.99. The expansion pack will include brand new quests, characters, builds, and vehicles inspired from the popular LEGO Space toy playsets. LEGO Worlds takes the fun of playing with the iconic building bricks and mini-figures and transports it to a digital playground where players can unleash their imaginations in creating unique landscapes and adventures in a sandbox environment themed around LEGO toys.
The new expansion pack will allow players to blast off and explore the farthest reaches of space! It will allow you to travel across the video games various Worlds in a Space Buggy, fly around in a Space Cruiser, excavate the new Moon biome with the Mineral Detector, or land a spaceship on the new Classic Space Theme World. If you you are a fan of LEGO's space themed physical toys you won't want to miss out playing with these digital reproductions in this video game. I know my kids will have a blast utilizing the "Classic Space" add-on within their LEGO Worlds experiences.
** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **
After successfully taking on Disney Infinity and Skylanders in the toys-to-life video game category by creating the highly successful LEGO Dimensions, The LEGO Group has set their sights on tackling another gaming franchise popular with kids and young adults -- > Minecraft. LEGO Worlds developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment allows players to explore a galaxy of fantastical planets that contain inhabitants and landscapes made up entirely of LEGO's trademark toy mini-figures and building bricks. Embark on a quest to become a Master Builder within this open-world video game that provides players to power to shape both the environment around them and the scope of their adventures. In LEGO Worlds your own creativity and imagination are often times the only limitation to the extent of the adventures you can engage in and creations that can be built within the game.
LEGO Worlds, like its predecessor Minecraft, is what is referred to as a sandbox game which means that players have a great deal of flexibility in shaping the virtual environment they are playing in. A sandbox game focuses on bringing people's imaginations to life through constructing and customizing a virtual world to play in. LEGO Worlds takes the fun of playing with real-life physical LEGO toys and expands upon it in an entertaining video game experience. This game has really been a hit with my kids primarily because they can have fun just being creative doing whatever suits their whims as they are playing it. Creating world layouts, constructing their own building designs from LEGO bricks, and customizing the appearance of a player's mini-figure character are really what capture my kids attention.
LEGO Worlds begins with a video sequence that shows your character flying a spaceship that is suddenly hit by a meteorite forcing it to crash land on a mysterious planet. This sets the stage for three tutorial levels players need to make their way through. In these levels new
characters and vehicles can be added to your playable assets Players also obtain a variety of tools to
help them create things and customize the world around them in these levels. Short instructional video segments explain how to utilize these important tools once they are obtained. Challenges within the level then let a player practice using them.
The game starts with your character crash landing on Pirate
World. While exploring this first tutorial level players will learn to utilize the Discovery Tool. This device allows animals, buildings, mini-figures (both friends and foes), and
vehicles to be scanned and catalogs them in a gallery which players can access to place these
items within the game whenever they like.
Next players travel to a Prehistoric World where they learn to use the
Landscape Tool which raises and lowers terrain. Rescue several cave men
and cave women from dangerous situations to successfully complete the
level and move on to Candy World.
The final tutorial level is filled with giant candy canes, lollipops and
gingerbread houses and provides players with three more useful items --
the Copy, Paint and Build tools. Don't want to try and build a
structure brick-by-brick? Use the Copy Tool to replicate an already
completed building instead. Want to change the color of a building or
the landscape around you? Go wild with the Paint Tool. If you would
prefer building a structure from bottom to top instead of replicating
one the Build Tool lets players construct things just as if they
were building with real life LEGO bricks. Note though you start off
with a very limited number of accessible bricks to utilize and earn more
of a variety progressing through the game.
Once you've completed the three tutorial levels and obtained these
important tool options then it is time to jump into your space ship and
explore the galaxy. You'll be transported to randomly computer-generated planets each time your character launches the space ship into outer space. Planets our family have visited so far include an apocalyptic
junk world filled with cowboys and bandits, a swampland filled with
alligators and spooky walking skeletons, and a farming community being
plagued by zombies. This game is filled with lots and lots of the quirky, whimsical
elements that people associate with LEGO (ride a cow, use a fish as a
sword, throw a banana like a boomerang) and love about the brand.
Unlike LEGO Dimensions this game isn't focused on licensed properties like Batman, The Simpsons, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Rather the content of the game revolves around generic themes from the LEGO toy line such as astronauts, farmers, police, and pirates. There aren't any physical toys sets that need to be purchased for activating characters in this game like you need to do with LEGO Dimensions. When it comes to LEGO Worlds as you discover different types of people, animals and vehicles in the game they can be incorporated into your gallery of digital playable items by scanning them with your Discovery Tool.
Players also can earn points as they play LEGO Worlds that can be utilized to obtain virtual reproductions of real-life LEGO classic and current toy sets that can be placed within the game and interacted with. The goal of LEGO Worlds though isn't to earn points but rather to become a Master Builder by getting your hands on 100 of the elusive gold bricks that can be found within the game. The more gold bricks players obtain the larger and more immersive worlds they can interact with ranging from small worlds that can be accessed with ten bricks to huge ones that can be visited when you've grabbed eighty. When 100 gold bricks are obtained players are no longer restricted to visiting randomly generated planets and can construct a world from scratch using their tools any item they've unlocked within the game. Gold bricks can be obtained by finding them in treasure chests, as rewards for successfully completing a quest, or by snatching one from creatures called a Troublemakers.
The game can be played by two people at once on a console or an online feature can be utilized that allows multiple players to explore each other's worlds together, collaborate on building LEGO creations, and engage in cooperative or competitive experiences. My kids have played duel player mode but haven't interacted online with anyone. They've had a lot of fun both working together and harassing each other. One minute they're getting along together racing on horses through a jungle and the next my son is throwing his sister into a lava filled volcano because her character stole a popsicle from his. That's kids for you!
The immersive environment of LEGO Worlds which entices kids to engage in imaginative play earns this video game A Geek Daddynod of approval. I have to point out though that this game isn't just for kids. After my children have gone to bed, this 40 something year old dad has enjoyed playing LEGO Worlds to wind down after a long day. So obviously LEGO Worlds is a fun game for both kids and kids-at-heart. Based upon my family's own experience playing LEGO Worlds, I recommend adding it to your video game collection.
LEGO Worlds is now available in North America for Sony's PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, Microsoft's Xbox One, and the STEAM online PC gaming community. The game will also be available for Nintendo Switch later this year. For more information, please visit www.lego.com/en-us/worlds
Do you have the ability to sculpt things from LEGO bricks that amaze and wow people?
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan is seeking adult LEGO fans to apply up until midnight on Monday, January 4, 2016 for the coveted role of Master Model Builder, a full-time salaried position at the attraction. How awesome would it be to tell people you are a professional LEGO bricks model builder when asked about your career?! This is a dream job for anyone who has ever loved playing with LEGO bricks!
The Master Model Builder is a hands-on role that is responsible for maintaining and updating MINILAND models and developing new features, exhibitions and building new models at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center, as well as working with the thousands of children expected to visit the attraction. LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan will be a 32,000-square-foot indoor attraction at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in the Metro Detroit community of Auburn Hills that will feature millions of LEGO bricks and themed exhibits including a 4D cinema, two interactive rides, large soft play areas, and much more.
Applicants will compete against each other in an exciting two-day Brick Factor competition, set for Saturday and Sunday, January 9 & 10th at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets. During the two-day Brick Factor event, participants will display their skill by taking part in creative challenges and building original LEGO brick models in timed rounds of judged competition. The first day will consist of two rounds of competition with eliminations taking place during each round. The day's top competitors will participate in formal interviews and a final challenging building round on Sunday, after which one will be crowned the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan Master Builder.
"The Master Model Builder is one of the most exciting and creative jobs on the market today," Hayley Anderson, general manager for LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan communicated to A Geek Daddy blog. "We are looking for a high-energy and inventive individual who understands the colorful world of LEGO to welcome to our team."
Applicants must be familiar with LEGO bricks and have experience in the model-making or craft field. Those interested in this incredible opportunity can apply through the Merlin Entertainments Career website. CLICK HERE to select Michigan--Auburn Hills--United States from the drop down menu and click on the Master Model Builder Job # 4468 for the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan attraction.
Good luck to all the applicants! What a SUPER job this would be!
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan broke ground in the Fall of 2015 and will be opening in the Spring of 2016.
The soon to be opening LEGOLAND Discovery Center at Great Lakes Crossing outlet mall in Auburn Hills, Michigan has announced the Renaissance Center, also known as GM REN CEN, as Metro Detroit's favorite landmark to be transformed into a LEGO building block model as determined by a public vote. Along with 10 other popular local landmarks selected in a prior round of voting, the GM REN CEN model will be constructed from LEGO bricks and displayed in the MINILAND section of LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan when the attraction opens in 2016. The GM REN CEN model will be unveiled at a special ceremony and displayed onsite at the Renaissance Center next Spring prior to the opening of the LEGOLAND Discovery Center.
Situated along Detroit's international riverfront, the GM REN CEN is an iconic collection of seven interconnected skyscrapers that are owned by and serve as the world headquarters for General Motors. The central tower, the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, is the tallest building in Michigan and the tallest all-hotel skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan will be a 32,000-square foot indoor attraction featuring millions of LEGO bricks and themed exhibits including a 4D cinema, two interactive rides, large soft play areas and much more. One of the highlights of any LEGOLAND Discovery Center is its MINILAND which feature miniature LEGO brick landscapes inspired by the community where it is located. LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan will have a MINILAND featuring Metro Detroit buildings, attractions, and other notable landmarks that will include in addition to GM REN CEN, the Spirit of Detroit statue, Belle Isle, Motown Museum, Fox Theater, Guardian Building, Comerica Park, and the giant Uniroyal Tire.
"Not only is the GM REN CEN an iconic part of the Detroit skyline, but it is a symbol of Michigan's industry, culture and spirit of innovation," Hayley Anderson, general manager for LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan, communicated to A Geek Daddy. "We are thrilled to have engaged so many members of our community in choosing local landmarks for MINILAND and are excited to debut our GM REN CEN LEGO model at the complex early next year."
