It makes sense that Traveller's Tales' LEGO games have heavily emphasized on-the-couch co-op play. While they may be intended for everyone, you get the distinct feeling these games are perfect for families with younger gamers.

But what about the rest of us? It's not always easy getting together in real life with our busy schedules and all. Enough LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues players felt this way -- LucasArts hopped on Twitter to tell us about an impending patch for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 that'll add online co-op.

Is this going to be the norm now? It'd be neat if we didn't have to run a similar story a couple of months after LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 releases. Just saying.

[Via Kotaku]

Drat your headline character limit, Elephant! I was one letter away from squeezing "next week" in there. You haven't seen the last of me; I know where you live.

On Tuesday, November 24, Games on Demand will see a few new additions to its decent catalog. That would of course be Saints Row 2 (except for Japan), LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (except for Japan and Mexico), and Battlefield: Bad Company (only for Japan).

Microsoft wasn't willing to give out specific prices quite yet, but it's safe to assume these will range in the $19.99 to $29.99 area. We can only hope it shall be the former rather than the latter.

It's really painful to see Games on Demand get all of these games I'd gladly pay for, but only if they were competitively priced. And they never are. I figure if I mention how Microsoft should do significant sales every once in a while, it may eventually happen. Seriously, it'd do wonders for 'em.

I think what most pleases me about the release of the "family friendly" LEGO Rock Band, it's that it opens up the platform to all kinds of pop nonsense we might not have ordinarily seen. By "nonsense," I mean stuff I have been secretly flooding Harmonix with requests for. 

Take Kelly Clarkson for instance -- girl can sing. Next week, "Miss Independent" comes to Rock Band, along with songs from "Sure, I'll put an exclamation point in my name" P!nk and Go-Go's.

Single tracks ($1.99/160 MS Points/200 Wii Points per track)

• Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" +
• Kelly Clarkson - "Miss Independent" +
• P!nk - "Who Knew" +

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live Anthology Pack 01 ($9.99/800 MS Points for the pack; $1.99/160 MS Points/200 Wii Points per track)

• "A Think About You (live)" +
• "American Girl (live)" 
• "Even the Losers (live)"
• "Here Comes My Girl (live") +
• "Mary Jane's Last Dance (live)"
• "Refugee (live)" +

_{(The "+" indicates the tracks is available available on both the Rock Band and the LEGO Rock Band music stores)}

Kelly Clarkson plus six live Tom Petty tracks? Time to stock up on MS Points. (Yes, you can make fun of me in the comments.)

With the release of LEGO Rock Band, this week marks the first Rock Band DLC announcement where Harmonix/MTV has to go out of its way to specify what and what is not going to be available for the "family-friendly" title.

This week, everything is appropriate for the little ones, except for The White Stripes "Icky Thump," a song that deals with the somewhat-sensitive topic of immigration... and opens up with a line about getting drunk. Okay, I see where they're going with this. 

Single song, $1.99/160 MS Points/200 Wii Points per track
The Damned - "Smash It Up (Part II)" +
Kasabian - "Club Foot" +

The White Stripes Pack 01 ($5.49/440 MS Points for the pack, $1.99/160 MS Points/200 Wii Points per track)
"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" +
"Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" +
"Icky Thump" 

_{("+" indicates the song is LEGO Rock Band friendly)}

If I wasn't a millionaire, I'd personally probably pass on most of next week's tracks. But since I installed that Ion Drum Rocker kit on the Rock Band deck of my yacht, my hand is forced to purchase them all. Which of these things will you be buying, if any at all?

Brian May's signature hair had to be nothing short of perfect for his appearance in LEGO Rock Band.

Speaking to Yahoo! News UK, the Queen guitarist said "I think my LEGO character is wonderful. I want one. We had discussions about the hair, there were a few emails. They had to negotiate to use my likeness, but it's a nice thing."

For once, a musician was actually happy about their portrayal in a videogame. As phenomenal as Queen looks in LEGO Rock Band, I can see why. Better yet, Def Leppard's Joe Elliott called May to say "he was pissed off because they didn't make one of him."

A story like that's gotta be true.

[Via Eurogamer]

Need a frost-free jacket for your toddler? Want to get LEGO Rock Band free? Well, set your alarms and find your nearest Old Navy, because have I got a deal for you!

In the Black Friday ad uncovered by blackfriday.info, it appears that Old Navy will give you a copy of LEGO Rock Band for free if you spend $20 in their store on the biggest shopping day of the year. Yes, absolutely free. Buy four fleece tops? Free LEGO Rock Band. A pair of jeans and a graphic t-shirt? Free LEGO Rock Band! While supplies last, of course, and with Old Navy opening up at a ridiculous 3 o'clock in the morning, you should psych yourself up accordingly.

But the Old Navy/Rock Band promotional goodness doesn't stop there. It looks like you'll be able to just head into the store on Thanksgiving (yes, they'll be open at noon on Thursday) and play the game if you want; no purchase necessary. And if you like it, you can buy a copy of Rock Band 2 right there in the store and get a guitar for free. I hear you asking "WTF?" and I respond "Go where the deals are, my friend."

Also, pick me up one of those $15 sweaters -- they look comfy. 

Earlier today, I gave you a taste of Band Hero, and proceeded to bare my soul to the Internet as I tried to convince everyone (and myself) that it's okay to like Maroon 5 songs. How many band games can I play in one day?

The answer, my friends, is at least two -- here we have the first ten minutes of the Harmonix/Warner Bros./MTV Games/Travelers Tales collaboration known as LEGO Rock Band. The game released this week for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS, much to the delight of fans of LEGOs and rock bands across the country.

So what are you waiting for? Watch the video to see what you'd be getting yourself into, and hit the jump for a bullet-point list of notes about the game, because I'm feeling particularly lazy right now. 

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues has been flying relatively quiet under the radar, set to hit just about every platform ever on November 20. 

The sequel to last year's LEGO Indiana Jones (hence the "2"), the title will cover all four of the films, including the best-forgotten Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What's that you say? The first game already covered Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and Last Crusade? Fear not -- The Adventure Continues will feature all new content, so there are no repeats here. 

The only thing that will look familiar are the game's faithful-yet-humorous takes on key scenes from all four films. The trailer up there gives you an idea of what I'm talking about; Indy fans should get a kick out of it. Go. Watch. Now!

This week's major release is Dragon Age: Origins for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. It's the latest and greatest from Bioware and takes gamers to the past rather than the future. Oh, and it's going to let Brad Nicholson ride dragons ... I think.

Speaking of the future, a couple of new Star Wars games are out. Well, actually, they're both re-releases in a way. Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron makes the jump to the PSP and DS and Star Wars The Force Unleashed is getting re-released with new additions on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Activision and Warner Bros. are going head-to-head again with the release of Band Hero and Lego Rock Band. And rounding out the releases are a handful of games from Ubisoft which includes Rabbids Go Home.

Plenty to choose from this week, Dtoiders! What's looking sw33t to you? Hit the break for the full release schedule, trailers and preview links for most of the games.

Yes, I know “badical” isn’t technically a word, but that’s the term Nick Chester used to describe the opening cinematic to LEGO Rock Band, and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate or accurate word. So there you have it: badical.

There’s a cute little LEGO band rocking out to “Grace” by Supergrass, which implores you to “save your money for the children” -- a subliminal buy this for your kids for Christmas message to parents, perhaps? In any case, you can follow the band as they traverse a number of the game’s outlandish venues in a variety of vehicles, including a pirate ship and a jet. There’s even a goddamn dinosaur from the LEGO City History Museum to spice up the proceedings, and as you all know, dinosaurs make everything better.

You can buy LEGO Rock Band for your kids -- or yourself, if you’re just interested in exporting the game’s 45 songs to your hard drive for use in Rock Band 2 -- on November 3rd in North America, and November 27th in the UK, for $49.99 on PS3, 360, and Wii ($29.99 on DS). (The export -- available on PS3 and 360 only -- will cost you an additional $9.99.) Hit up my preview of the game here!

It is good professional practice that when you first meet a developer to exchange business cards, then follow up with a friendly handshake. However, during one recent gaming opportunity, checking out an MMO coming late next year, we went to exchange business cards. Oddly, instead of a card I received a couple of plastic LEGO Mini-figs with contact information printed across the chest.

It's a good thing I was checking out LEGO Universe, otherwise that would be just plain weird. Besides the impractical nature of the Mini-figs (I mean, seriously, how am I to get that in my wallet), it was act that exemplifies the very nature of a LEGO game: fun.

Now LEGO Universe is a complex entity. Like all family oriented MMOs, there are some special challenges that developer NetDevil is going to have to deal with. Thankfully, it looks like they are on track for making a fun and very interesting MMO for all ages, one that you will understand after the jump.

For me, and I imagine a fair number of you good people, LEGO Rock Band started life as "that game with Europe's 'The Final Countdown' in it." Next, the ability to export its full library of songs became apparent.

Then, we started seeing LEGO minifig versions of popular musicians. They even got Queen, guys. For some reason, unlike Kurt Cobain's controversial appearance in Guitar Hero 5, this move was somehow the greatest thing devised by mankind.

It was at this moment when I realized I would be purchasing LEGO Rock Band. The video above, which you have most likely already watched prior to reading this, shows footage of four songs, including "The Final Countdown." Although, you have my permission to watch it twice, if you'd like.

Quick, as of this posting you only have 7 dagen and 21 uren to win yourself the largest Lego Mario in the world. In case you're wondering why I'm speaking in Netherlandese (yes, I am well aware that isn't a real language) it's because the auction for this massive Mario statue is taking place on the Netherland's eBay. As of this writing there are only two bids for 2.550,00 euros, but I'm guessing it will go much higher as this is a pretty unique item and all the proceeds are going to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. 

Sadly, if aren't an altruistic millionaire or live pretty much on the same street as the Lego Mario's creator, Dirk VH, then buying this item might get a little expensive. The thing weighs 110 pounds so I'm guessing shipping costs would be between 1 bajillion and 1 kajillion dollars (yes, I am well aware that those aren't actual numbers). I suppose he could ship it in pieces, but do you really want to put back together 40,000 Lego blocks? I didn't think so. Check out the complete building process for the massive Mario at Dirk's link above. He's also made Luigi and Master Chief to name a few.

[Via 8bitfix]

You read the headline right. Along with two playable Queen tracks -- "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" -- the band will also be making an appearance in LEGO Rock Band. As LEGO minifigures, of course. 

Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor have all been given the brick treatment for the upcoming title, scheduled to hit stores sometime in early November. The band joins other artists also getting bricked, including all of Blur, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop. 

To quote my wife on LEGO Freddie Mercury: "He's absolutely mesmerizing. I can't take my eyes off of him... er, it."