Lego, arm ripping wookies and lightsabers, this is GOOD!!
Let’s start with what this isn’t. It is not a game aimed at hardcore gamers who want 200 hours of arse achingly complex gameplay.
What it is, is FUN!!
If you are unfamiliar with the Lego Star Wars (if so why!) you may need something of an introduction.
Lego Star Wars is a retelling of the Star Wars saga. Lego Star Wars I dealt with episodes 1-3 this one looks at my personal favorite, episodes 4-6.
You guide a group of Lego Star Wars characters around each level, solving various team based puzzles, shooting storm troopers, hacking them up with a Lightsaber or force choking them.
Lets get on with the review.
The basic gameplay has stayed very much the same from Lego Star Wars I.
There are 2 types of level, On foot or flying. As this deals with episodes 4-6 you start with characters that are more shooting based. And this is where you notice the first improvement. If you keep shooting your character with dodge enemy shots. If you get close you will get into a punch up with the enemy! Each character has their own moves, my favorite being Lando who has a dragon uppercut as a finisher. This makes the non Jedi characters much better to play with!
An average on foot level sees you with a team of about 4 characters. You walk around the level solving puzzles and shooting the bad guys. Puzzles can consist of anything from finding a switch, to sending R2D2 off to a door only he can fly too, to building a Lego structure that lets you move to your next puzzle. This is where the next improvement can be seen. All non droid characters can now build with Lego.
You can switch to any other character as you play. This adds to the puzzles as you need to use the right member to do certain parts. For instance Jedi characters can move objects with the force, where as they don’t have grappling hooks. Some doors can only be opened by droids. Others you need to be disguised as a storm trooper to get through.
The puzzles are simple, but fun and break up the frantic shooting nicely. You also get to pilot a variety of vehicles, from speeders to AT-AT walkers.
The flying sections have also been changed since I. They are no longer ‘on rails’. They are a top down affair which are again great fun to play. They see you needing to destroy certain key parts of maps, like the Death Star or Hoth.
All of the key locations are present. Starting out in Luke’s home town of Tatooine in A New Hope, moving all the way to Endor with the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi.
They are all beautifully recreated with Lego. But you never disbelieve your environment. It is hard to explain, but it always looks and feels right! The environments are very destructible. You should always take a few minutes to destroy everything in sight just to get all the collectable gold coins.
The controls a incredibly simple. Soon you will be performing diving rolls and backflips like it it is second nature. Jumping between characters is a breeze also.
The camera is also very well controlled, never feeling like it is in the wrong place to get the best view of the action!!
On the sound front, everything sounds like Star Wars. Lightsabers make the right noise, the Tie fighters sound good. It is all there. There is no speech, the Lego characters retell the whole story with nothing but facial expressions. Again this works amazingly well!!
This brings us to the replay factor. The game is very easy. Even with the clever dynamic difficulty settings.
But there is a lot to keep you coming back. Every level you complete becomes available in free play mode. This allows you to choose a team of characters to replay the level and try to get to some of the parts only they can reach, such as bounty hunter only areas. There are many bonuses to collect and buy in the cantina. There are also many cheats and characters to be bought. There is a cast of over 50 in this thing. You can also import characters you opened from a Lego Star Wars I save.
There are also some fun extras. You can make your won character from all the characters you have opened. How about Darth Leia or Han Chewbacca!!
There is also a very clever 2 player mode. A second player can just plug a joypad in and take over a character, during gameplay. If they leave the computer takes over!
Ok so this is a game for kids, but adults will love it. It feels more like Star Wars than any other game I have played!! My wife even enjoys watching it. There are some great gags in there, like building a radio in Jabba the Hutts palace to make all the Gamoreans dance to a rock version of the Imperial March, just before getting Luke to force choke them!
This is one for Kids and Adults alike. May the FUN be with you all!
The Bad: A little easy, but there is enough to keep bringing you back.