Video game:PlayStation 2 Island Xtreme Stunts

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.

LEGO released the sequel to "LEGO Island" in 2001. Entitled, "LEGO Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge," this action-adventure game allowed players to return to the LEGO universe as Pepper Roni, a pizza-delivery man who must save the world from the Brickster. "Brickster's Revenge" differs from its predecessor in that players must complete the missions in linear order, and there is only one available character to play. Unlike the first "LEGO Island" game, "Brickster's Revenge" received mixed reviews from critics and players, who found the gameplay basic and best suited for young children. Nevertheless, LEGO released a follow-up game in 2002 entitled "Island Xtreme Stunts."

Like its predecessors, "Xtreme Stunts" focuses on Pepper Roni, who returns in this game as a stuntman for a movie that is filming on LEGO Island. The director of the movie has cast Pepper's nemesis the Brickster as the villain of the film, and it soon becomes evident that he has his own evil motives. Like the earlier LEGO Island games, players control Pepper as he completes different stunts and missions around the island.

Due to bugs and performance issues on the Windows computer version of the game, "Xtreme Stunts" received poor reviews from critics and players, who also criticized the PlayStation 2 version. Reviewers found the graphics and design lacking, and believed the game was best suited for children. In his review, Jeremy Dunham of IGN wrote that "Xtreme Stunts" is "Certainly not the best title ever conceived for children and most definitely not for adults," and added that he could not recommend the game to anyone over the age of eight. Nevertheless, LEGO continued to develop LEGO-themed video games. Along with original worlds and storylines, they also released video games that tied into popular franchises, such as "Harry Potter," "Star Wars," and "Lord of the Rings."

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.