LEGO → Video Games |
LEGO Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge | |
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LEGO Theme: |
LEGO Island
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Developer(s): |
Silicon Dreams |
Publisher(s): | |
Date Released: | |
Genre: |
Action, Adventure |
Mode(s): |
Singleplayer |
Rating: |
ESRB: E |
Platforms: | |
' |
LEGO Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge is an action adventure video game released in 2001. It is a sequel to LEGO Island, and was followed by Island Xtreme Stunts. The main character of the game is a young pizza delivery boy named Pepper Roni. It was re-released in 2007.
Gameplay[]
Similar to the first game in the series, LEGO Island, the gameplay in the PC and PlayStation versions of the game are directed by missions and sub-games. Unlike the previous game, the objectives must now be completed in a linear fashion. One difference from the previous game is that the player can now only play as the main character, Pepper Roni, unlike the previous game where multiple characters were available to choose from. Other notable changes include the switch to a third person camera and the addition of the ability to jump. Pepper can still use any vehicle he sees, and the Toy feature from the first game is also present, allowing Pepper to change the colours of vehicles, change plants and some landscape elements, and alter the hair/headgear of other minifigures.
Story[]
After the events of the previous game and the Brickster's recapture, Pepper Roni is promised a new house, on condition that he delivers pizzas around the island. Having delivered enough pizzas to earn his new house, Pepper is told to deliver one last pizza to the jail in which the Brickster lurks. The Brickster then adds additional chilies to the already spicy pizza, letting him use is "patented Brickster dragon breath" to melt the lock of the jail cell. He then escapes by stealing a police helicopter and flying to the Information Center, where he steals the Constructopedia, the book containing the blueprints for all buildings on the island. He then tears pages out of the book, causing all of the buildings on LEGO Island to deconstruct, fly up into the sky and disappear. Having summoned the Brickster-Bots, the Brickster departs for his asteroid island, Ogel Island.
The Infomaniac informs Pepper that he must destroy the Brickster-Bots and track down the missing pages of the Constructopedia. He soon begins to locate a few of the pages. With each page returned, a building is reconstructed and put back in place.
Pepper then ventures to Castle Island, where it's been reported that the Brickster has destroyed the bridge there. While diving to connect its two halves to rebuild it, he finds the bricks and a page. He then finds out that another page is up on the Bull's castle flag pole as the Lions stole the Bulls' real flag. The Bulls promise to give Pepper the flag, as long as he returns the stolen flag. The Lions agree to give Pepper the flag, as long as he defeated the Bull's Dark Knight in a joust. After defeating the Dark Knight, Pepper receives the Bull's flag from the Lions to give it to the Bulls. However, before the Bulls can give the missing page to Pepper, he has to engage in a cannon battle with Cedric the Bull, an ally of the Brickster, as he steals the page, just as the other Bulls are about to give the page to Pepper. After defeating Cedric the Bull, Pepper acquires the page, signalling his time to leave Castle Island.
Pepper then comes back to LEGO Island, collects more pages, and leaves again to fly through a portal to Adventurers Island with a helicopter. Upon landing, he meets Johnny Thunder and Pippin Reed, who agree to help him track down the pages on the island as long as he helps them. After defending the Adventurer's truck from snakes as they drive through the desert, they find Dr. Kilroy at some nearby tombs. Pepper retrieves gems from inside a sphinx, then ventures inside the mummy's tomb to get a Constructopedia page. Pepper then drives a car to the desert oasis, to get another page from a large fish that swallowed it, before meeting up again with the Adventurers. The entire team then flies to the jungle, where they learn that Mr. Hates has taken several dinosaurs captive. Pepper rides a t-rex to Mr. Hates's camp and rescues the dinosaurs with the aid of a hot air balloon, and then defeats Mr. Hates to get a page from him. Pepper then says goodbye to the Adventurers and returns to LEGO Island... again.
Upon having headed back to Pepper's homeland, Papa and Mama Brickolini are kidnapped by the Brickster and a group of his Brickster-Bots. Pepper then collects the final pages of the Constructopedia on LEGO Island and obtains a special radio from the Radio Station, which now is the only way to stun the Brickster-Bots as they became immune to pizza.
Pepper then walks to the space port and, after centrifuge and parachute training, takes a space shuttle to Ogel Island to find and rescue Mama and Papa. Pepper's initial obstacle is an asteroid belt leading to Ogel Island; however, he manages to navigate it without much hassle. Since the Brickster stole the landing gear and deconstructed the landing platform on Ogel Island, Pepper has to parachute down. On the asteroid, he makes pizzas to send the citizens to sleep while getting Mama and Papa out of their situation. He then confronts the Brickster in his palace, locking him in a jail cell at the top of the tower.
Pepper (once more), Mama and Papa fly home in a Fish Ship, and land on LEGO Island, where the Infomaniac greets them. A female friend of Pepper's tackles him and kisses him, and the scene then fades to a dance party at the Pizzaria. Suddenly, five Brickster-Bots burst out of nearby crates. The music stops, but the Brickster-Bots start to dance, and the party resumes. The camera then slowly fades and moves away from the party through a group of LEGO Island residents, and the Brickster shows up from a manhole briefly (despite being punished already), concluding the game.
Characters[]
- See Main Article: List of LEGO Island Characters
Unlike the first game, LEGO Island 2 only has Pepper as a playable character. Every other character on the island only gives help or serves as part of an objective.
Besides the LEGO Island characters, LEGO Island 2 also uses several other characters from LEGO themes and video games:
- Super Station Master
- King Leo
- Queen Leonora
- Princess Storm
- Richard the Strong
- Cedric the Bull
- Johnny Thunder
- Pippin Read
- Dr. Kilroy
- Mr. Hates
- Achu
- Islander
LEGO.com Description[]
This is a description taken from LEGO.com. Please do not modify it. (See an archive of the product’s page) |
Help Pepper save LEGO Island! The Brickster has escaped from jail and has stolen the Constructopedia! Now he has the power to take LEGO Island apart brick by brick, and only Pepper can stop him-but he needs your help! Explore the Mummy's Tomb and escape the gem-stealing serpents on Adventurers' Island. Pilot a space shuttle and ride a pterodactyl! Rescue trapped dinosaurs and joust with a powerful knight! It's Pepper's most exciting adventure ever- will he stop the Brickster, or will LEGO Island be destroyed? You decide! |
Development[]
LEGO Fantasy[]
LEGO Island 2 started as an unrelated project ("LEGO Fantasy"[1], possibly a working title) for Windows PC and Playstation being developed by Krisalis Software (the developers of LEGO Chess and LEGOLAND), as a tie-in for a cancelled TV show with no relation to LEGO Island. A one minute demo of the TV show was found on an archive of the company that animated it, Vision-Scape. The plot of the TV show focused on three children and their dog, Blocko, who could use their watches to travel to LEGO World to have various life-lesson-teaching adventures.
According David Upchurch[2], the original LEGO Media producer for the game, the original idea for the game focused on a third person Mario 64 style adventure where you could switch between three humans and use their dog to find, attack, and dig up things. A time travel feature was also planned where you could go back in time and perform various actions which would then influence the future, such as cutting down a tree that would become a bridge in the future. Known themes planned for the game included Space, Adventurers, Castle, and Town.
After six months worth of development the furthest the game got was a dog running around digging up holes. The game was planned to be released in the first quarter of 2000 at this point in the development before being delayed,[3] presumably from later redesigns and studio changes.
Switch to LEGO Island 2[]
After the Adventures in LEGO World TV show was cancelled Krisalis was left with their prototype and work for LEGO Fantasy. The decision to rework the game into LEGO Island 2 arose from someone noticing the younger kid looked a lot like Pepper and the original LEGO Island's commercial success. David Upchurch also consulted with Wes Jenkins, the creator of the original LEGO Island, during this time.
The known design document for it[4], which largely focus on the LEGO Island section, include features like brick collecting, power-ups for Pepper's skateboard, aggressive enemies, and boss fights. Pepper's backpack would have been a magical backpack that once belonged to his father, allowing infinite storage of items, and protecting him from enemies with a force field (upon taking enough damage, Pepper would have been sucked inside the backpack and teleported back to a town hall on LEGO Island, where he'd have emerged from inside the backpack safely). The game also would have had multiple endings, where whether or not the Brickster escapes would depend on if the player had been able to build a shield generator around OGEL Island.
According to David Upchurch, the furthest he saw this version of LEGO Island 2 to have reached is the player being able to move Pepper around a LEGO town environment. A summary of a meeting during September 14th, 1999[5] mentions the game reached version 0.101, however it is unknown what this build contained as it was from after David Upchurch left. Additionally, storyboards[6][7][8][9][10] and script[11][12][13][14] were made for this incarnation's FMV.
In November 1999, Wes Jenkins completed a rough start document,[15] which outlined the general idea for one version of the game. It is unknown whether or not this document was for Krisalis or Silicon Dreams. David Lander, who voiced The Brickster in the original LEGO Island, was also contacted a month before and open to returning but didn't due to unknown factors.[16]
Silicon Dreams Studio Takeover[]
When they decided to find a new developer for unknown reasons, LEGO Media approached Silicon Dreams Studio, who presented to them a demonstration of their engine technology and a document of around 50 various minigame concepts, and got the gig. Work on the game was done largely chronologically, with Ogel being completed last. Maya was used to create the game's environments, which were then exported directly to the game - a lengthy process for complex scenes; exporting LEGO Island took around 20 minutes, making it difficult to find and fix problems quickly.[17]
At one point, LEGO held a competition among the developers to create a vehicle for the Brickster, potentially for release as a real set, but nothing came of it.[18]
Cut and Changed Content[]
Throughout the development of LEGO Island 2 several sub-games, activities, areas, and characters were cut or changed due to various reasons including time and technical. A pirates themed test animation from Silicon Dreams also exists, but the specifics of its intended role in the game are unknown.[19]
Rock Raiders[]
An entire area based around the Rock Raiders theme was planned all the way back to during the development of LEGO Island 2 at Krisalis,[4] before being cut due to time at Silicon Dreams.[17] Initially it was supposed to be an island known as Rock Raiders Island, but at Silicon Dreams things switched to the content being set beneath LEGO Island. The known Silicon Dreams version's plot involved the Brickster stealing the Power Brick and Pepper needing to find a Power Crystal to power LEGO Island before he went to Ogel. Textures, models, scripts, and sub-game designs were made at Silicon Dreams for this area.
Characters[]
Several characters were cut or changed during the development of LEGO Island 2. Cut characters include Senor Palomar,[20] Alfred Alert;[20] who was switched out for Valerie Stubbins, and Nurse Richards; who became Dr. Clickitt. An animation test exists of Slyboots' figure riding a Tex-Rex in Mr. Hates place, but the intent of this is unknown.[19] Several development materials also make reference to the Oasis Fisherman being Pepper's dad.[17]
Sub-Games[]
Throughout the development there were several sub-games cut during the development. The earliest known of these is a Titanic diving sub-game, which originated from a game idea Silicon Dreams had before LEGO Island 2.[17] It is also known the developers wished to do more sky-diving sub-games and a snowboarding sub-game.[21] The lead programmer has also noted that initially several minigames were developed in a shooter style, but LEGO Media asked for that style of sub-game to be removed leading to them being cut.[22]
According to the design document[23], among other sources, there were several sub-games from the final version of LEGO Island 2. Specifically, the design document mentions Tribe Dance; a sub-game spawned by Chief Legog asking Pepper to join in a celebration with his tribe via dance,[20][24] Volcanic Tank; a sub-game where Pepper must race to a look Look Camp, Lookout Camp; a sub-game where Pepper must sneak around a guard to free dinosaurs, Mine Kart; a sub-game where Pepper must avoid obstacles while he travels beneath LEGO Island to a cave with Rock Monsters, Matching Rocks; a sub-game spawned by a Rock Monster challenging you to match rocks for a Power Crystal, Rolling Rock Monster; a sub-game where you must escape the Rock Monsters' cave, Flight Control Trailer; a sub-game where you must train to use the space shuttle, and Sing-a-d-Song; a singing sub-game in celebration of you stopping the Brickster.
Additionally, several released mini-games were changed during development, including the Brickster's Tower section, which was initially supposed to have Cedric the Bull and Mr. Hates appear shooting at Pepper from turrets before the Brickster's section.[24]
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- The PC version of the game has been criticized for extremely long loading times and other problems it had, though the load times can be fixed with an unofficial patch to the game.
- Sam Sinister is known by the name Mr. Hates in the English language version of the game, although he goes by Sam Sinister in all other languages (or the literal translation Sam Finster in the German version). If the player gets a gold on his level, the Infomaniac will joke about how he will probably change his name again, referencing to how he had already gone through several names at this point (indeed, he did change it again, this time to Lord Sam Sinister).
- There are many film and pop culture references in the game, such as references to Indiana Jones, the Wizard of Oz, and 2001: A Space Odyssey in the PC/PlayStation versions. A group of unused voice clips for them were references to Star Wars.[26]
- Some copies of the PC release include a Brickster keychain.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Rock Raiders United: LEGO Interactive Producer Located
- ↑ David Upchurch's Website: LEGO Island 2
- ↑ MCV 1998 47
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bricks to Bytes: LEGO Island 2 - Game Design (Krisalis Software)
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Meeting Summary From September 14th, 1999
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Transition I (Adventurers Island) - Script and Storyboards
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Transition 2 (Rock Raiders Island) - Script and Storyboards
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Transition 3 (Castle Island) - Storyboards
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Transition 4 (OGEL Island) - Script and Storyboards
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Rough II Of Win Scene - Script & Storyboards
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: First Pass Rough of Transition Scene Sample Script
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Rough of Brickster Misc. Script
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Rough II of Lose Script
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Rough of Pepper Misc. Script
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Rough Starting Point Version 1
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/david-lander-email
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 https://brickome.org/2022/01/31/a-look-back-at-silicon-dreams-lego-work-with-richard-hancock/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20211022225605/https://rockraidersunited.com/topic/4884-li2-environmental-art-and-buildings/
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 https://brickome.org/2021/11/24/information-from-jim-southworth-lego-island-2-and-island-xtreme-stunts-animator/
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Bricks to Bytes: Script Version 2.0
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20180212012350/https://rockraidersunited.com/topic/8101-email-from-the-producer-of-li2-and-ixs/
- ↑ https://brickome.org/2021/11/24/memories-from-steve-hughes-lead-programmer-on-lego-island-2-and-island-xtreme-stunts/
- ↑ Bricks to Bytes: Design Document - Revision 1.01
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20190904114355/https://www.rockraidersunited.com/news/rru-extra/a-conversation-with-james-malloch-artist-from-lego-island-2-r15/
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ https://tcrf.net/LEGO_Island_2:_The_Brickster's_Revenge_(Windows)/Unused_Dialogue