Your First Look at LEGO Universe

Apparently a virtual LEGO-themed online world is full of ninjas, pirates and rocketships. Who knew LEGOs could be so dangerous?

Choking on a LEGO piece is one of those phobias that you (or at least I) will never get over, but as it turns out, in a world where everything is made out of a block that a small child could swallow, the most hazardous thing is not choking on a piece of plastic. It’s dealing with the evil ninjas and pirates who populate this world.

That’s the impression I’m getting from these first screenshots of NetDevil’s long-in-the-works LEGO Universe MMOG, which will debut in 2010 after numerous delays from its planned 2008 launch.

As you can see, in addition to the pirates and the ninjas, LEGO Universe boasts other things. The character creation screen lets you customize your “minifig” with looks and accessories collectible in the game. Apparently whoever took these screens decided to go for the “If Goku Were a Bum” / rock star hairdo for their character, but hey, I’m not gonna judge.

And since LEGOs are made for building things, LEGO Universe will appropriately feature building in some sort of fashion. Here you see a character managing some disgruntled construction workers making “an epic monument” that may or may not feature custom-designed rocket launchers.

“It wouldn’t be LEGO Universe without building, and the game will feature several ways to use the iconic LEGO brick, from simple, gameplay oriented building challenges to complex creative designs,” a press release declared.

Sounds like all the fun of LEGO without the constant threat of choking on tiny plastic blocks. Everybody wins!