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89-507: The Lancer has been very well received since the inception of the Gears of War franchise and has been subject to numerous licensed merchandise. Video game journalists have called the Lancer one of the most iconic weapons in video games. Within the series, the Lancer series of assault rifles are standard issue weapons for Coalition of Ordered Governments ("COG") soldiers. The Mark 1, also known as

178-547: A children's toy, there have also been adult fans of the toys. In 2020, Lego introduced sets aged at 18+, generally some of their more expensive and difficult-to-assemble sets based on real world or fictional objects, such as the Concorde or Rivendell . The timing of these sets favorably aligned with the COVID-19 pandemic , with many adults purchasing these sets to work on during various lockdown periods. Popularity within adults

267-531: A common sentiment, Lego toys seem to have become a significant exception to the dislike of plastic in children's toys, due in part to the high standards set by Ole Kirk. By 1954, Christiansen's son, Godtfred , had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was his conversation with an overseas buyer that led to the idea of a toy system. Godtfred saw the immense potential in Lego bricks to become

356-645: A customized Mark 2 Lancer which features several design changes. His "Custom Lancer" serves as the in-universe basis for the Mark 3 introduced in Gears 5 , which comes in two variants: the standard Mark 3 with a chainsaw bayonet, and the Lancer GL which is capable of firing laser-guided clusters of grenades with its under-barrel mortar in lieu of a chainsaw bayonet. The Lancer has had its ammo capacity, magazine size, and firepower constantly downgraded and upgraded throughout

445-579: A famed military career in the COG's previous conflicts, but was arrested after leading a failed unauthorized mission to rescue his father, Adam. Fenix joins his close friend, Dom Santiago, in Delta Squad as they succeed in helping the COG military deploy a missile strike against the Locust Horde. Fenix retains his role throughout the trilogy, where he plays a pivotal role in humanity's conflict against

534-542: A flashlight attachment, which is intended to accentuate the survival horror aspect of the game. The Lancer is a popular subject for Gears of War merchandise, with replica models often offered as standalone purchases or in a retail bundle to promote the release of video game instalments. One of the earliest examples was a life-sized Lancer replica offered by Amazon.com as part of a special Gears of War 2 retail edition bundle for pre-orders of Gears of War II prior to its launch date on November 7, 2008. The replica Lancer

623-530: A height of 149 cm (60 in), which makes it the tallest set and tower but the second in number of parts after the World Map. The company also initiated a robotics line of toys called 'Mindstorms' in 1999, and continued to expand and update this range until it was eventually discontinued in 2022. The roots of the product originated with a programmable brick developed at the MIT Media Lab , and

712-401: A large fan community based around building competitions and custom creations, and a range of films , games , and eight Legoland amusement parks have been developed under the brand. The Lego Group began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891–1958), a carpenter from Billund , Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1934, his company came to be called "Lego", derived from

801-622: A legend both within the scope of his own universe as well as our own, starring in some of the best games on the Xbox 360." In 2013, Complex ranked Marcus as the fourth greatest soldier in video games, stating that he is "one of the most badass soldiers in any game. The COG s wouldn't be the same without him." He was ranked as one of the best video game characters of the 2010s by Polygon staff and writer Charlie Hall, particularly his appearance and "I’ve probably spent more time controlling Marcus Fenix than any other avatar in all of video games. Over

890-549: A new foe, the Swarm. During a heated exchange between Marcus and COG First Minister Mina Jinn, it is revealed that Anya had passed away at some point during the 25-year antebellum period due to unspecified birthing complication issues. He was also included as a playable character in Lost Planet 2 . Fenix was added as a cosmetic outfit with Kait Diaz to Fortnite Battle Royale on December 9, 2021, During Chapter 3 Season 1 in

979-402: A safe digital environment for children, including the protection of personal information and the heavy moderation of all uploaded user-generated content and communication. My Lego Network was a social networking site that involved items, blueprints, ranks, badges which were earned for completing certain tasks, trading and trophies called masterpieces which allowed users to progress to go to

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1068-493: A serious form of play. Lego branched out into the video game market in 1997 by founding Lego Media International Limited , and Lego Island was released that year by Mindscape . After this Lego released titles such as Lego Creator and Lego Racers . After Lego closed down their publishing subsidiary, they moved on to a partnership with Traveller's Tales , and went on to make games like Lego Star Wars , Lego Indiana Jones , Lego Batman , and many more including

1157-429: A shipment of bricks delivered by clone producer Qman was blocked from passing through German customs due to concerns over the potential infringement of Lego's intellectual property. The recipient toy retailer initiated an appeal for donations to import containers of Lego clones from China to Germany and donate them to children's homes, which received more than € 350,000 within a couple of weeks. First launched in 1996,

1246-496: A system for creative play, but the bricks still had some problems from a technical standpoint: Their locking ability was still limited, and they were not yet versatile. In 1958, the modern brick design was developed; ABS subsequently replaced cellulose acetate as the manufacturing material five years later. A patent application for the modern Lego brick design was filed in Denmark on 28 January 1958 and in various other countries in

1335-724: A television series titled Nexo Knights made its debut for the Lego Nexo Knights brand. An animated series titled Lego Elves was released in 2015 and another titled Lego Elves: Secrets of Elvendale was released in 2017 for the Lego Elves brand. In 2016, Lego Bionicle: The Journey To One was released for the Bionicle franchise and Lego Friends: The Power of Friendship for the Lego Friends brand. In June 2019, an animated series titled Lego City Adventures

1424-407: A tolerance of up to twenty micrometres to ensure the bricks remain connected. Human inspectors check the output of the moulds to eliminate significant variations in colour or thickness. According to the Lego Group, about eighteen bricks out of every million fail to meet the standard required. Lego factories recycle all but about 1 percent of their plastic waste from the manufacturing process. If

1513-616: A wave hit a cargo ship off the coast of Cornwall , England. Pieces have washed up over the ensuing decades, attracting attention from news outlets and social media. In May 2011, Space Shuttle Endeavour mission STS-134 brought 13 Lego kits to the International Space Station , where astronauts built models to see how they would react in microgravity , as a part of the Lego Bricks in Space program. In May 2013,

1602-564: A weekend-long event in which a Master Model Builder creates, with the help of volunteers—a larger-than-life Lego statue, which is then displayed at the new store for several weeks. Since around 2000, the Lego Group has been promoting "Lego Serious Play", a form of business consultancy fostering creative thinking, in which team members build metaphors of their organizational identities and experiences using Lego bricks. Participants work through imaginary scenarios using visual three-dimensional Lego constructions, imaginatively exploring possibilities in

1691-467: A year. The claim was reiterated in 2012. In April 2023, Lego broke ground on its first manufacturing facility in the United States. The new carbon-neutral factory will be located near Richmond, Virginia. It will amount to over $ 1 billion in investment once completed in 2025. The 340 acre site will have rooftop and ground solar panels and an on-site 35-40 MW solar plant, generating the equivalent of

1780-534: Is 36 inches long by 10-inches tall, and weighs 13 pounds; its trigger produces chain-saw sounds and a rumble effect. Other examples include 1:1 scale replicas of Lancers by TriForce Sales made from high density foam, fiberglass and polyurethane composites; a yellow "Car No. 13" Lancer with checkered taxi cab accents; and scale replicas of Marcus Fenix's Customized Lancer, including a limited edition gold version, by video game accessory makers PDP. In 2013, Epic Games auctioned off three signed replica Lancers to help fund

1869-606: Is 4,240 newtons . Since an average 2×2 Lego brick has a mass of 1.152 grams (0.0406 oz), according to their calculations it would take a stack of 375,000 bricks to cause the bottom brick to collapse, which represents a stack 3,591 metres (11,781 ft) in height. Private tests have shown several thousand assembly-disassembly cycles before the bricks begin to wear out , although Lego tests show fewer cycles. In 2018, Lego announced that it will be using bio-derived polyethylene to make its botanical elements (parts such as leaves, bushes and trees). The New York Times reported

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1958-481: Is a fictional character and the primary protagonist from the first three games in the Gears of War video game series. He first appeared in the first game of the series , released in 2006. Fenix debuted as the protagonist of Gears of War in 2006. Fenix is a convict who is reinstated into the Coalition of Ordered Governments' (COG) military to assist a last-ditch mission to destroy the Locust Horde. Fenix led

2047-660: Is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group , a privately held company based in Billund , Denmark . Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) that accompany an array of gears , figurines called minifigures , and various other parts. Its pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways to construct objects, including vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Assembled Lego models can be taken apart, and their pieces can be reused to create new constructions. The Lego Group began manufacturing

2136-400: Is a pillar of Gears’ gameplay". Following the critical and commercial success of the first two Gears of War games, writer Joshua Ortega indicated at a New York Comic Con panel in early 2009 that the Gears of War franchise was intended to be a long-term plan that would go on for at least a decade, and called the Lancer "the new lightsaber ". From Gears of War 4 onwards, the Lancer has

2225-409: Is an official piece of Lego software for Mac OS X and Windows which allows users to create their own digital Lego designs. The program once allowed customers to order custom designs with a service to ship physical models from Digital Designer to consumers; the service ended in 2012. Since 1963, Lego pieces have been manufactured from ABS plastic. As of September 2008 , Lego engineers use

2314-542: Is and will remain the manliest weapon in existence until some invents a monster truck launcher, and then invents monster trucks built out of steak and hand-grenades. It's the only thing in the universe that makes charging at a giant alien with a regular bayonet look wimpy. It’s what happens when developers realize practicality has as much place in videogames as it does in lightsaber design, and then remember someone else owns that copyright so they’d better invent their own iconic weapon. — Luke McKinney, "7 games that gave you

2403-405: Is available as a free download and only features Lego-related content. It was designed to be a social network for children to be inspired, create and share their Lego builds, photos and videos with a like-minded community, whilst also providing Lego content in the form of product advertising, images, videos, campaigns and competitions. The app incorporates a variety of child safety features to provide

2492-457: Is consoled by Anya Stroud, one of his closest allies and love interest, who assures him their sacrifices have given humanity a new hope. Fenix transitions into the role of a supporting character in 2016's Gears of War 4 , set 25 years after the events of Gears of War 3 . Fenix has fathered a now adult son with Anya, James Dominic "JD" Fenix , who serves as the game's protagonist. In Gears 5 , Fenix returns to active service with COG to fight

2581-447: Is less enthusiastic about the Lancer compared to other reviewers. He described the Gears of War series as one that "goofily fetishizes its weaponry—the essence of the game’s creativity lives within its guns". Goroff remarked that the series' guns are close enough to reality that players would recognize and embrace them as weapons, but are in truth too wacky and ridiculous to be taken seriously. Marcus Fenix Marcus Michael Fenix

2670-580: Is so effective "even the Locust use it, dropping the Hammerburst like the ridiculous non-chainsaw-inclusive piece of garbage it is". Edwin Evans-Thirlwell from Eurogamer described the Lancer as "barbaric yet precise, a clownish torture device that doubles as an unpretentious assault rifle with a generous magazine". Evans-Thirlwell recognized the Lancer's enduring popularity, calling it "one of

2759-545: Is technically accurate, but also misleading. There isn't any real character to be had here.") and listed him as one of the worst dressed video game characters of 2011, adding that "Anya must be Helen Keller if she's attracted to that walking grime beast." In 2013, Complex included him among the ten video game characters who look like sex offenders (for looking like a stereotypical prison rapist ). Lego Lego ( / ˈ l ɛ ɡ oʊ / , LEG -oh ; Danish: [ˈle̝ːko] ; stylised as LEGO )

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2848-538: Is to identify market trends and developments, including contact by the designers directly with the market; some are stationed in toy shops close to holidays, while others interview children. The second stage is the design and development of the product based on the results of the first stage. As of September 2008 the design teams use 3D modelling software to generate CAD drawings from initial design sketches. The designs are then prototyped using an in-house stereolithography machine. These prototypes are presented to

2937-1089: The Blackstone Group of New York while the remaining 30% is still held by Lego Group. There are also eight Legoland Discovery Centres , two in Germany, four in the United States, one in Japan and one in the United Kingdom. Two Legoland Discovery Centres opened in 2013: one at the Westchester Ridge Hill shopping complex in Yonkers , New York, and one at the Vaughan Mills in Vaughan , Ontario, Canada. Another opened at American Dream Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey , in 2021. The first Lego store to open anywhere in

3026-719: The CoCo Toy Company in Beijing for copyright infringement over its "Coko bricks" product. CoCo was ordered to cease manufacture of the products, publish a formal apology and pay damages. Lego sued the English company Best-Lock Construction Toys in German courts in 2004 and 2009; the Federal Patent Court of Germany denied Lego trademark protection for the shape of its bricks for the latter case. In 2005,

3115-557: The Danish phrase leg godt [lɑjˀ ˈkʌt] , which means "play well". In 1947, Lego expanded to begin producing plastic toys. In 1949 the business began producing, among other new products, an early version of the now familiar interlocking bricks, calling them "Automatic Binding Bricks". These bricks were based on the Kiddicraft Self-Locking Bricks, invented by Hilary Page in 1939 and patented in

3204-547: The NX CAD / CAM / CAE PLM software suite to model the elements. The software allows the parts to be optimised by way of mould flow and stress analysis . Prototype moulds are sometimes built before the design is committed to mass production. The ABS plastic is heated to 232 °C (450 °F) until it reaches a dough -like consistency. It is then injected into the moulds using forces of between 25 and 150 tonnes and takes approximately 15 seconds to cool. The moulds are permitted

3293-467: The Item Shop. Fenix is also the protagonist of Gears of War: Aspho Fields , a novel that expands his backstory while also providing a tie-in between the first two Gears of War games. Fenix is a popular character and has been voted as the 19th top video game character of all time by the readers of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition in 2011. In a poll conducted by Game Informer , Fenix

3382-701: The Lego Company sued Canadian company Ritvik Holdings Inc., which makes Mega Bloks , for trademark violation. However, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Ritvik Holdings Inc.'s rights to sell its product . In 2010, the European Court of Justice ruled that the eight-peg design of the original Lego brick "merely performs a technical function [and] cannot be registered as a trademark." In 2020 and 2021, Lego sent cease and desist letters to small toy retailers and popular YouTubers in Germany. In 2021,

3471-409: The Lego website has developed over the years, and provides many extra services beyond an online store and a product catalogue. There are also moderated message boards that were founded in 2001. The site also includes instruction booklets for all Lego sets dating back to 2002. The Lego website features a social media app named Lego Life , which is designed for children under 13 years of age. The app

3560-523: The Locust Horde. He cripples the Locust Horde in Gears of War 2 by flooding their subterranean civilization. In Gears of War 3 , Fenix discovers his father is alive and has developed a weapon that will destroy the Locust Horde and a new threat, the Lambent. Adam releases his weapon but dies in the process. While successful in vanquishing humanity's enemies, Fenix is distraught over the death of his loved ones and comrades, including Dom and his father. He

3649-459: The Mark 2 Lancer Assault Rifle 10th place on its list of Top 100 Video Game Weapons, with praise for the chainsaw bayonet and automatic rifle combination as well as the execution mechanic. OXM staff included the Mark 2 Lancer in its list of "the 15 greatest guns in Xbox history" and called it their ideal "dystopian future-gun". Nicholas Bashore from Inverse ranked the Lancer as the best weapon in

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3738-485: The Retro Lancer, has a traditional blade-type bayonet. The Mark 2 Lancer Assault Rifle, the successor of the older Mark 1 model, is originally developed by Adam Fenix, the father of series protagonist Marcus Fenix . Its chainsaw bayonet when accelerated will quickly kill its victim; this is usually represented by a short animation where the target is executed by dismemberment. In Gears of War 4 , Marcus Fenix wields

3827-562: The United Kingdom in 1940 before being displayed at the 1947 Earl's Court Toy Fair. Lego had received a sample of the Kiddicraft bricks from the supplier of an injection-molding machine that it purchased. The bricks, originally manufactured from cellulose acetate , were a development of the traditional stackable wooden blocks of the time. The Lego Group's motto , "only the best is good enough" ( Danish : det bedste er ikke for godt , literally "the best isn't excessively good")

3916-623: The United Kingdom to mark the opening of the games. For the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro , Lego released a kit with the Olympic and Paralympic mascots Vinicius and Tom . One of the largest commercially produced Lego sets was a minifigure -scaled edition of the Star Wars Millennium Falcon . Designed by Jens Kronvold Fredericksen, it was released in 2007 and contained 5,195 pieces. It

4005-442: The activity of the muscle in the stump and send a signal to control movement in the attachment. A processing unit in the body of the prosthetic contained an engine compatible with Lego Mindstorms, which allowed the wearer to build an extensive range of customised, programmable limbs. Lego's popularity is demonstrated by its wide representation and usage in many cultural works, including books, films, and art. It has even been used in

4094-533: The best weapon right away" The Lancer was featured in an article published in the July 2008 edition of Electronic Gaming Monthly that discusses its practicality and historical precedents. A consultant for the Call of Duty series, Hank Keirsey, criticized the weapon and pointed out that in real life, "chainsaws are heavy." He noted that the closest historical precedents are "medieval bludgeoning weapons". IGN ranked

4183-534: The bricks themselves, but as is common for trademarks , Lego group insists on the name being used as an adjective when referring to a product (as in "LEGO bricks"). Lego bricks have a reputation for causing pain when stepped on, often being humorously exaggerated as more extreme than that caused by even the worst injuries. The last significant patent for Lego bricks expired in 1978. Since then, competitors have produced blocks of similar dimensions and design that can be connected with Lego bricks. In 2002, Lego sued

4272-641: The classic themes that continue to the present day include Lego City (a line of sets depicting city life introduced in 1973) and Lego Technic (a line aimed at emulating complex machinery, introduced in 1977). Over the years, the company has licensed themes from numerous cartoon and film franchises and some from video games. These include Batman , Indiana Jones , Pirates of the Caribbean , Harry Potter , Star Wars , Marvel , Minecraft and Wicked . Although some of these themes, Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones, had highly successful sales,

4361-675: The classroom as a teaching tool. In the US, Lego Education North America is a joint venture between Pitsco, Inc. and the educational division of the Lego Group. In 1998, Lego bricks were one of the original inductees into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester , New York. "Lego" is commonly used as a mass noun ("some Lego") or, in American English , as a countable noun with plural "Legos", to refer to

4450-552: The company expressed in 2015 a desire to rely more upon their own characters and classic themes and less upon such licensed themes. Some sets include references to other themes such as a Bionicle mask in one of the Harry Potter sets. Discontinued sets may become a collectable and command value on the secondary market . For the 2012 Summer Olympics in London , Lego released a special Team GB Minifigures series exclusively in

4539-532: The company said it would aim to produce its bricks without using crude oil , by using recycled polyethylene terephthalate bottles, but in 2023 it reversed this decision, having found that this did not reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. Since the 1950s, the Lego Group has released thousands of sets with a variety of themes, including space , pirates , trains , (European) castle , dinosaurs , undersea exploration , and wild west , as well as wholly original themes like Bionicle and Hero Factory . Some of

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4628-438: The company's footprint that year was "about a million tons of carbon dioxide each year" and that it was investing about 1 billion kroner and hiring 100 people to work on changes. The paper reported that Lego's researchers "have already experimented with around 200 alternatives." In 2020, Lego announced that it would cease packaging its products in single-use plastic bags and would instead be using recyclable paper bags. In 2021,

4717-472: The developers' belief in the importance of a unique silhouette for the Lancer, so that it would be easily identifiable and instantly associated with the series' gun-based combat. He explained that within the series' fiction, it is "critical to develop a firearm that is effective in battling the Locust – one that is devastating from both a strategic and physiological standpoint". Senior concept artist at Epic Games James Hawkins developed several design iterations for

4806-413: The earliest iteration of the product, the program would be uploaded to the programmable brick via an infrared transmitter, while in later versions this was achieved via Bluetooth or a USB cable. Unofficial programming languages that can be used with Lego Mindstorms programmable bricks have also been developed There have been several robotics competitions which used the Lego robotics sets. The earliest

4895-638: The early 1990s. As of March 2024 , Lego operates 1031 retail shops, called Lego Stores, globally. The world's largest Lego store is located in Leicester Square , London. The U.S. stores include the Downtown Disney shopping complexes at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts as well as in Mall of America in Bloomington , Minnesota. The opening of each new store is celebrated with

4984-590: The end of a child's limb. Iko was the work of the Chicago-based Colombian designer Carlos Arturo Torres, and is a modular system that allows children to customise their own prosthetics with the ease of clicking together plastic bricks. Designed with Lego's Future Lab, the Danish toy company's experimental research department, and Cirec, a Colombian foundation for physical rehabilitation, the modular prosthetic incorporated myoelectric sensors that register

5073-531: The energy of powering 10,000 American homes. In December 2012, the BBC 's More or Less radio program asked the Open University 's engineering department to determine "how many Lego bricks, stacked one on top of the other, it would take for the weight to destroy the bottom brick?" Using a hydraulic testing machine, members of the department determined the average maximum force a 2×2 Lego brick can stand

5162-414: The entire project team for comment and testing by parents and children during the "validation" process. Designs may then be altered in accordance with the results from the focus groups . Virtual models of completed Lego products are built concurrently with the writing of the user instructions. Completed CAD models are also used in the wider organisation for marketing and packaging. Lego Digital Designer

5251-634: The following years. Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers was released on DVD in February 2010, a computer-animated film made by Tinseltown Toons. A computer-generated animated series titled Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu began in January 2011 for the Lego Ninjago brand. Another television series titled Legends of Chima began in 2013 for the Legends of Chima brand. In December 2015,

5340-624: The former three countries and in Kladno in the Czech Republic . The Lego Group estimates that in five decades it has produced 400 billion Lego blocks. Annual production of the bricks averages approximately 36 billion, or about 1140 elements per second. According to an article in BusinessWeek in 2006, Lego could also be considered the world's number-one tyre manufacturer; the factory produces about 306 million small rubber tyres

5429-855: The fourth in Carlsbad , California, the fifth in Winter Haven , Florida, the sixth in Iskandar Puteri , Malaysia, the seventh in Dubai , United Arab Emirates, and the eighth in Nagoya , Japan. A ninth is planned to open in 2020 in Goshen , New York, United States, and a tenth in 2022 in Shanghai , China. On 13 July 2005, the control of 70% of the Legoland parks was sold for $ 460 million to

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5518-435: The game's melee combat, which began as a circular buzzsaw before evolving into the chainsaw bayonet. Bleszinski recalled that the bayonet design was very well received by the rest of the team once it was unveiled, noting that "the chainsawing experience became increasingly rewarding" as the team refined the Lancer's feel and effect. On the Lancer's ability to perform gruesome executions, Bleszinski remarked that "intimate violence

5607-563: The games use dice . In Lego Games, the dice are Lego, with Lego squares with symbols on Lego studs on the dice, surrounded by rubber. The games vary from simple to complex; some are similar to "traditional" board games, while others are completely different. The first official Lego film was the straight-to-DVD release of Bionicle: Mask of Light in 2003 developed by Creative Capers Entertainment and distributed by Miramax Home Entertainment . Several other straight-to-DVD computer-animated Bionicle sequels and Hero Factory movies were produced in

5696-411: The games’ style, tone and themes", and emphasized that in the video game medium "where guns are more common than plotlines, the Lancer does the seemingly impossible: it stands out". Luke McKinney from Gamesradar described the "sheer release of joy, the yelling, the noise and clenching muscles and the endorphin release" he experienced when he pulled off a Lancer execution for the first time, noting that it

5785-557: The interlocking toy bricks in 1949. Moulding is done in Denmark, Hungary, Mexico, and China. Brick decorations and packaging are done at plants in the former three countries and in the Czech Republic. Annual production of the bricks averages approximately 36 billion, or about 1140 elements per second. One of Europe's biggest companies, Lego is the largest toy manufacturer in the world by sales. As of July 2015 , 600 billion Lego parts had been produced. Lego maintains

5874-503: The largest model ever created, made of over 5 million bricks, was displayed in New York City; a one-to-one scale model of a Star Wars X-wing fighter . Other record breakers include a 34-metre (112 ft) tower and a 4 km (2.5 mi) railway. In February 2015, marketing consulting company Brand Finance ranked Lego as the "world's most powerful brand", overtaking Ferrari . While Lego has generally been considered

5963-400: The medical expenses of a former Insomniac Games staff member following a hit-and-run car accident. The Lancer makes a crossover appearance in the 2020 video game Wasteland 3 as an equippable weapon. The Gears of Wars series' popularity have inspired homemade toy versions of the Lancer using components like Lego blocks, or a Nerf Longshot paired with a toy chainsaw, The Lancer

6052-482: The most recognizable video game weapons ever designed - an improbable hybrid worthy of Jekyll and Hyde", which he considers to be a summation of the series' "oddly persuasive mixture of styles and tones". However, he noted that while the Lancer might be the signature weapon of the series and its "rockstar frontman", he expressed a preference for the Gnasher Shotgun 's superior firepower. Michael Goroff from EGM

6141-748: The name was taken from a paper by Seymour Papert , a computer scientist and educator who developed the educational theory of constructionism , and whose research was at times funded by the Lego Group . The programmable Lego brick which was at the heart of these robotics sets underwent several updates and redesigns, with the last being called the 'EV3' brick, being sold under the name of Lego Mindstorms EV3. The set included various sensors such as touch, light, sound and ultrasonic waves, with several others being sold separately, including an RFID reader. The programmable brick could be programmed using official software available for Windows and Mac computers. In

6230-399: The next rank. The website had a built-in inbox which allowed users to send pre-written messages to one another. The Lego Network included automated non-player characters within called "Networkers", who were able to do things which normal users could not do, sending custom messages, and selling masterpieces and blueprints. The site also had modules which were set up on the user's page that gave

6319-407: The occasional profanity" and adding: "Desperately in need of a hug, or maybe a tug, Fenix is the least likeable hero since Billy Zane played The Phantom ." IGN included him on the 2009 list of top 10 most overrated video game characters ("His personality consists entirely of grunting, shouting, and shooting. (...) Calling Marcus Fenix one of the definitive gaming characters of the current generation

6408-581: The plastic cannot be re-used in Lego bricks, it is processed and sold on to industries that can make use of it. Lego, in 2018, set a self-imposed 2030 deadline to find a more eco-friendly alternative to the ABS plastic. Manufacturing of Lego bricks occurs at several locations around the world. Moulding is done in Billund , Denmark; Nyíregyháza , Hungary; Monterrey , Mexico; and most recently in Jiaxing , China. Brick decorations and packaging are done at plants in

6497-412: The players usually build the playing board out of Lego bricks and then play with Lego-style players. Examples of the games include "Minotaurus", in which players roll dice to move characters within a brick-build labyrinth, "Creationary", in which players must build something which appears on a card, or "Ramses Pyramid", in which players collect gems and climb up a customizable pyramid. Like many board games,

6586-407: The series due to gameplay balance concerns. According to Cliff Bleszinski , Epic Games ' original design director, the development team decided early in production for the first Gears of War that the default gun should be "very distinctive, multifunctional and, most importantly, fun to use", with inspiration drawn from The Evil Dead , Doom , and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre . He emphasized

6675-477: The series, and noted its iconic status in the franchise as well as the entire video game industry. For Maddy Myers from Kotaku , the chainsaw variant of the Lancer is indispensable for the Gears of Wars series and the tendency for Gears of War 4 to reduce the usage of the Lancer throughout its single player campaign reduces her enjoyment of the game. Edge Magazine staff said the "violent, messy, grim, clunky and somewhat absurd" Lancer "epitomises and fortifies

6764-408: The subsequent few years. The Lego Group's Duplo product line was introduced in 1969 and is a range of blocks whose lengths measure twice the width, height, and depth of standard Lego blocks and are aimed towards younger children. In 1978, Lego produced the first minifigures, which have since become a staple in most sets. In 1997, more than five million Lego pieces were swept into the sea when

6853-449: The top of the charts. But behind all this is a clearly wounded, perhaps even emotionally deadened, human being, and that really resonates as the game progresses. Fenix’s legend can only grow." That same year, IGN chose Fenix as one of the characters they would like to see in an ultimate fighting game, adding, "If giant, hulking muscles and a foul tongue are all one needs to fit in with the fighting game crowd, then we might as well hand over

6942-502: The toy takes place at the Billund headquarters, where the company employs approximately 120 designers. The company also has smaller design offices in the UK , Spain , Germany , and Japan which are tasked with developing products aimed specifically at their respective national markets. The average development period for a new product is around twelve months, split into three stages. The first

7031-477: The trophy to Marcus Fenix." Empire also ranked him the 45th greatest video game character, adding that "[o]f all the marines, in all the alternate galaxies, in all the fictional universes, the gruntiest, muscliest, most trigger-happy of them all is one Mr Marcus Fenix." GamesRadar listed him as one of the gaming's greatest badass mo-fos. In 2012, GamesRadar ranked him as the 94th "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in games, saying "this dude's

7120-579: The user items, or that displayed picture compositions. My Lego network closed in 2015. Before My Lego Network, there were Lego Club Pages, which essentially held the same purpose, although the design lacked complex interaction. Merlin Entertainments operates eight Legoland amusement parks , the original in Billund , Denmark, the second in Windsor , England, the third in Günzburg , Germany,

7209-583: The very well-received Lego Marvel Super Heroes game, featuring New York City as the overworld and including Marvel characters from the Avengers , the Fantastic Four , the X-Men , and more. In 2014, Lego created a game based on The Lego Movie , due to its popularity. Lego Games launched in 2009, was a series of Lego-themed board games designed by Cephas Howard and Reiner Knizia in which

7298-682: The world was in Sydney, Australia, in 1984. Located in the Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre it was not only the first dedicated Lego retail outlet, but it also had displays including many iconic Australian items such as the Holden FJ, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the Sydney Opera House as well as buildings from Amsterdam, dinosaurs and an English Village. Known as The LEGO Centre, Birkenhead Point, the store closed in

7387-600: The world. The international RoboCup Junior football competition involved extensive use of Lego Mindstorms equipment which was often pushed to its extreme limits. The capabilities of the Mindstorms range have also been harnessed for use in the Iko Creative Prosthetic System, a prosthetic limbs system designed for children. Designs for these Lego prosthetics allow everything from mechanical diggers to laser-firing spaceships to be screwed on to

7476-558: The years, the old man has definitely grown on me." HobbyConsolas included Marcus Fenix on their "The 30 best heroes of the last 30 years." Computer and Video Games named him as the PC gaming's ninth worst character, contrasting him with Garrett (ninth best) and calling him "a mish-mash of Deckard from Blade Runner and Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh , constantly lamenting the situation and grumbling at any levity and delighting only in

7565-672: Was Botball , a national U.S. middle - and high-school competition stemming from the MIT 6.270 Lego robotics tournament. Other Lego robotics competitions include FIRST LEGO League Discover for children ages 4–6, FIRST LEGO League Explore for students ages 6–9 and FIRST Lego League Challenge for students ages 9–16 (age 9–14 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico). These programs have offered real-world engineering challenges to participants using LEGO-based robots to complete tasks. In its 2019–2020 season, there were 38,609 FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams and 21,703 FIRST LEGO League Explore teams around

7654-439: Was created in 1936. Christiansen created the motto, still used today, to encourage his employees never to skimp on quality, a value he believed in strongly. By 1951, plastic toys accounted for half of the company's output, even though the Danish trade magazine Legetøjs-Tidende ("Toy Times"), visiting the Lego factory in Billund in the early 1950s, wrote that plastic would never be able to replace traditional wooden toys. Although

7743-878: Was further pushed by the release of The Lego Movie and the reality series Lego Masters . By 2024, nearly 15% of the sets released in the U.S. were aimed for adult builders. Lego pieces of all varieties constitute a universal system. Despite variations in the design and the purposes of individual pieces over the years, each remains compatible in some way with existing pieces. Lego bricks from 1958 still interlock with those made presently, and Lego sets for young children are compatible with those made for teenagers. Six bricks of 2 × 4 studs can be combined in 915,103,765 ways. Each piece must be manufactured to an exacting degree of precision. When two pieces are engaged, they must fit firmly, yet be easily disassembled. The machines that manufacture Lego bricks have tolerances as small as 10 micrometres . Primary concept and development work for

7832-676: Was surpassed by a 5,922-piece Taj Mahal . A redesigned Millennium Falcon retook the top spot in 2017 with 7,541 pieces. Since then, the Millennium Falcon has been superseded by the Lego Art World Map at 11,695 pieces, the Lego Titanic at 9,090 pieces, and the Lego Architect Colosseum at 9,036 pieces. In 2022, Lego introduced its Eiffel Tower . The set consists of 10,000 parts and reaches

7921-401: Was voted as the tenth best character of the decade. In 2009, GameSpot featured Marcus as one of the 64 characters in the "Greatest Game Hero" poll, in which he lost to Duke Nukem . The Age ranked him as the third top Xbox characters of all time in 2008, commenting, "This was a new hero for a new generation of consoles, and he came in curb-stomping shooting and chainsawing his way to

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