Traveller's Tales

What's happened to Traveler's Tales? Coming out of the relative obscurity of developing licensed games and children's entertainments, they produced Lego Star Wars, pulling off the dual miracle of making the best Star Wars and Lego game ever, all at the same time. So my hopes were pretty high when I found out that they were responsible for Bionicle Heroes. After all, it was Travelers' Tales back with Lego, what could possibly go wrong? Everything, it turns out.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Fantasy Violence

Game Description: Bionicle Heroes brings the characters and world of LEGO's Bionicle universe to life. This brand-new action/adventure title for kids allows players to control the entire of Bionicle figures, from the heroic Toa Inika to the villainous Piraka. Battle and explore your way through the jungles, volcanoes, and deserts of the mysterious island of Voya Nui in this epic quest. In order to survive, players will need to master the powerful weapons and elemental powers of each Bionicle character. Solve the challenges and puzzles of this uniquely interactive LEGO universe, spanning over 25 different levels and 6 elemental zones. Unlock special playable characters, such as the Piraka Experience the simple controls and accessible gameplay design created just for kids and families.

Game Description: Control the outcome in the battle for Earth this summer with Transformers, the official game of the blockbuster film. Protect the earth with Autobots or destroy it as Decepticons as you lead the Transformers in the epic battle for control of planet Earth! Make a choice: Protect Earth as Autobots or destroy it as Decepticons. With dual campaigns, the fate of the world is in your hands.

The Transformers name promises giant robots hitting one another, and the developer, Traveler's Tales, is responsible for the single greatest licensed game in recent memory, Lego Star Wars. With expectations running that high, there's only one way way to approach the title—try to figure out just what the heck went wrong.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

In late 2004, Microsoft spent so much money marketing the upcoming release of Halo 2 that national press outlets started doing reports about it as if it were actually news. Unsurprisingly, these were generally awkward and horribly researched, as mainstream coverage about niche subjects tends to be.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor

Game Description: LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a comical take on the Star Wars Trilogy, the movies that revolutionized pop culture forever. LEGO Star Wars II follows the Rebel Alliance's battle to dismantle the Galactic Empire and rebuild a galaxy in pieces. From Darth Vader's pursuit of Princess Leia aboard her Blockade Runner to a showdown on the reconstructed Death Star, the game includes the family-friendly LEGO action, puzzles and humor that earned the original LEGO Star Wars such popularity and acclaim. Drop-in/drop-out feature enables friends to join easily and engage in multi-player action.

After blasting through all three "films" in the Lego Star Wars game, I walked away from the experience feeling that these stubby, super-deformed and cartoony characters had just provided me with more entertainment and a deeper sense of satisfaction than George Lucas and the entire Skywalker Ranch could manage with their insanely powerful computer graphics and hundreds of millions of dollars.