Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

"This game can even make Darth Vader look cute!"

Two forms of nostalgia in one game!? Sweet! Yes it's the sequel to the ever popular Lego Star Wars. For those who aren't in the know, imagine your favourite Star Wars movies and action scenes...recreated with Lego, everyone's favourite building tool. That's the game.

STORY
This time the sequel covers the “last” episodes in the series, and the ones everyone loves the most. Episode 4: A New Hope, Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode 6: Return of the Jedi. You'll control Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and a whole lot more, fighting against the dreaded Empire and it's evil Sith, Darth Vader.

GRAPHICS
The graphics like the other game, are very simplistic. It's Lego. What else would you expect it to look like? All of the characters look exactly like they should, same rounded heads, same claw hands. I'm guessing 70% of the people who play this game will in fact have the Star Wars Lego characters at home. You won't be disappointed. The machines look great, the environments look amazing, and all of the cutscenes are friggin hilarious. The perfect look.

SOUND
And the sound effects? It's a Star Wars game. You know how it'll sound right off the bat. Blasters, lightsaber sounds, alien noises, and the great John Williams soundtrack is all there to keep you entertained. And being a Star Wars geek who notices these things, I'm glad to see the songs are in the levels they should be. You won't get any voice acting aside from the occasional grunts and screams but oh well. Lego isn't about talking anyway.

GAMEPLAY
If you loved Lego Star Wars, you're gonna go crazy over the sequel. Cause it's the good movies! Like I said earlier, you're playing as toys you probably own at home, in a game about the old Star Wars films! I don't know about anyone else but I haven't played a Star Wars game that takes place in the first 3 movies in a long time. To take control of Luke and Han and Chewbacca as they travel around the Death Star to save Leia....it was sooo nostalgic and it was an amazing feeling. Like the first game all you're really doing is making it from one part of the level to the other, fighting bosses, and then piloting some spaceships as well.

Along the way though you're switching between all the different characters to help get through because they all have their own unique abilities. C3PO and R2D2 are needed to access computers. Han and pretty much anyone with a blaster are the only ones who can fire projectiles and use grappling hooks. Oh and speaking of blaster people, they're a lot more flexible than they were in the original game. The Jedis are the ones who can use the force to create bridges and other stuff out of random Lego pieces nearby. You need to use all their abilities to help each other out. You're also collection Lego Studs throughout all the levels by pretty much destroying everything in sight. You then use these studs to buy extras like new characters, cheats, and other great stuff.

The best new addition to this game is the ability to create your own character. You can take Darth Vader's head and stick him on an Ewok's body. You can put C3PO's head onto Leia's slave outfit. And you can even decide if the character is a Jedi, Sith, gunfighter, or bounty hunter. It's awesome. This game is a ton of fun, and there's a lot more to do rather than the first game. One of my complaints with the first game was that you can't die, making it too easy. And it hasn't really changed here. There's no sense of accomplishment beating the levels because well....YOU CAN'T DIE! You can fall in a bottomless pit and get blasted to death...but you'll just respawn again with no consequences for your actions at all, other than dropping a few studs.

And my last complaint with the game....your teammates. They do a good job fighting off the stormtroopers...except for the fact that they can't hurt them. This bugs the hell outta me and let me explain why. I'm Obi-Wan, and Luke is my only backup aside from R2 and C3PO who stay in the corner. I need to use the force to create a staircase for the robots to walk up. Problem is the stormtroopers keep spawning and they never stop coming. I get blasted, and my Jedi force powers are interrupted. Meanwhile Luke is hitting the enemies but they aren't stalling or ducking for cover, or what I want them to do, dying! They don't feel the bullets. I need to try and fight off the stormtroopers as quickly as I can, and try to make that staircase before more come really quickly. It's not fun. If there's a 3rd Lego game, I want my teammates to actually help, not just be eye candy. But I digress. The game has little of those moments.

IN THE END...
This game is just plain fun. You can play with a buddy (who can drop in or out at anytime in the game), create your own characters, and go through some sweet, sweet nostalgia. If you love Star Wars you need to get this at all costs. Trust me, you won't regret it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to play with some Lego now.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/07