Hapori Tohu

This week, a new behind-the-scenes developer diary was released for the upcoming <i>LEGO Lord of the Rings</i> video game. The video, entitled "Journeying Forward", consists of interviews with the game designers themselves, along with some fascinating details about the nature and development of the game, interspersed with new footage of cut-scenes and gameplay. The interviews include discussion of the game's cooperative functions, character abilities, and side-quests, along with information about the design process itself, wherein game developers based in-game objects off of real LEGO brick constructions. In all, it's a fascinating glimpse into the creative process behind the development of <i>LEGO Lord of the Rings</i>. <a href='http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a429464/lego-lord-of-the-rings-journeying-forward-trailer.html' target='offsite'>Click here</a> to watch the developer diary (as well as the previous "Recreating Middle Earth" dev-diary) and read more details!View the full article

Turtle Power! LEGO and Nickelodeon announced today at the New York Comic Con an expanded partnership that includes sets based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise. You can read the full press release here. They also revealed an image of one of the sets - while those don't look like the TMNT vehicles and villains I remember, the minifig turtle is amazing and I must have them all. The sets will be debuting next year and I can't wait for the Technodrome to be immortalized in ABS.View the full article

Though we've mentioned it <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/story.php?ID=5601' target='offsite'>before</a>, New York City's closest thing to LEGOLAND is breaking ground on October 17, with the very appropriate help of some local elementary school students. The Discovery Center will cost 12 million smackers, and measure 32,000 square feet, once it has finished construction in Westchester's Ridge Hill. As with most LEGOLAND Discovery Centers, the Westchester location will essentially be a miniature LEGOLAND, with rides, play areas, and a 4D theater, all based on the plastic LEGO toys we're all familiar with.View the full article

Most of us have probably played one or two of the Lego game titles released in the past six years, and some of us may have reasonable doubts about the future of Lego and digital development. After all, how many times can the formula be rewritten before they begin running out of ideas to keep it fresh? Gamespot has run <a href='http://www.gamespot.com/news/lego-great-opportunity-for-more-games-6397559' target='offsite'>an excellent interview</a> about this and much more with Darryl Kelley, a senior development manager for The Lego Group, and he seems confident that there is still plenty of room to grow. Give the article a look for details.View the full article

Today we've got a review of a teeny-tiny set, <a href="http://amzn.to/QNnUte" target="offsite">9556 Bytar</a>. Blog Assistant Bfahome managed to find the time to look at this behemoth. To see if you have the Spinjitzu skills to take Bytar down, read on!View the full article

While attending Brickcon this past weekend, I took advantage of the opportunity to talk to Kevin Hinkle, the bridge between the fan community and the Lego Group. In general we just chatted about Lego, Cuusoo, and random things. At one point, however, I did mention that'd I'd like some sort of official word on Bionicle's status within the company, so I asked him to say that Bionicle is never coming back, just to quell the rumours. His response? Read on.View the full article

The LEGO Group will be expanding its production factory in the Czech Republic, sooner than anticipated for that European plant. TLG has expanded it twice before, reports a <a href='http://www.europeanplasticsnews.com/subscriber/headlines2.html?cat=1&id=2019' target='offsite'>European news site</a>, but a large increase in sales means they must grow again, sooner, all the while adding about 300 more jobs. The factory's expansion should be completed around 2014. How many LEGO bricks would that take?View the full article

Today we have a press release for the upcoming LEGO Ninjago Character Encyclopedia, published by DK. In addition to the book coming out at the end of the month, there's a chance BZPower will be getting an early copy to give out to a lucky member, so keep your eyes peeled for a contest if that happens. For now, you can read on to see the details of this comprehensive book.View the full article

Last night at BrickCon in Seattle the latest Direct to Consumer set was announced. Expanding the DC Super Heroes line, 10937 Arkham Asylum is a great-looking playset with a lot of awesome minifigs. They definitely didn't skimp on the detail. Read on for pictures and the full release!View the full article

Not seen since 2010, dinosaurs once again roam the earth. Though in actuality those sets have not been seen since 2005, now it is 2012 and there is no date on the set's box--the giant lizards are attacking again! Today we take a look at the little Ambush Attack, which packs quite a punch. Read on to find out just how nasty the Coelophysis really is.View the full article

A variety of books spanning various LEGO themes (Hero Factory, Ninjago, LEGO Friends, and more) have been announced for publication in 2013 on Amazon.com. Click through to see a list of some that may be of interest to BZPower readers, along with links and further details:View the full article

Today we take a look at one of the smallest sets in the Lord of the Rings wave. Yours truly picked up the <a href="http://amzn.to/R1QJRu" target="offsite">30210 Frodo Baggins</a> polybag and decided to take a closer look. Should you plan on buying this impulse set? Read on to see!View the full article

LEGO is releasing a new board game based on the upcoming <i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i> film. It's a memory game, in which players use microfigures of Gandalf, Dwalin, Kili, or Fili to find 13 dwarves hidden in Hobbiton. Like all of LEGO's latest line of board games, the board and die can be built, but also comes with a rather hefty starting retail price of $34.99.View the full article

LEGO is hosting a pretty exciting contest that's lasting the rest of the year. You have a chance to design something that will be part of a Limited Edition LEGO set, namely 9398 4x4 Crawler. Read on to see what you have to do to enter.View the full article

Part of our job as reporters is to spice up the front page with colorful pictures, set reviews, and great member creations, but an unspoken rule is that we simply do not miss an opportunity. With this in mind, it was revealed roughly a month ago that the new Hobbit sets were assigned five-digit numbers, and the assumption logically followed that all sets from now on will be given the same treatment. (Please keep in mind here that discussion of the sets and their names is not allowed on BZPower at this time to comply with The Lego Group's requests.) While it's true that sets in the past have been given five numbers, this is the first time it has applied to a normal line of sets. If we can speculate that this means they're running out of numbers, I guess you could say they sets are going to be <i>over nine-thousand</i>. Heh heh.View the full article

<a href="http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=5605">The Ambage</a> is a surprisingly active BZP writers club run by some of the best scribblers on BZP, where creativity and productivity are are tenaciously pursued. The Ambage is proud to present the first in a series of challenges, the <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=7076">Fortnightly Flash Fiction Contest</a>, where writers compose short stories and compete for the Bionicle or COT Writer Of The Month member title! This is only part of what the Ambage has to offer; it also hosts Twice-weekly Write-Offs, Monthly Writing Prompts, Review Passes, Achievements, and in the near future, Workshops and more! So whether you're a habitual weaver of tales, or just someone who's looking to have some fun being creative, <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=7076">go check it out</a>!View the full article

Nathan Furst, composer for the first three Bionicle movies' scores, recently did an interview discussing his compositions. The right, or wrong, mix of music can make or break a movie, and he discusses his history in making sure the score is just right in all of his works. Read it <a href='http://www.runmovies.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=678:nathan-furst&catid=35:interviews' target='offsite'>here on Soundtrack</a>.View the full article

So long September, fall is on its way here, which means it's time for a new podcast! If you're not subscribed to the BZPowercast via the links on the right sidebar, you can download the newly-released Episode 39 <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/Imaging/powercast/BZPowercastSeries2Episode39.m4a">right here</a>. To see what we talk about this time, check the blurb:<blockquote>We've brought the show back down to a more manageable length for the BZPowercast Episode 39, so hopefully we won't talk you ears off. This month starts out with an interview of Ta-metru_defender as part of our staff interview series. Then Windrider comes back for this month's How-To BZP about blog policy. And to close things out, Makaru and Paleo speculate with me about what could be coming from LEGO in 2013. Pleasant listening!</blockquote>View the full article

Recently we <a href="http://bzpower.com/story.php?ID=5769">shared some news</a> about the Toys 'R' Us Bricktober promotion - well it starts today. With any set or game purchase of $60 or more, you can get the first minifig five-pack for free (a $24.99 value). To help with that, they also are having a buy-one-get-one 40% off sale on all LEGO sets (excluding Ninjago, Technic, and Friends). It's still a big investment, but if there are some sets you've had your eye on, now's the time to consider them.View the full article

The annual Seattle LEGO Convention BrickCon kicks off this next weekend. This will be the event's 10th year running, and it will again be held at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Public hours will be held from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, October 6th, and from 9am to 3pm on Sunday, October 7th. If you're in the area, stop by, check out the MOCs, meet up with us at the Bionicle table, and sign a BZP Guest List! You can read more about the event on the official <a href='http://brickcon.org/' target='offsite'>BrickCon webpage</a>. See you there in a week!View the full article

LEGO Fan Weekend is going on in Denmark right now, and as TLG likes to do, they've announced a new set. The first set of the new LEGO Creator Expert series, 10233 Horizon Express will be available starting next January. If you like trains or the color orange, this set is for you. Read on to see pictures and the full announcement!View the full article

There comes a time when we have to give up something we love for the sake of a bigger dream. It happens to all of us, but the reward can certainly be worth the sacrifice. That time has come for long-time BZP member EqualsN, who is auctioning off <b>an (almost) complete collection of Bionicle sets</b> from years 2001-2007. If you're interested in expanding or completing your own collection, this is certainly an opportunity to do so. But hurry: the ebay auction is going on now and will end on Sunday, September 30th. Check the <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=6996' target='offsite'>topic in B/S/T</a> for more details!View the full article

I know many of you are fans of the Monster Fighters sets released this year and have been enjoying our reviews of them. Well LEGO know you like them too, and are planning an awesome event this weekend if you live in the New Orleans area. Their first ever all-night LEGO build will be a giant Lord Vampyre minifig to help kick off the Halloween season. For the full details of the event, read on!View the full article

BZP builder Lord Oblivion stomps into the limelight yet again with this orange and gray beauty of a bot. The smooth and snazzy build reflects a consistent aesthetic and flows nicely from the tips of its blasters to the cogs of its creative feet. Head over to the BBC topic and give it a look!View the full article

The LEGO Group, as part of it's 50th anniversary in Australia, polled Aussie fans and picked 10 iconic moments from Australian history to recreate with our beloved LEGO bricks. Events memorialized in plastic include Steve Irwin feeding a croc one-handed why holding his baby son, and Cadel Evans winning the Tour de France. You can check out these models and more right <a href='http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/weird/lego-presents-the-greatest-moments-in-australian-history-plus-nikki-webster/story-e6frev20-1226480193067' target='offsite'>here</a>.View the full article