Lego Star Wars Xbox, PS2 Review

LEGO Star Wars is designed by Traveller’s Tales, a developer whose previous games have mostly been geared towards children; with average titles such Finding Nemo and Toy Story Racer. With such recent titles under their belts hopes were not high for Lego Star Wars. However when the world’s most successful film series meets the world’s most successful toy, something very special was created. Lego Star Wars is fun, a whole load of fun and has all the other Star Wars titles brickin’ it

The game stars with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in Dexter’s Diner, which is basically a hub area where you can enter all the levels in the game, and where you can also purchase cheats and unlockable characters in this area after you collect the pick-ups in the many levels. The main game commences when you enter the “Episode I” door and you fight through the six levels telling the story of that film, the same goes for the other two films giving you a total of eighteen levels to journey through.

Each character in the game has there own strengths; Jedi’s can use the force, others can grapple ledges while small characters can crawl through small spaces. You can switch between any of these characters as you play through the level by pressing Y while standing in front of the charter you want to change to. It is necessary to do this to solve some the puzzles to continue further into the game. Some of the enemies may be easy to battle with a blaster than confront them with a lightsaber as well!

Combat in Star Wars is the definition of simplicity. On button controls you lightsaber or blaster, depending on you character, the other button controls the force or grapple which also depends on which character you are. Different actions can then be achieved depending on where these buttons are pressed. You can reflect some blaster shots from an enemy if you time your shot correctly, blowing him up with his own shot.

Co-op play is one of the game’s strong points, in fact the game was built around this feature as there are always at least 2 characters on screen at a time. Another player can join the game at any time by plugging in a second controller and pressing start and taken controller of the once AI computer controlled character. The player can then also leave at anytime so the flow of the game is not disrupted. Traveller’s Tales should really by applauded for the ease of use of this feature. It is a very simple but well implanted feature that makes the game even better.

Due to everything in the game been based on Lego models, the game looks bright, cheerful and even sickeningly cute at times. All the levels are faithfully recreated from their movie based counterparts, and look fantastic. In fact all the effects in the game, ranging from the Lego block breaking apart when you cut a droid down with your lightsaber, to the reflection of your character on a glass floor are all lovingly created and do justice to the Star Wars name. There is also little to no noticeable loading time in the game, which is always a plus these days.

As you would expect with any Star Wars title, the music is top-notch and this Lego based incantation does not disappoint. Traveller’s Tales uses the familiar John Williams score to the best of their ability, easily bettering the KOTOR series and the GameCube’s Rouge leader title in its implementation into the game. Not only is the score used in the cut-scenes but it is also used during gameplay. It reacts with on-screen events, intensifying fights scenes and adding some mood to moments of silence. Although this title could be classed as a “kid’s game”, the way the music is used elevates it so adults and kids can appreciate it alike.

Not only is the music first-class, but each one of the many battles you face are made all the better by the unmistakable sound of lightsabers and blasters. Some people may be disappointed by the lack of voice-over work for any of the characters in the game, with just the droids getting a few bleeps to their name. However I believe they were unneeded and the game is better without them.

If that isn’t enough for you the game is also presented in full surround sound, if only this much care was taken in all games. The hard work put in by the guys and gals at Skywalker Sound and Traveller’s Tales really bring those little blocks to life!

Star Wars Lego was made with kids in mind, so on face value it is an easy game. You can’t die as you have infinite life and you will never have to restart a level. Everyone should be able to finish the game no mater how low their skill level is. I finished it in about four hours but I can see others finishing it both slower or faster than me.

Throughout them four hours I finished the story mode (Episodes I, II, and III) and unlocked some of the many characters available. I did not unlock the secret level or the other 20+ characters but I estimate that would take at least 15+ hours of solid play collecting all the pick-ups on all eighteen levels. Even though it may look like an easy game there is a good challenge in there for the “hardcore” gamers amongst us.

When all’s said and done, Lego Star Wars is best described as fun, pure undiluted fun. It won’t offer you to much of a challenge as you won’t get stuck on a level for a day or two. You wont get frustrated but you will have a broad smile on you face as you battle through the 3 episodes of the new trilogy.

Lego Star Wars may have started out life aimed at children, but it has taken the hearts of many adults along the way. If there was ever a title for the whole family to enjoy this is it. My only complaint is that it all ends to quickly, so hopefully we will see the original trilogy in Lego form in the future.

Fun, pure undiluted fun!

8.3 out of 10