Playstation 2 - Lego Star Wars

Format
Playstation 2
Publisher
Eidos Interactive
Developer
Traveller's Tales
Country of origin
UK
Genre
3rd person adventure

Lego Star Wars

By David Rasmussen
22nd May 05

It came to pass, one day, that the people at Lucasarts came to grasp an essential, universal truth.
There is most likely no way in heck that you could release a kid friendly Star Wars Episode III video game without butchering the game to heck! Episode III is the darkest of the pre-trilogy movies, so there doesn’t seem to be anyway to market an Episode III game that kids can play without ruining the experience for everyone! And with a T for Teen rating it seems to not be the most kid friendly SW movie tie in game! And then there’s the matter of the major spoiler package so if it’s not too violent then it’s a major downer for those who want to watch the movie without having it spoiled for them.
So, be it one or the other what is a Star Wars fan (kid or otherwise) to do?

A Lego Time Ago
In A Galaxy Far Far Away…

Eidos (they who brought you the Tomb Raider franchise) and Giant comes to Lucasarts’ rescue with it’s release of Lego Star Wars, a kid friendly version of the pre-trilogy from Episode I to Episode III that won‘t ruin your appetite for the movie by revealing too much about the movie!
Now, first off you might think that a Lego Star Wars game would be lame, right? Well I’m here to tell you that you’d be wrong! It’s got some moves, believe it or not! One cool move comes in terms of “spoilers”.
Question - How to review Star Wars Episode III (the video game) without spoiling the story?
Heck, how do you PLAY Star Wars Episode III without spoiling the story?
Playing this might be a good start.

Before we begin I want to note the special “circumstance” of the game.
This is a one to two player game, but not in the traditional sense. It’s two player mode is sorta like that in a video arcade, in that the second player can jump in during gameplay (and jump out when they want to leave) providing for interesting gameplay opportunities as you can play by yourself, then have a second player join you during the game for even more playability. How’s that for cool!

The game begins in Dexter’s Bar… no, not run by that strange boy genius of the Cartoon Network (Dexter)… the bar, at the beginning of the game, is abit lonely with only your two characters… but not for long. First off, before we continue, note that you start as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, with the ability to use the “force” while in the bar areas… go wild! Shake EVERYTHING and anything you can interact with with the force! You’ll score a load of “plugs” (well, this game’s version of credits) and can start buying extras ASAP (but don‘t buy the expensive unlockable “extras“ yet, save those credits for the “characters“)!
This is your first hint that using the force often in this game will pay off big time!
Not only will it reveal many spots where you can collect the “currency” of this game, as well as unlock hidden modelkit parts, it is also good for beating both the enemies and the Sith Lords (bosses)!

Okay. You got the hang of the controls, and learned how to use the force to your advantage.
It’s time to go into Episode I’s room and start playing!

You play through all three Episodes, and like most things it’s best to start off at the very beginning and play each Episode in turn, starting with Episode I (The Phantom Menace)!
As you play you unlock more characters you can play as as you finish each “chapter” of each Episode, quite a few of them will join you in the bar area (wandering about between the bar and the outside parking area).
You’ll also unlock the ability to use your credits to buy more characters, who’ll also appear in the bar from time to time to add to the fun. And, heck, they’ll do more than just walk around!
Those characters you earned you can change with for playing the freeplay mode, so you can use the attributes of the different characters you found to unlock new modelkits that you couldn’t reach the first time about. Meanwhile, some enemy Legos can be “destroyed” (the cannon fodder drones for instance) for more “plugs”, while the Sith characters will actually get into fights in the parking lot with JedI characters! And, yes, you can even jump in on the fights if you wish!
And, just so you know, in THIS game Jar Jar Binks is actually a USEFUL CHARACTER!
Yes, that’s not a misprint! This time you will have an actual use for Jar Jar!! Really!!
(Jar Jar is the best jumper in this game and some levels require a high jumper in order to snag some of the hard to reach modelkit pieces, so you’ll need Jar Jar from time to time in freeplay mode!)

Back to the Episodes. Along the way in each chapter you’ll find these canisters that hold lego parts to vechiles, all of which are assembled outside in the parking lot as you play the game. You can’t get all the pieces the first go about, though, some pieces requires a different character’s special abilities so you’ll need to go back (with the specific characters in question) to these levels in “freeplay” mode to secure all the pieces for each vechile (as I said above). Also, as you complete each level, you unlock a piece to a bonus vechile (completed once you finish all 17 levels of the Pre Trilogy)! This provides for much much replay value and loads of playing time! Also, once you play enough of each Episode you can go back to the bar and check for new characters to purchase at the bar, yet another thing that’ll keep you playing!
For a game that is supposed to be so simple there’s lots here to provide plenty of replay value! Not bad!
Also, each episode can be played multiple times in freeplay, using different characters for different results.
This, by the way, is where the game really rocks!

You pick one character from all the characters you’ve unlocked, and then you’re given a set of characters you can morph into and a second character to help you (best thing to do is play an entire Episode to completion before attempting the Freeplay modes of that Episode so you‘ll have lots of chacters to choose from). As you play you can morph into any of a number of characters (for puzzle solving to reach those difficult to get at modelkit parts) and for some quirky fun!
For instance play the end chapter of Episode I as Darth Maul, so that when you fight Darth Maul it’ll be an all out battle with Darth Maul Vs. Darth Maul Vs. Darth Maul! Yeah! The second character will morph into Darth Maul too and you’ll have one weird fight!
Heck, you could mix and match any combination for some weird JedI vs Sith or Sith vs. Sith dueling!!
That is just another thing that‘ll keep you coming back again and again.

And if that wasn’t enough there’s still MORE reasons to keep playing!
There’s a ton of things to buy with all the “plugs” you earn playing, which adds to your playing time.
That includes extras like “invincibility”, three different kinds of guns, and a detector to help you find modelkit parts for those ships (which is vital since you can‘t complete the kits without this to find the very hard to find final piece of each kit on each level).

As for humor? Lego Star Wars also packs a quirky sense of humor that plays with idea of the trilogy being done by Lego to the hilt, including “alternate” happenings during the stories that are a hoot.
And if you want to get a taste of Episode III without spoiling the entire story then here’s a chance to get some of the grandeur of the scenes with only a taste of the spoilers.
I’ve played Episode III, and if the six levels I played are any indication of what is waiting for me in just parts of this movie then I’m looking forward to the treats to come from this movie! And the “spoilers“ in this game are down to a minimum, so that‘s another good thing!

Without a doubt this game is the perfect solution for those (be it kids or adults) who want to get into this excitement of the final trilogy episode, but don’t want the entire story spoiled. And, if SW:Episode III turns out to be kid-unfriendly (A T for Teen game) then it’ll also make sure the kids can get in on that fun without leaving them out of the SW:Episode III gaming.
And, what the heck! This game is also perfect for those of us who want to have a different Star Wars experience than the endless games that we’ve been playing in the past that don’t seem very innovative!
Yes, this is an easy game, but it’s quirky fun and lovable characters (gosh darnit even Darth Maul looks cute as Lego Darth Maul, though he still has his kickin’ moves) you can’t go wrong with this game!
The visuals look great, the animation is fine, and several of the characters (including the JedI/Sith characters and some like Jango Fett) have their own unique movement system that mimics their movie counterparts so that they are not boring (using carbon copy moves allowing for little variety in visuals).

A fresh departure to the standard Star Wars game that’ll give you a fresh look at the Pre-Trilogy! The gameplay is addictive yet simple, it‘s got some simple puzzle solving (nothing too complex), and it‘s just plain fun! And heck there‘s even more past the three rooms leading to the pre-trilogy saga!
More? Well, there are FOUR rooms to go into in the bar (each leading to another area of the bar with multiple doors for multiple chapters) with the fourth (“?“) sealed off.
I don’t know what’s in there, but it’s not easy to get into there! I finished the entire trilogy and I still couldn’t get in there! Maybe I need to complete all the model kits or need a code or something.
At that point I needed only two more playable characters and two more purchased characters so I wonder what’s in that room… anyone find out let me know, eh? Okay, breakdown time.

Lego Star Wars Breakdown
What’s Hot?
A Star Wars game that’s a horse of a different color!
The game is unique, quirky, interesting, and not something any of us have seen from a Star Wars game before! It’s an experience you won’t forget anytime soon, and something worth having for the Star Wars collection as we say good-bye (for now) to the series with the final chapter of the Pre-Trilogy!

What’s Not?
Nothing. Yes, it’s a kid’s game but yet there’s lots of spunk and unique-ness about this game that warrants getting it for your collection. A unique little gem of a game that you should consider owning.
And it’s different! Something different about the Star Wars universe that nobody’s seen yet! Not bad!

Moments to Remember?
Ah, quirky fun with the Lego Star Wars Universe.
I wont’ spoil it, but you should check it out. They do have quite abit of fun with the fact that this IS the Lego Star Wars Universe and quite abit of quirky moments happen during the cut scenes!
Also once I got ahold of Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda as selectable characters things really started to kick in! Yeah! Yoda’s particularly funky to play as (which you’ll find out once you get to play as Yoda for the first time in the game during Episode II)!
Also this game is easy to learn, fun to play and just good. One of the more memorable games of the Star Wars universe if I do say so myself.

What to Ignore?
Hmm… ahh… can’t think of a thing. Sorry. And I didn’t spill any spoiler info about Episode III so you don’t need to ignore me. Maybe you can ignore the lack of talking. Sorry, if you were hoping for voice overs from the movie’s stars then you’ll be disappointed. No voiceover work here, except for lots of grunting and groaning and mumbling. But then again that’s no big lost since the game is made even more quirky and interesting by the lack of voiceovers so I don’t mind that in the slightest.

Overall?
This game might be one that takes care of two possible problems in one fell swoop.
If it looks like Star Wars : Episode III would be a kid-unfriendly T for Teen game this solves the problem of how to keep the kids in the Episode III video gaming loop.
And if it looks like people want to play Star Wars : Episode III games without having too much spoiled about the contents of the movie (as would happen if they played Star Wars : Episode III for the major platformers) then this game also comes to their rescue with mild spoilers that doesn’t ruin the experience.
Lego Star Wars opens up the entire trilogy for a kid slash die hard fan friendly experience that might take full advantange of any reluctance from players to play the major SW Episode III game (prior to watching the movie in question) to the hilt.
Quirky fun, with lovable Lego characters and yet quite abit of action in the gameplay, offers up a package that might find it‘s audience quicker than it thinks. Chracters you can “earn” as you play, models you can “build” as you complete each level, and a secret room to explore in this grand lookin’ bar to check out.
All of these and more make for a game that’ll have you playing for quite sometime and one that is sure to be a keeper in your permament collection!

Now, as for my review of the main Star Wars : Episode III video game!
It’s coming shortly (as I wrap up this review and send it in) but I figure you won’t be playing Star Wars Episode III until after you’ve seen the movie, so I won’t be reviewing the game right off the bat.
Still, just in case, I’ll post a thread about it (doing it as I finish the reviews of the week) to see if anyone wants to hear about the game sooner or not. Until then may the Lego Force be with you.

-- David Rasmussen 22nd May 05

Playstation 2 Lego Star Wars Images