Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy
Put it this way….who doesn’t like Lego’s? Young or old, local or foreign, man, woman, boy, girl, I can’t say I’ve ever met anyone who could say with no uncertain terms that they didn’t like the plastic building blocks. There’s kind of a built in charm to the toys that just injects smiles into anyone around them. One of last years suprise smash hits for the PS2, GameCube, Xbox and PC mashed the charm and simplicity of the versatile blocks with the cult appeal of the Star Wars film franchise. Lego Star Wars the video game from Traveller’s Tales and Eidos recreated some of the greatest moments of the prequel films in plastic bricks with no lack of humor and great gameplay. Finishing the game and finding all the secrets opened up a single level from the 4th chapter of the series, thereby dropping a monster cliffhanger on gamers.
Low and behold, Eidos drops out, but LucasArts steps in to partner up with Traveller’s Tales to bring rabid fans Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. The same charm, humor and unique brand of story re-telling puts you in control with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and dozens of others from the classic trilogy. Not so much an improvement from the previous installment as it is a continuation, this sequel certainly brings back the fun with new characters, new settings and new challenges to your fickle fingers.
It needs to be understood, first and foremost, though very good looking, this game wasn’t designed to be eye-popping. Shortly after release, the boards lit up with complaints that it was a waisted title, particularly for the power of the Xbox 360 and it’s high def capabilities. WIth Lego Star Wars II though, it isn’t about the graphics, it’s about the fun. Each episode (movie) is broken up into 6 or so chapters. Initially, you control two chapter specific characters and pick up or drop off party members as they are introduced in the story and as they apply to certain puzzles as you progress. Destroying objects, building objects and solving puzzles will spout lego studs that act like cash. For each level, collecting a preset (though never announced) amount of studs will achieve True Jedi Status for story mode and earn you a Gold Brick. Studs allow you to purchase cheats, additional characters and other suprises. Gold bricks open new levels. Once you’ve completed to story mode (character restricting) you can replay the chapter in free mode to again achieve True Jedi status and find 10 hidden vehicle kit pieces and the elusive Red Brick hidden in each level. Free mode let’s you use any character you’ve unlocked or purchased with your studs which can be essential since many areas require you to be a bounty hunter, stormtrooper or a user of the Dark Side in order to gain access you wouldn’t normally be privvy to in story mode. This greatly increases replayability.
Each episode includes at least one vehicle specific level that has you flying an Xwing Fighter, snow speeder or one of a half dozen others in a 3/4 top down perspective. Though not necessarily as engauging as the character driven areas, there is something very satisfying about flying a Lego Millenium Falcon into a Lego Death Star.
Easily the best feature of LSW2 is the co-op option. At any time, a second player can drop in and control one of the other members in your party which can be a blessing since no matter how many times a computer controlled party member shoots an enemy, that enemy keeps coming at you. Sadly, this option isn’t available for Xbox Live remote play, but we can forgive that shortcoming. Likewise if one player is finished, but the other wants to get one more level in, the first can drop out at anytime making this a very casual game that the otherwise non-gamer could jump into without needing to dedicate any part of their lives. This is a great title to get husbands and wives or boyfriends and girlfriends to play together.
It isn’t the perfect title. Many puzzles are downright nerve racking and offer little to no clue as to how to solve them. The occasional bad camera angle will throw you off as well, but there isn’t enough ‘bad’ here to tell you to turn even the most discerning gamer against it. It’s good for the hardcore and the casual, good for the 30-somethings, teens and kidlets. Lego Star Wars 2 (and it’s predecessor) is one of the few titles that really fits any gamer’s library. May the Brick be with you.
