A little gem of game design.
I'm probably getting a little foward. Back to the very basics of the game. When you first fire up Lego Star Wars, you find yourself at Dexter's Diner, as one of many different characters (There's everyone from Qui-Gon to Kit Fisto to Shaak Ti to Darth Vader in FULL COSTUME!) and are presented with a choice. Should you play Episode 1, 2 or 3?
You should start with Episode 1, of course, so you walk into the Episode 1 door of Dexter's Diner and see yourself in a seperate section of the Jawa Juice restaurant. You choose from one of five chapters (which you unlock in sequence) and start playing. You find yourself as LEGO Qui-Gon, going through the Droid Control Ship. Slashing LEGO Battle Droids into kibbles is great fun, and it is this general style of gameplay that is the heart of the game. Whether you are battling a demonic Anakin as Obi-Wan, or fighting off a strange looking version of Count Dooku as Yoda, the hack and slash element flows through the game. Now that's not a bad thing, but the only variety comes in the form of Starfighter and Podracer levels. FUN FUN FUN!
This game is very easy. The story mode should take about three hours, but the fun factor of the game could really keep you coming back for hundreds of hours, if you are a Star Wars fan like myself. Playing as Darth Maul, The Emperor, Vader, Shaak TI, Kit Fisto and Grievous (LEGO Versions of course) is a fanboy's dream.
The hardest piece of this game is collecting the minkit pieces, which for each chapter build a different Star wars ship. Your progress with these minikit pieces is shown outside the Diner, where there is a small courtyard. The most charming things about this game happen in this very courtyard, where all your unlocked characters walk past and sometimes into the diner. But the funniest thing is that after you have completed Episode 3, there is a massive battle between all the unlocked Jedi and the unlocked Sith, Clones and Battle Droids. It truly is very funny. And Yoda can't walk with a lightsaber out. He BOUNCES!!! So very, very cool.
Audio is fantastic. Classic John Williams Star Wars pieces have been transfered to this game, and burst out of the Xbox with a really big impact. The Lightsabres also make cool sound FX and it is just really a really good sound package from Eidos.
Summing up, Lego Star Wars, while easy, is charming, witty, fun and engaging. It is very much worth your money. And the best thing is that it is a sign of things to come. If Traveller's Tales, Giant Entertainment and Eidos can pull off the inevitable sequel, it will be more perfect than the game already is. Masterpiece.