Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

"Amazingly fun gameplay for everyone"

As a hardcore gamer, I know through experience that the licensed video game version of any particular movie. show, etc, is bound to be terrible. Then again, I may still be harboring grudges from my SNES days. In any case, I never would have expected there to be a great Star Wars game that all gamers, whether they be hardcore or utter newbies, would be able to enjoy.

However, when I heard that the original Lego Star Wars was a critically acclaimed success, and heard that people were really excited about the new game centering around the original trilogy (the movies I actually care about!) I was excited, and I decided to take a chance that would either make me smile or jade me forever.

Boy am I glad I did.

I honestly don't know where to begin. Suffice to say, if you feel like it you can stop reading this review right now and run to the store and buy it. Trust me. If you don't trust me, that's fine; continue reading this review to learn all about why LSW2 is a must-have for your gaming collection.

I'll get the easy points out of the way first. The graphics are great. Granted, it doesn't take too much detail to draw characters made out of Legos, but they look beautiful. Everything is crisp and shiny. The particle effects from explosions are nice, and even if you've never seen a Lego version of this or that from Star Wars, you'll recognize almost everything the instant you see it.

Additionally, it's probably important to add that though things are made out of Legos, which are in real life stiff building blocks, things in this game don't always move like a stiff toy. The Lego characters have bodies that actually bend and twist a bit to make them more lifelike, and their facial expressions change as well. In the same way, the AT-AT and AT-ST (those 2- and 4-legged walkers machines) have a nice swagger to them. Basically, just because everything looks like Legos doesn't mean that they seem lifeless; this game is filled with energy and life, and you don't have to look hard to find it.

As far as sound, it's exactly what you would expect it to be. The music and sounds are all easily recognizable, from the Imperial March theme to the sounds that blasters, lightsabers, and TIE Fighters make. It's wonderful. I don't know what more anyone could want.

As far as story goes, those who haven't seen the movies may be in a tad pickle, because the cut scenes don't have ANY dialogue at all. All of the Lego characters speak in mumbles and grunts, which sounds bad when I write it in a review, but trust me, it's very well-done. The scenes usually follow the basic premise of the movies, but add in their own goofy humor as well. It's all very cute and will have you smiling, if not laughing out loud. Also, inbetween chapters (levels) of the game, there will be a rolling dialogue in space (just like at the beginning of the movies) that sums up what just happened and what's going on, so hopefully this will keep even the most green of Star Wars players in tune with the plot; I can't say for sure, because I can't even imagine this...

The controls are nice. Characters always do exactly what you want them to do. Additionally, the controls are simple. X jumps. Circle activates switches and, depending on your character, uses the Force, uses your grappling hook, or throws a bomb. Square uses your weapon, and Triangle will let you switch characters. Easy, right? Oh, and the right analog stick moves the camera a little, but trust me, you won't be needing to, because it's not even an issue.

Now, gameplay. This is what really counts, right? Luckily, everything here is A+ as well.

You start out in the Mos Eisley Cantina. In this area you can purchase secrets and extras that you can unlock as well as choose which level (chapter) you would like to play. You can also use this area to create your own character (more on this later).

There are a few different types of characters in the game, but for the most part they can be divided into Gunners, Jedi, and Droids. Gunners can shoot from afar and have some fancy dodging moves; they can also use their grappling hooks to reach certain places others cannot. Jedi are armed with lightsabers, which can deflect or reflect laser blasts as well as slash at foes. Jedi also have a double-jump that can get them a little higher and a little further, and they can use the force to either confuse or strangle enemies, as well as move certain objects in their environment. Finally, Droids typically have no real mobility or attack features, but they can activate many kinds of switches, which is mostly what you will need them for. To complete the game, you will need to learn to control all of these types.

Some characters also have other abilities as well. Certain doors will only open for characters of a certain occupation or with certain helmets on. Bounty Hunters can throw bombs that can destroy certain otherwise invincible objects. Jawas and Ewoks can crawl into passages that are too short for anyone else...and there's more, too.

Anyway, in any given level, you will have at least 2 playable characters out at a time. If you are playing alone, you will control one(s) and the other will be controlled by computer AI. If you have a friend to play with, they can control one, too. In fact, one of the greatest features of this game is that a second player can switch in and out of the game at any time. So, you can start playing the game alone, and then your friend can come over, press start on his controller, and now you're playing together. Then maybe you have to go to the dentist; you can choose to drop out of the game, and your friend can keep playing, etc. It's really cool.

Players can switch characters by having their character walk over to another playable character and pressing Triangle. It's as easy as that. By doing this, you will have access to all of the abilities you need to beat a level.

However, the game isn't just shooting and slashing. There are actually a great deal of puzzles in the game. Getting a door open or making a bridge appear may sometimes be as easy as throwing a lever, but it hardly ever is. Most people will probably find themselves almost stumped (my definition: a minute or two of trying to figure things out) a few times in the game before they realize what needs doing to progress. The puzzles are never frustrating, and they usually gave me a good feeling.

In addition to this, non-Droid players can build things. Often you will see a pile of Lego pieces that seem to be hopping in place. Can you hear that? They're saying "Build me! Build me!" If you go over to them and hold the Circle button, your character will start to rapidly place the pieces where they need to go. Sometimes they'll build a door, a bridge, a lever, a truck, or even an AT-ST!

There are also vehicle levels, where you will find yourself in an X-wing, a snowspeeder, a speeder, or the Millenium Falcon. These levels usually throw you for a loop initially, but you'll get the hang of them pretty fast. Even my girlfriend, who usually gets frustrated with games, was in control and having fun in no time. Like the rest of the game, these levels are 3rd-person 1/2(give or take) perspective.

During the levels, you will find a lot of Lego "studs", which are the currency of the game. They can be found in all manner of destroyable objects. The only purpose they serve is to purchase things in the Cantina between levels, but if you're a completionist, you'll want a lot of them. You can use them to unlock extra characters to play as, vehicles, levels, and even goofy extras like the ability to have everyone in your group wearing disguise glasses. Once you beat a level, your studs are banked, so you can NEVER lose them unless you spend them.

One of the best things about the game is that there are no "lives". When a character dies, which will happen if you take 4 hits and don't replenish any of your hearts at some point, they will fall to pieces, some of their studs will scatter around them, and they will reappear a moment later. You can collect them before they disappear to get some of your cash back if you want, or just keep going. So, there is NO way to lose this game unless you simply give up, because you will keep reappearing. Of course, nobody wants to lose money, so this will be enough of an incentive to inspire most players to not throw themselves carelessly into harms way; however, the amount of money lost is nothing that will break your bank, so you won't feel too bad. Basically, this makes it so that players of all skill levels can play together and have a good time (or play alone and have a good time) without worrying much.

Of course, hardcore players won't have an easy time, because there are TONS of things to unlock in this game. Besides the things you can buy in the Cantina, every level has 3 "gold bricks" you can get: 1 for finishing the level, 1 for getting "True Jedi" in Story mode, and 1 for getting "True Jedi" in Free Play. (True Jedi just means that you got a certain amount of Lego studs while playing the level) These gold bricks will allow you to access extra levels, and may have some other uses too...

Every level also has 10 secret canisters you can find. If you get all of them in a particular level, it will let you build a certain vehicle outside of the Cantina. However, most of the time you will need to play in Free Play mode to get all of them.

After you beat a level in Story mode, you can play it anytime in Free Play mode. Free Play is just like Story mode except that instead of playing as the normal characters that would be in that part of the story, you get to choose who you play as (to a certain extent). Additionally, you can switch who your character is at will by pressing L1 and R1; one second you'll be Luke Skywalker, and a button press later you'll be Boba Fett. Doing this will allow you to access areas you could never get to in Story mode.

Additionally, you can use your custom characters in Free Play. A custom character is pretty much what you would expect it to be: you take the Lego parts from a bunch of different guys and use them to make your custom character. So, you could have the head of C-3PO on the body of Greedo with the legs of Han Solo. And give him a cape. And give him black gloves. And a lightsaber...etc. The more characters you earn, the more parts you will have access to to customize your character. And trust me, there are a LOT of characters to earn, from the easily recognized Yoda and Darth Vader to the more obscure Dengar and Lobot.

That's all that I can think of about the game. It's deep, and I love it. So, why did I give it a 9 out of 10 if it's so great? Well, honestly, I would give this game a 10. I really would. However, there are a few bugs in the game. Since most people would say this takes the game down a notch (and often it can), I figured I'd give it a 9 out of 10 for their sake and let YOU be the judge.

Most of these bugs are nothing much. A handful of times a character has been stuck inbetween two objects and had to shake a bit to get out. Sometimes when a player gets two far away from their other player friend, the game will decide it's better to drop the other player from play, but this is easily remedied by just having that player press start again. Once my game even froze. Once.

But trust me when I say, these bugs will probably not hinder your gaming experience much. Besides the freeze, I was able to fix all of the bugs in a jiffy and continue on my merry way.

I haven't finished the game yet, but I can tell that I'll be playing LSW2 for a long time. It isn't very often that you find a 2 player co-op game that you can play with your girlfriend, your little brother, or your mom(I admit, I haven't tried it, but I bet she could!), and if that's what you're looking for, you're going to have a great time. If you like Star Wars, you'll just have that much more fun.

But honestly, if you're reading this review and have bothered to read through this lengthy article all the way to here, you probably already had an interest in the game and were just wondering if it was really worth your while.

Well trust me, it is.

Go out and buy Lego Star Wars 2 today. If you still don't believe me, you can't go wrong with a rental.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/18/06