Video game:Nintendo GameCube Lego Star Wars: The Game

Whether you follow a design and instructions, or make your own creation, LEGO blocks have stimulated imaginations in children and adults since their introduction in 1958. These simple bricks join together to form millions of combinations, and have left a significant impression in popular culture and the way we play. Thanks to television and video games, users are not limited in the ways they choose to interact with LEGO pieces; they can build, control characters, and take part in interactive stories without ever leaving the couch.

Electronic Arts released the first LEGO video game in 1997. Entitled "LEGO Island," this computer game allowed players to explore a world made entirely out of LEGO pieces and complete different missions. "LEGO Island" received excellent reviews and led to the creation of two sequels, as well as many more LEGO games. Along with original worlds and storylines, LEGO also released video games that tied into popular franchises, such as "Harry Potter," "Star Wars," and "Lord of the Rings."

In 2005, Eidos Interactive and LucasArts released "LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game" for multiple gaming consoles. Developers drew the plot of the game from the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, allowing gamers to play out moments from "The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," and "Revenge of the Sith." Gamers have the opportunity to play as a wide range of characters, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, Chewbacca, Anakin Skywalker, and Yoda. Different characters have different skills, and players must use a variety of them in order to beat the game. Like other LEGO video games, LEGO blocks make up everything in "LEGO Star Wars," from the characters, to the settings and backgrounds.

"LEGO Star Wars" was a critical and commercial success, and became the thirteenth best-selling game of 2005. Critics praised the game's design and the way it translated "Star Wars" into the LEGO world. Jeremy Dunham of IGN called it "one of the best children's titles on the market today," and wrote that the game "is a very charming and very likeable interpretation of the world's most recognizable franchise." Because of the sensation created by "LEGO Star Wars," LucasArts released a sequel entitled "LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy" in 2006.

In 1998, the National Toy Hall of Fame, calling the blocks "an ideal toy," inducted LEGO into its ranks. Two years later, "Fortune Magazine" named the LEGO brick "Toy of the Century." Thanks to computer animation, LEGO figurines appear in multiple television series, as well as a full-length movie. More than 50 years after its initial release, LEGO's interlocking plastic block remains popular and continues to evolve.