Lawrence.com

This May will mark the end of the second trilogy in the Star Wars franchise. As the premiere quickly approaches, a few new Star Wars games are being released to drive the hype. One of the first games to be released is Lego Star Wars: The Video Game. This little hidden gem is not only a throwback to the 16-bit days of arcade action, it is one of the more creative creations in recent videogame history.

As I opened our copy of Lego Star Wars and placed it into my PS2, I couldn't help but wonder what caused developer Traveler's Tales to go in this direction with the Star Wars series. Wouldn't the kiddie appeal of Lego hurt the marketing of the game? LucasArts does have another game coming out that is more realistic, so why not have fun with the franchise? Star Wars has always been a huge hit when it into the Lego toy collection. Essentially, Lego Star Wars is a fusion of a child's imagination with these toys and what goes on in the latest trilogy. Every movable object in the game is made of Lego. This includes all the characters, destructible objects, ships, etc. The backdrop of the game is done with prerendered backgrounds and the Lego objects fit in nicely. The game is bright and colorful, which is appropriate considering its theme. There is a pinch of humor seeing the facial expressions of the Lego heads and how every object is beautifully recreated with Lego blocks.

The cutscenes are accurately recreated with Lego pieces. As mentioned, the game spans from Episode I to Episode III. Be wary of possible spoilers when you play the Episode III levels. As accurate as the cutscenes are from Episode I and II, I'm sure the cutscenes shown during Episode III are just as accurate. Again, the game has a constant humor factor because the characters don't speak and communicate through arm gestures and grunts. However, the rest of the game's sound is sampled directly from the movies. All the sound effects and music found in the trilogy are here. These are factors that give the game a great overall presentation, not to mention serving as a sneak peak of the upcoming movie.

The concept of the game is creative and something fresh, and yet a nostalgic feeling reminisent of such classic games as Double Dragon and Battletoads wanders in. The game is a 3-D action platformer, but I felt old sensations of arcade side-scrollers as I played. The game is pretty simple to play as it only uses the four face buttons and completely ignores the shoulder buttons. It's not just a run-through, hack-and-slash game, either. There are different puzzles throughout the game that will require a variety of skills to solve.

This leads us into the different characters that are playable. There is never a time in the game when only one character is on screen. You are constantly in a party of 2 to 6 characters, which includes Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Padme, R2-D2, Yoda, Anakin (old and young) and many others, for a total of 30 playable characters, each with varying skills. The puzzles will require a Jedi to use the Force in order to build a staircase to reach higher ground, or perhaps R2-D2 will be needed to unlock a certain door. Some puzzles even mix skills together. Using the last example, there could be a time when Obi-Wan needs to build a ramp using the Force so that R2-D2 can get to a locked door that couldn't be reached before. The puzzles are simple enough to be figured out quickly but still leave you with the satisfaction you get when you solve a Zelda-type puzzle. Vehicles also play a small part. As you go through the trilogy, you'll find yourself behind the wheel of a pod racer racing for your freedom or flying a Republic gunship blasting away at the droid army.

Another element that takes us back into classic arcade gaming is the co-op mode. A second player can drop in or out of the game at any time. This extends the replay value, because it's a great game to pick up for a quick thrill. Co-op is generally fun but there are times of frustration, most noticeable with platform jumping and the vehicle levels. Too many times the platforms were not large enough to fit two people on them, and too many times our vehicles hit each other. With the vehicles it's particularly frustrating, because if one player dies you fail.

The game is relatively easy. Instead of lives you lose the money gathered during levels. In fact, you have an infinite number of lives, but as you lose money you lose the ability to unlock hidden items. Considering that this is the only penalty for dying, it's not much of a concern. It takes about four hours to complete, so it is a short ride but entertaining the whole way through. Every Star Wars fan will love this game, and if you're looking for a quick, fun arcade adventure, then I highly suggest checking this one out.

Graphics: B-

Sound: B-

First Play: A-

Last Play: A-

Gameplay: B+

Overall: 88% B+