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    Discuss This Story ReviewSaturday, July 25th, 2015 at 1:27pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager

    It's time for another BZPower set review! Today we're looking at 21120 The Snow Hideout from the summer LEGO Minecraft wave. Will this set keep you cool through the warm months, or will it melt like a snowman in the Caribbean? You'll have to read on or watch our review to find out!

    NOTE: I apologize for the difficulty in seeing some of the parts of this set. Taking pictures of a white set on a white background was not a great idea. I've already ordered a new backdrop to avoid this in future reviews.

    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

    21120 The Snow Hideout Review 01 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 02

    The box does a good job showcasing the set. With the Minecraft logo and a Creeper face displayed proudly across the top, you'll see this set on store shelves from the far end of the aisle. Once you get closer, you'll see an igloo with a Snow Golem atop it, shooting at an approaching Creeper as Steve makes his escape. It's a fairly dynamic image, showing off the fun it contains. Also on the front are images of the three characters, a callout to show that the igloo opens up, and a graphic informing you that you can build your own creations with LEGO bricks - who knew?

    The back of the box shows the interior of the igloo, complete with a crafting table and a fireplace. Various other features are shown off, including the catapult for launching the Creeper. It also expands upon the message on the front, showing off a modified version of the set that instructions are included for.

    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

    The set is mainly basic bricks and plates, so building is a breeze. If you like basic studs-up builds, then this is the set for you. There's not much challenge here, and before you know it the set will be done.

    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

    21120 The Snow Hideout Review 03 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 04

    Since the set isn't out yet I don't have easy access to the inventory, but here are some of the pieces that stood out to me. The Creeper isn't new, but it's a fairly specialized piece that captures the look of the game character well. The Creeper and Snow Golem heads aren't new either, but I believe the latter is a new color and print. I'm not sure that we've seen the 1x2x2x2 bracket in green before, but if so it's still a nice piece, just like the dark green 1x2 brick and the trans-light blue and trans-green 2x2 bricks, which seem like they might be a new mold (or I just haven't been paying attention lately). The 1x2 light nougat brick has a basic printing on it for the workbench. The pickaxe and shovel aren't new, but they certainly stand out in the Minecraft aesthetic. I think the handheld stud launcher is new in brown, so that's cool. We also get a 2x2 light nougat tile with the workbench top printed on it. Finally and difficult to see are the 1x2 brick and 1x1 tile with three dots printed on them for the Snow Golem.

    Aside from the above, the rest of the set is a pretty basic collection of bricks, 2x2 jumpers, some plates and tiles, and a few other basic elements. Nothing really stands out too much and I'm sure you can get most of the pieces elsewhere if you need them.

    21120 The Snow Hideout Review 05 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 06

    Steve appears the same as he did in the first wave of minifig scale Minecraft sets, which is to say pretty basic. I do like getting the plain purple legs though, so at least there's that.

    21120 The Snow Hideout Review 07 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 08 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 09

    The Snow Golem is a neat little build that creates a cool-looking character. Just don't let him near any fires. I'm assuming the orange head is accurate to the game, but I personally think a white one would have looked nicer. The Creeper uses the super-specialized body, two 1x2 green tiles, and the standard Minecraft head. It captures the look from the game, but I don't think I've seen that body used for anything else just yet.

    21120 The Snow Hideout Review 10 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 11 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 12 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 13 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 14 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 15 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 16 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 17 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 18 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 19

    The final set you get is about as blocky as you'd expect - this is Minecraft after all. I'm still not a fan of the aesthetic but it certainly captures it well. Around the set 2x2 jumpers are placed so you can easily pop on or remove characters and resources, which is nice. The igloo has a basic but functional interior with the crafting table and a fireplace. There's room enough to store your collected resources and for Steven to stand around if he'd like. The set doesn't impress me but I think the designers certainly accomplished what they were going for.

    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?

    21120 The Snow Hideout Review 20 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 21 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 22 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 23 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 24 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 25 21120 The Snow Hideout Review 26

    As far as play features go, quite a few things have been packed in here. The roof of the igloo comes off for easy access to the inside, or you can just swing it open on its hinge. The door opens and closes too. The Snow Golem has two stud shooters, plus some extra ammo, so he can shoot at the Creeper as it comes for Steve. If that's not enough though, part of the floor is levered so you can launch it like a catapult and either send the Creeper flying or bury it in snow. Some of the resource blocks are attached to 2x2 jumpers, which makes it easy to 'mine' them as you would in the game.

    All the above, plus the inclusion of three characters, gives this set a lot of roleplay potential. Fans of the game can recreate their adventures with real-life bricks instead of digital ones, and that's kind of cool. Of course, there's some exposed bricks to encourage you to buy more sets so you can attach them and expand your Minecraft world!

    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • Lots of play features
    • Good selection of basic bricks
    • Captures the Minecraft look and feel

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Lackluster part selection
    • Overall look is too blocky for my tastes

    If you're a fan of Minecraft, I think you'd probably enjoy this set. At $35 for 327 pieces, if you're not a fan of the game I'd probably pass, and the pieces that are there aren't anything special. I don't like the blocky look, but it's what makes Minecraft Minecraft, so if that's something you're a fan of, consider checking this set out.

    Thank you everyone for reading and watching our review. Your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcome in the Talkback topic, so I look forward to seeing them there. We hope you keep checking back on BZPower for more LEGO set reviews and news!

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