Lego Star Wars

"Lego Star Wars is the most complete and most enjoyable Star Wars title ever created..."

In early 2005, Edios Interactive, Travellers Tales, and Lucas Arts released what was one of the biggest sleeper games ever created. Most casual game fans, young and old, were simply confused when these three publishers announced Lego Star Wars. Most of us thought, "Oh great, another mildly impressing Lego game for us to play, suffer through, and eventually sell to the pawn shop". Most of the past few Lego themed games fell victim to shotty development and lazy producers. Games like Soccer Mania, Rock Raiders, and Lego Loco have all been representations of what went wrong while trying to blend Lego with video game systems. However, Lego Star Wars changed everything...

Lego Star Wars is an action adventure game based on the first three episodes of the actual Star Wars timeline. The only catch of the game....it's all made of Lego. Everything is Lego! The people, the vehicles, the cities.....everything! While Lego Star Wars is meant to be a video game for small children with little knowledge of Star Wars, the game comes across as a simple platforming game for all ages. While this may seem like a bad thing, Lego Star Wars is the most complete Star Wars game you'll ever play...

Gameplay: 10/10 - Lego Star Wars is the perfect blend of kiddie platforming and mindless droid-cutting. The game, like I said before, features Episodes I, II, and III, in bite-sized levels that never overwhelm you. The majority of the Lego Star Wars experience is spent cutting up droids and solving simple puzzles in an attempt to re-create the movies in as simple form as possible. Along the way, you'll handle all of the main jedi characters such as Obi-Wan, Qui-Gonn Jinn, Anakin Skywalker, and more. Jedi characters can use their lightsabers to deflect the blaster fire of the many droids and clone troopers that are seen in the game. They are also essential for level progression in the game, as they can use the force on the environment to create steps, platforms, or reveal paths, in order to finish the level. The controls are quite simple, as there are few buttons to use, and very few attacks to use with each character. Because most of the levels are made entirely of Lego blocks, this makes the small wink at the free building of Lego. Another small wink goes to the "fall-apart" like action when an enemy is struck down. It makes a really cool effect, and surrounds you in the Lego portion of the game. Another main feature that must be noted, is the ability to have a second player join in the game at any time. This leads to some fun Co-op gameplay, and, if you are both using jedi or sith, can actually duel each other on the spot...

The main campaign of Lego Star Wars is the "Story Mode". The Story Mode spans 17 short levels spread out within the newest three episodes of the Star Wars Legacy. The levels often consist of cutting up large groups of droids, while solving easy puzzles, and, cutting up more droids! While the on-foot action does get boring after a while, the three vehicle levels really mix things up. The vehicle levels consist of Pod Racing, The Clone Wars Gunship Battle, and, The Battle Of Coruscant. While these levels are pretty linear, they are a good break from the sometimes tedious walking levels.In order to give the game some life, the game includes some cutscenes on each level to give you a break from the action. Most of these scenes are extremely funny, and give in to the lighter side of Star Wars. You just can't resist Lego people fighting each other, it's just so........cute!

The story mode of Lego Star Wars can be completed in just a couple of hours, while the game only takes a few days to complete. The other big feature in Lego Star Wars is the "Free Play" mode. This mode lets you take any character you've unlocked, and replay any level. In all, 56 characters can be unlocked by using the money you've gained from the levels to purchase them. These characters include Jedi, Blaster Characters, Clone Troopers, Droids, and Sith. The diverse cast is amazing, as there is something for everyone. However, once you unlock everything, there is really no reason to go back and play the levels more than once. Also, the secret level you unlock at the end is a complete rip-off. Challenges include collecting canisters to build ships in the game's parking lot, and achieving a certain amount of coins in each level. The game's boss fights are really easy if you know what you are doing, and this takes away largely from the game, as the core action in Star Wars are the lightsaber battles. In all, the gameplay in Lego Star Wars is easy, enjoyable, cute, and ultimately, repetitive...

Graphics: 8/10 - The graphics for Lego Star Wars on the PC are very good and very smooth. The framerate never drops below 60 FPS, even on some of the higher detailed levels. All of the characters in the game are modeled just like they should be, and the game is extremely colourful. However, on some levels, there are a few graphical glitches, most notably in the cutscenes. For the most part though, the graphics are pretty good...

Sound: 8/10 - The sound in Lego Star Wars is excellent. The John Williams music is excellent. The music is always slow when nothing is happening, but switches to a faster piece when enemies come on the screen or when something is happening. All of the blaster and lightsaber sounds are correct, except for the odd lightsaber block sound. In conclusion, Lego Star Wars sounds pretty good...

Final Score: 8.9/10.0 - Lego Star Wars is an exciting but short-lived action experience. The game is best played with a friend, as the Co-op is the heart of the game. Because of the games length, most people will be turned off by it, as the Story Mode can be finished in a couple of hours. Casual gamers will find this game extremely enjoyable, while hardcore Star Wars fans might be turned off by how light-hearted the game is, and how many serious moments in the saga come out as downright silly just because of the Lego. To sum it up, Lego Star Wars is the best kiddie game ever made...

Rent Or Buy: Buy - Lego Star Wars is a must own for anyone who still enjoys Lego, Star Wars, or destroying things. The game is simple enough that anyone can play it, yet complicated to the point where some younger gamers will have a little bit of trouble on it. Even though it is a bit short, Lego Star Wars will satisfy anyone's inner child...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/26/09

Game Release: Lego Star Wars (US, 04/02/05)