LEGO Universe made its public debut at CES – the Consumer Electronics Show – earlier this month  (January 7-10, 2010). Attendees, including press of course, were able to get their hands on the game for the very first time, and the first game trailer was released in conjunction with the show. Attendees were also the first pioneers able to sign up for the LEGO Universe beta test, slated to begin in the next few months.

LEGO Universe will bring LEGO worlds alive, in the first MMOG – massively multiplayer online game – based on the iconic brick-building play experience. Developed by NetDevil, LEGO Universe will launch for PC in the second half of 2010. So what did CES-attending media think? Here are some reactions to the game demo and trailer:

“Part virtual world, part LEGO action game and part-creativity software, LEGO Universe looks like it will be worth the wait…the game is designed without levels so kids (and adults!) can explore at will, choosing which themed areas to enjoy…Personally, I think the game would do very well on the consoles as it looked gorgeous (even in Alpha) on the big screen.” – About.com

“Smash pirates, build rocket ships, fly to distant lands — what more could a small boy (or a grown man) want? Lego made a splash with Lego Universe, an online game that will no doubt be draining piggy banks across the world.” – London Sunday Times

“The MMO is essentially the keys to the kingdom…Judging by how many grown-ups not only at CES, but around the world, apparently still love getting their hands on a pile of LEGO bricks and just creating, LEGO Universe could score major success across all ages.” – IGN

“One of the best examples of a company finding the perfect audience at CES was Lego Universe. At hardcore-dominated video game tradeshows, a Lego-based MMO could be overlooked, but the game managed to attract crowds at CES due to a variety of factors.” – GamePro

“Basically, this is the natural evolution of the Lego brand. You know how you fondly remember playing with Lego sets when you were a kid? Your kids are going to remember this.” – Gizmodo

“Somehow I think my son is soon going to be spending as much time playing with virtual Legos in “Lego Universe” as he now does playing with the real things.” – San Jose Mercury News

“I’m told that you can build things in Digital Designer and put them in your home space within the game. Wait, a Lego game that actually encourages creativity? Cool.” – PCWorld

“We know we’ve built a permanent establishment in our cheek in which to house our tongues, but we’re being completely sincere when we say that the above trailer for Lego Universe is one of the coolest trailers we’ve seen in a long time. Who knew that a kid-friendly MMO in which colorful, stackable bricks are collected could cause our adrenaline to rise in a way we only thought really intense episodes of 24 were capable of?” – Joystiq

“The big winners here? The upcoming LEGO Universe has enchanted everyone who sees it…It takes you, as a creative spark inhabiting the body of a minifig, to build up the world, strengthen your imagination, and bring order to the land. The game is dripping with personality, and the ability to build anything you can dream and then give those creations life is a powerful motivator. This is one to watch.” – ArsTechnica

“As if the idea behind the LEGO Universe MMO wasn’t already pretty awesome in our books, this shiny new trailer straight from the CES floor has cranked up the previous levels of awesome to 11… “The game simulates a kind of personal bubble around the player’s avatar, which is strikingly similar to the metaphorical one all kids experience when sitting on the floor with a big pile of the toys. Hm, we’re pretty sure NetDevil is on the right course with this one.” – Massively

“I’m just saying that there’s content in this game that is cool enough that I’m sure you’ll want to give at least parts of it a spin. I went into a meeting expecting to see a kids game, but I came out wanting my own copy.” – Destructoid

“Most humans like LEGOs.  If you don’t, something might be wrong with you.  An MMO world made of LEGOs may seem like it’s for kids at first, but a LEGO is timeless. Creativity seems to rule in this game with the trailer showing off many different worlds in the universe.” – Examiner

“LEGO Universe currently contains more than 80,000 different kinds of LEGOs. Here’s an impressive fact: whenever NetDevil produced a piece of concept art, it was immediately sent to the folks at LEGO to have a professional LEGO builder make sure it could be properly recreated with actual LEGO pieces…it sounds like LEGO and NetDevil are going to make the beta pretty open. Are you excited yet? I sure am.” – G4TV

“At CES we had a lengthy demo and sit-down with LEGO Universe. The takeaway? NetDevil is doing everything right: offering children (of all ages) different ways to play, while rewarding creativity.” – ArsTechnica

“I’ll be quick to remind you that legos are still, in fact, fun for adults. The game promises to boast varying complexity, with everything from basic gameplay-based tasks to brick-by-brick construction. Throw in the fact that you’ll be buildingwith in a world inhabited by countless plastic denizens, and the game becomes all the more intriguing.” – GameInformer

“Despite the fact that CES is more of a hardware focused show, NetDevil opted to set-up a booth on the show floor for their upcoming MMO, LEGO Universe. The response they received was amazing, and people were snatching up their free minifigs by the handful. To check out the latest on LEGO Universe, the ZAM staff and Mike B. aka Fony interviewed the title’s lead producer, Chris Sherland, to find out the ins and outs of the upcoming game.” – Zam

You can see more photos from the LEGO Universe CES booth on our Flickr Page and on the LEGO Universe Facebook page, and make sure you’re following @LEGO_Universe on Twitter for all the latest updates. Oh, and in case you haven’t heard, the Great Minifig Mission is underway. You’d better head on over to LEGOUniverse.com to help save imagination – unless you hate creativity, adorable minifigures and really fun games, in which case… maybe getting sucked up by the Maelstrom would do you some good!