The console games licensed from Star Wars Episodes I, II, III have ranged from middling (The Clone Wars) to abysmal (Obi-Wan). It is ironic, then, that the three movies taken together provide the building blocks for an enjoyable romp in Lego Star Wars (LSW). The concept of retelling these stories using the popular Swedish bricks seems childish, but developer Traveller’s Tales have executed their vision with aplomb. LSW starts out at a place called “Dex’s Diner,” which made a very brief appearance in the beginning of Episode 2. The Diner serves as a hub to the episodes as well as an outside promenade. Each episode is subdivided into chapters. You will be playing through the main events from the movies as the “mini-fig” counterparts to the on-screen characters. The controls are overly simple: the left thumbstick manages the direction of your character’s movement. The traditional camera control on the right analog stick is missing, and would have been a great benefit to this game. My six year-old already understands how to use the two thumbsticks together, so this omission is disappointing. The remaining buttons are more than adequate for the few remaining functions: you can attack, jump/hover, use the Force or a special ability, and you can “tag” another character in-game. This last component provides the most interesting aspects of gameplay. Non-Jedi characters have abilities, such as being able to open special doors (C3P0), or use a grappling hook to reach a special place (Padmé). In order to complete a level successfully, you will be required to properly utilize the abilities of several characters. Which character is required is easily apparent: locked doors will have a panel next to them with either a C3P0’s picture, or R2D2’s. Along the way you will be collecting “studs.” I used to call them “dots,” but they are the small, round, 1-peg Lego pieces that are most likely to get lost in carpet of any height. There are varying denominations of studs in the game, denoted by different colors. One of your goals is to collect as many studs as possible. Your character’s hit points are shown as hearts. If you run out of hit points, your character breaks down into Lego pieces, and you lose some studs. You then respawn immediately, and can even recover some of the studs if you are fast enough. This point is worth a little more elaboration: nothing ever “dies” in a rag doll sense, but rather it breaks down into Legos that bounce on the floor. Even parts of the environment can (and should!) be attacked with lightsabers, and broken down into smaller blocks, hopefully yielding more studs. Back at the Diner, you can use the studs you have found as currency. You can use them to buy inexpensive gameplay tips. You can purchase extra characters. For example, General Grievous costs a whopping 100,000 studs. Any characters that you unlock or purchase will start walking around the Diner. Characters will even start fighting amongst themselves: a Droideka will attack Captain Panaka, should they run into each other. You can also use your studs to unlock cheats. The “invincibility” cheat is the most expensive item in the game, and costs a cool 1,000,000 studs. It quickly turns playing the game into a trivial affair. The other collectible items in each level are mini-kit pieces. Mini-kits are the cute, Christmas stocking-sized Lego sets that are usually miniaturized versions of a larger set. For example, Lego set 4490 is a mini-kit of the Republic Gunship, whose full-sized version is set 7163. Within each level there are ten “force canisters,” which are redeemed for mini-kit pieces upon completion of the level. Pieces you have discovered throughout your adventures appear within the force-fielded areas outside of the Diner. Complete a mini-kit, and you will receive a 100,000 stud bonus. The catch is that it is impossible for you to find every one during your first trip through a level. When you are playing in story mode, you will not have access to all of the necessary character abilities to find all of the canisters. You can return to a level in Free Play mode. You can select two characters before revisiting a level by using your “tag” button in the Diner. You will need a Jedi, and in some cases a Dark Jedi in particular. You will need a high-jumping character. Unfortunately, Jar-Jar is the highest jumping character available, so you will often be taking him along for the ride. The game will fill in the rest of your team slots, and does a good job of making sure that you have a protocol droid, an astromech droid, a blaster-equipped character, and a small character (such as young Anakin or young Boba Fett). Either player can enter or leave the game at any time. While this sounds like a nice feature (and it is brilliantly implemented), it is actually a necessity. Some puzzles require a high degree of coordination to conquer. For example, two Jedi Knights standing on blocks can use the Force on each other to raise themselves up. The AI will execute this maneuver alongside a human player perfectly, including the dismount. A child may have a more difficult time. After several failed attempts, it is easy for one player to drop out until the obstacle is overcome, and then rejoin the game. The music is tried and true John Williams, and it never fails to disappoint. After all of these years, you would think that the opening chords and obliquely-scrolling titles would get old, but they don’t. The music helps to bridge the connection between the childish images, and the beloved source material. Voice acting is almost nonexistent: mini-figs never talk audibly, but through body language and the occasional “uh-uh” types of mutterings do an effective job of moving the plot along. Lego Star Wars is actually a faithful rendition of the three movies in a video game. It does a far better job of it than the individually-dedicated games. It can be completed in a short amount of time – easily within a one week’s rental period. It will appeal to Star Wars fans and Lego fans of any age. Hopefully Episodes IV, V, and VI will receive a similar treatment.
Back in the late 70's, in my early childhood, there were 2 things that occupied me during my more than ample free time: Legos and Star Wars. Many people my age grew up loving the multicolored blocks and the awe inspirin... Read Full Review
Wow! What a surprise! I never saw this one coming. I mean, who would have thought that a game this creative would ever find its way into the world of gaming today? Traveller's Tales delivers a wonderfully creative twist ... Read Full Review
