Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

"Don't buy some power converters at Tosche Station, pick up this game."

The original Lego Star Wars game surprised, well, everybody with its simple but highly addictive gameplay. How could a game clearly marketed towards a younger audience not only find such appeal with an older audience, but also be better than other Star Wars games? Of course, a sequel was pretty much a given, seeing as how all audiences enjoyed the game. Enter Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. Unlike the first game which was set during the Prequel Trilogy eras, this game takes place during the Original Trilogy era; the classic Star Wars movies. How does this game compare to the original?

If you played the first Lego Star Wars game, you know that the graphics are cartoony. The character models are, obviously, made up of Lego pieces, as are the ships and the backgrounds. All of the characters are, for the most part, distinguishable from their movie counterparts, which is really quite a feat when you consider that they've been Lego-ized. The same could be said about the locations and backgrounds. When you're on Dagobah, you'll know you're on Dagobah. The space ships do look a little off in terms of coloring, but I figure that was a necessary sacrifice to be able to see the ships better. The character designs are a lot more polished and "shinier," for lack of a better word. They look more like actual Lego pieces, and I credit that to the capabilities of the 360.

The sound is excellent, as is typical of most Star Wars games. The sounds are taken pretty much from the movies. A lightsaber igniting sounds like a lightsaber igniting. The battle music during Hoth is the same music as in the movie. No complaints in the sound department.

Obviously, since the game is geared towards a younger audience, the controls have been kept simple. One button attacks, one jumps, one does a "special" move (the Force, Force lightning, and so forth). The controls are simple and responsive, with the exception of the spaceship missions, which I will get to in a moment.

The gameplay has been expanded on. For starters, each mission is a lot longer than any mission from the original game. That's good! Each level contains the same amount of action and fun as the first. Defeat Stormtroopers, solve puzzles, battle the evil Darth Vader, collect Lego Studs which you use to unlock extras and secrets, and so forth.

Space missions have been greatly expanded on, as opposed to just the Battle of Coruscant in Episode III from the first game. Unfortunately, they are definitely lacking. At times, it's so hard to see your ship it becomes almost impossible. The controls during the ship missions are also incredibly loose, making a hard task even harder. A for effort, but the ship levels aren't that good. Fortunately, they're few and far between.

Much like the original game, there are many unlockables and extras. Of course, you need to collect the minikits. You can also get Red and Gold Bricks which unlock extras. You can also buy extras the old fashioned way: with Lego Studs. There are plenty of extra characters you can choose from, as well. Nothing like beating the game with Lego Admiral Ackbar.

The game also continues two player cooperative mode, with the drop-in, drop-out feature. Essentially, any time a second player wants to join, hit "start" and he'll be playing right along side you. When he wants to leave, choose "drop out" from the pause menu, and the other player will continue to play. Always a great feature.

There are a few glaring flaws though. Probably my main gripe (in fact, the main reason why this game didn't get a perfect ten) is the glitches. Unfortunately, there are known issues with this game. Essentially, the game tends to lock up in certain areas. That's not too fun when you've just spent 45 minutes collecting all the Lego studs, finding the minikits, and so forth. While a fix for this will hopefully be able to be downloaded from Xbox Live at a later date, that doesn't help anybody now, or anybody without Xbox Live. This brings me to my other point. You can purchase the characters from the first game from Xbox Live marketplace, for a very small price. Unfortunately, if you don't have Xbox Live, you can't get these extra characters.

Overall, this game is excellent. Simple and fun gameplay for people of all ages. If you like Star Wars, you owe it to yourself to grab this game, as long as you understand that it is marketed towards a younger audience. If you're looking to purchase a game for a youngster, you also need to think about this game.

Have fun, and may the Force be with you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/06