Does the latest title from TT Games capture that irresistible LEGO spirit? Unfortunately, no.
For those unfamiliar with the Bionicle universe, the story is loosely based on Polynesian lore. You are "the Hero" and it is your job to retrieve the Mask of Life from the evil Piraka, who have invaded the island of Voya Nui. It is your job to comb a multitude of environments (each with an elemental theme) to retrieve a set of powerful TOA Inika Masks that allow you to transform into different Bionicle creatures. Along the way you'll collect piles of LEGO pieces, exchange them for weapon and armor upgrades, and unlock playable characters.
Unlike LEGO Star Wars, there is no cooperative mode in Bionicle Heroes. That means no heated battles with your friends or kids, which was a strong selling point in prior releases. Additionally, the camera is fixed behind your character, essentially turning the game into a third person shooter. Ordinarily this would be fine, but the sometimes-constrained environments (building interiors, caves, etc.) severely limit your view. And unlike most shooters on Xbox 360, Bionicle Heroes doesn't support the standard dual-analog stick control found in games like Halo 2, Gears of War, and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.
Instead, both thumbsticks serve to turn your view or move forward or back, not strafe. Like Metroid Prime, strafing is accomplished by holding down a trigger and moving the left stick. Aiming is done automatically. Each Bionicle you control fires a laser beam from its mask that locks onto the closest target. The problem with this system is that enemies rarely attack one-by-one, so you'll constantly find yourself fighting the aiming mechanism rather than your opponents as it is difficult to break aim to select a different foe. These issues are annoying and could have been easily remedied by including additional control options as well as giving you the ability to turn off the auto-aim feature.
The environments of Voya Nui are interesting and varied. In one zone you'll be duking it out on lush shores and island coves and in the next you'll be exploring caves and buildings. Graphically, Bionicle Heroes is an impressive game that utilizes many visual tricks such as HDR lighting and depth of field blur to put you in the action. Likewise, the musical score is appropriately epic and well orchestrated. Even the cutscenes, though few and far in between, recall the same slapstick humor found in LEGO Star Wars. With so much going for the game in terms of solid visuals and sound effects, you would think this game is a winner.
Sadly, frustrating and repetitive combat drags the whole experience down. You'll spend most of your time scouring the environment for floating masks in between blasting inanimate piles of LEGO blocks in a mindless grind to acquire enough pieces to pimp out your TOA with the latest and greatest upgrades.
The few puzzles that are there to wrestle with essentially solve themselves. As you approach each one, you'll see an icon that clues you in on which mask you need to be wearing in order to activate the LEGOs. Don the right one and a simple press of the B button causes the LEGOs to temporarily assemble into fantastic creatures that bridge gaps, open doors, and more. The animation payoff is great, but you don't have to work for it. It's touches like this that remind you you're playing a kid's game and not some adult-themed shooter, since you'll rarely use your brain to do anything other than hammer on the fire button and collect plastic pieces. It's a shame since there's a lot of wasted potential here.
All but the staunchest LEGO fans should steer clear of Bionicle Heroes. Though it tries to extend the appeal of LEGO Star Wars to another franchise, the source material just isn't compelling and the gameplay is stale. Perhaps with a few tweaks and a co-op mode (preferably one playable over Xbox Live) TT Games could have another hit franchise on its hands, but as it stands Bionicle Heroes is just a mediocre license wrapped around a dull shooter.