Take square blocks and build whatever you can imagine, limited only by your own creativity. It’s a description that could fit perfectly with one classic toy franchise as well as one of the most groundbreaking PC games of 2011. For decades, children have put together the little pegged blocks in billions of combinations building castles, cities, vehicles and creatures in ways the creators never could have expected.

For the past year, gamers have dug squares out of a virtual landscape and created everything from replicas of famous landmarks to Godzilla-sized Pokemon recreations. And now, the two franchises which look to be a perfect fit for each other, LEGO and Minecraft, are coming together.

As reported on LEGO’s CUUSOO blog, the Minecraft project has been approved to move on to the product development stages:

Since the Minecraft™ project reached 10,000 supporters on LEGO® CUUSOO, many of you have been eagerly awaiting our update. Until now, the project has been in the LEGO Review—a stage before product development begins where a LEGO Jury evaluates the idea’s feasibility as a product and makes a decision.

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One thing we’ve learned is there are too many games and too little time to play them all. This also means there isn’t even enough time to give all of them awards, but we try our best. Today we take a look at both the most time consuming efforts of the past year as well as give some awards for games that deserve some notable mentions as well.

Game Most Likely to Consume Your Life: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Two Hundred and Fifty Hours. By most estimates, this is how long it’ll take an average player to explore MOST of the content of Skyrim. To give some perspective, if the average person works a 40 hour a week job, Skyrim would take six and a quarter full work weeks to complete. Now, we realize that most gamers work jobs outside of the gaming industry and cannot devote a full forty hours a week to a single game.

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2012 is a big year for Ringers, obviously the first part of The Hobbit hits screens, but now they have the arrival of Lord of the Rings LEGO sets and games to look forward to. LEGO has announced that starting the summer of 2012 they are going to be in the Lord of the Rings business.

“Only LEGO, with their expertise in the construction category, is capable of doing justice to the incredibly imaginative environments depicted in the world of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the two films based on THE HOBBIT… These films give life to amazing worlds and characters and we are thrilled to bring fans these products that deliver an imaginative play experience befitting of these beloved properties.”

LEGO has been working with Warner Bros. properties for the last few years with the successful LEGO Harry potter and LEGO DC Universe lines, now one of the most respected film franchises of all time will get their LEGO due. The most exciting aspect of this news is the confirmation of LEGO Lord of the Rings video games. The first game announced is based on the upcoming Hobbit film due out next year.

Check out more details about what to expect from new partnership after the jump.

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From the people that brought properties like Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Carribbean to the world of LEGOs, it looks like they’re getting into the spirit of Comic-Con with a brand new announcement of LEGO Super Heroes, which takes place.

The new LEGO DC Universe SUPER HEROES collection will feature 13 iconic super heroes in LEGO minifigure form, including: Batman™, Robin™, Catwoman™, The Joker, The Riddler™, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn™, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman™, Lex Luthor™ and Wonder Woman™. Buildable characters will include Batman, The Joker and Green Lantern.

So now you can add to your favorite LEGO collections with a bit of a DC flair and even make some of your favorite DC heroes using the old mix and match LEGO technique.

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The LEGO games have earned themselves a place in the hearts of gamers with their unique takes on the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter franchises. Their signature humor is something that has kept players coming back along with strong loyalties to their respective franchises.

LEGO Battles: Ninjago tries to capture that same humor on a smaller scale with the Nintendo DS while introducing new gameplay elements different from those in the previously mentioned titles.

This time though, it uses one of LEGO’s latest series Ninjago and bringing it to the Nintendo DS.

Gameplay

Very surprisingly, LEGO Battles: Ninjago plays less like LEGO: Star Wars as a simple platforming action title and more like Warcraft 3. Players take the stylus and control groups of characters in various missions defeating the Skeleton minions, helping various villagers, collecting special items or defeating large LEGO bosses. These levels are quick little bursts of gameplay that fit well with the portable platform.

At the end of each chapter, players also encounter a level similar in style to most standard RTS games. Players collect resources, build various structures and amass a tiny army to attack their opponent’s base. Due to the limitations of the platform, the resource management is limited to only one item and the army size isn’t very high.

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It’s that time of year again when we all gather together to see our loved ones… that’s right. The Con season has begun. Whether it’s SXSW, Toy Fair, C2E2 or Comic Con in San Diego, if you are a reader (or writer) of the Flickcast, it’s likely you are going to end up at least one, if not all, of the Cons this season. Our first one up on the east coast is Toy Fair. Now while Toy Fair isn’t open to the general public, we made sure to get in and get a peek at some of the hottest new toys of the season.

We got to take a peek at the new models for the Walking Dead action figures alongside our friends from MTV Splashpage as the legendary Todd McFarlane himself explained how the zombie bodies will literally explode in the customer’s hands. We can’t wait to see the final versions in action.

There was a plethora of Green Lantern merchandise that we were unfortunately unable to snag pictures of as well as the brand new Thundercats line which is coming out soon. We were able to sneak a few pictures though of some of the Mezco Green Lantern products though.

The video game world was represented strong with Sonic The Hedgehog, Halo, Deus Ex, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy and Little Big Planet. Activision also announced to the world Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure for the Wii where toys and video games come together in a very interesting new way. Check back later this week for a full post including video of the product in action.

Check out all of our pics from Toy Fair below and keep checking back this week for more from the show (including an appearance on this week’s podcast discussing it with Matt and Chris)!

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We all love LEGO. Everybody grew up with them, so they all hold a special place in our collective hearts. Except for those who grew up with Mega Bloks, but nobody liked those kids growing up anyway.

The world of LEGO has been celebrated more lately as franchises like LEGO Batman and LEGO Star Wars have taken over our consoles. Now we get even more of this fully manifested world as one cinema fan has captured some of our favorite Oscar nominated films and turned them into LEGO.

The remade scenes come from LEGO artist Alex Eylar, who has tons of creations over at MOCPaged. This site is completely dedicated to people making stuff out of their favorite LEGOs so it’s particularly awesome.

While you try to ponder that business model, take a look at some of our favorite Oscar nominated scenes after the jump and comment with guesses on which films these scenes are inspired from. Good luck!

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There’s nothing quite like the convergence of Star Wars and LEGOS to trigger goofy smiles on geeks everywhere. Well you may have felt a new disturbance in the force as LEGOLAND California announced a new Star Wars-themed exhibit will open at their Carlsbad, CA park on March 31st, 2011.

LEGOLAND workers in Carlsbad are furiously assembling huge models and scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies as well as one from the animated flick The Clone Wars. Over 1.5 million LEGO bricks are coming together to form over 2,000 complete models as well as interactive exhibits including the moisture farm on Tatooine where Luke Skywalker grew up, scenes from Endor and even ones from the frozen planet of Hoth.

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The LEGO games have always been known for taking popular franchises and turning them into enjoyable, family-friendly videogames. In the case of LEGO Harry Potter, they manage to achieve this and more. With an already beloved story and characters behind it, this game is certainly one of the summer’s greatest, but also quite possibly the best LEGO game to date.

LEGO Harry Potter starts at the very beginning of Harry Potter’s tale and progresses all the way through the fourth story in the series. While most games had a central home base where you could do everything (The Batcave in LEGO Batman, the Mos Eisley Cantina in LEGO Star Wars, etc.), LEGO Harry Potter uses The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley as sort of a starting point, but also utilizes Hogwarts Castle as a sort of “mission center.” This does away with the “rinse and repeat” feeling of the previous games, as you’d always access everything from the same area.

This also allows for an almost completely explorable Hogwarts, including Hagrid’s cabin, the Great Hall, and the Quidditch Pitch. While there are always missions available, including all the previous ones, it’s nice to have the option to just go run around, explore, and maybe do some shopping in Diagon Alley or ride a broomstick around in between getting the missions done. The game also includes the memorable film score by John Williams, adding to the experience and atmosphere of the game.

The typical gameplay of most of the LEGO games of building objects to overcome obstacles and move through the game is changed somewhat, as characters cast specific spells instead of building. This is a welcome change, as the task of choosing the right spells to complete each task is never as boring or tedious as just holding down a button and watching your character build something.

Instead, you’re using Lumos to chase away plant monsters and Wingardium Leviosa to move rocks out of the way or reassemble a suit of armor to progress in the game. And whereas LEGO Batman made you pick up the suit upgrades one at a time in Story Mode, LEGO Harry Potter’s spells are always available for easy access on the controller.

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Whenever Lego takes a franchise and turns it into a video game, the end result is always a bucketful of fun, and Lego’s take on the wonderful and magical world of Harry Potter looks to be no different. Lego Harry Potter, which includes games based off of the first four films in the franchise, will be released this summer, and The Flickcast got to peek at the trailer for the second installment in the story, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

What’s interesting about the Lego Harry Potter games is that they’re based off of the films, not the books. Video game adaptations of the first few books were released a few years ago for Playstation, and they were pretty disappointing with some crummy character design and terrible game-play. Not surprisingly, the trailer for Lego Harry Potter reveals nothing but the promise of great things. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and their fellow witches and wizards all look great in their Lego forms, and Hogwarts makes a great transition from real bricks to Lego blocks.

John Williams’ iconic film score is also present, further immersing the player within the world of Hogwarts. Players will be able to play through their favorite moments in the game including flying the car into the Whomping Willow, teleporting into the past through Tom Riddle’s diary, and entering the Chamber of Secrets to fight the mighty basilisk. The game play features familiar Lego franchise staples, like the collection of Lego studs throughout the world of Harry Potter, and uses the magical abilities of characters to interact with Lego pieces in the game.

It looks like the hijinx that fans expect from Lego games blends well with the mystical and magical world of Harry Potter, proving that these two franchises have always meant to be together, and on June 29th, you’ll be able to play Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 for Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, and PC . In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for any news from the world of witchcraft and wizardry right here at The Flickcast and check out the trailer after the jump.

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This week in New York City, the annual Toy Fair convention hits the Jacob Javits Center and thousands of new and popular toys and toy properties are shown off. There were, of course, some less-than-interesting booths, but we know what you want to see, so we went straight to the newest lines of toys and statues based on some of the upcoming movie and TV properties.

Obviously, Toy Story 3 had a huge presence at the show, given the fact that it’s the best hybrid of toys and film out there today. Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland had some great new figures of the whacked out Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. LEGO stepped up their game with some brand new LEGO Star Wars playsets, including a great “Luke on Hoth” scene.

Diamond was also in attendence with some great new Ghostbusters products, including a new Ghostbusters replica sign for those hardcore fans. Finally, there were some great new 12-inch figures for the upcoming Jonah Hex film, including our first look at John Malkovich from the film.

Check out our Movie Toys picture gallery from the show after the jump, and be sure to check back in tomorrow to see what else we’ve got to show you from this year’s Toy Fair.

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It’s no secret that we all get giddy for LEGOS around the Flickcast office. Whether it’s playing Lego Batman in our spare time, reviewing Lego Rock Band for the site or watching “8-Bit Trip” for Fan Film Fridays, Legos hold a special place in our hearts. It’s also no secret that we love ourselves some video games here and it is impossible to say you love video games if you don’t love Halo.

Now, six years in the making comes a trailer combining two things we love the most. No, Traveller’s Tales and Bungie are not pairing up to release Lego Halo for the XBox 360 but we are getting the next best thing. Using the magic of stop motion animation, a lot of free time and a passion for the two properties, Alex Kobbs has created a twenty-five minute long homage to his two most beloved properties with “Battle of the Brick: Built for Combat”.

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