At the end of last year, I found myself at Heathrow armed with a PSP, a flight ticket to Australia and plenty of time to kill on an aeroplane.
In an attempt to ward off the potential boredom of a twenty hour flight, I purchased 'Lego Star Wars II - The Original Trilogy' having previously been addicted to other Lego style computer games on other consoles. Once the seatbelt signs had been extingiushed, I pulled out the PSP from my bag, inserted the disc and rushed through the menus to start playing (instructions can always be read later!).
The game starts with you playing the Princess Leia character (in Lego form, naturally!) at Mos Eisley cantina which will be familiar to anyone who is a fan of the films. This is a 'safe' location, where you can run and jump around and experiment with shooting up tables and chairs with your gun, until you are familiar with the controls.
From the cantina, you can then choose which of the 3 original stories you want to play - A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back or Retun of the Jedi. Like any die-hard fan, I started at the start, and soon a vision of Leia's spaceship being hunted down
by a lego Star Destoyer was on screen.
Each story is cut up into several chapters which follow the film plotlines reasonably accurately. The cut scenes that greet each chapter are well presented and the graphics are really good - sharp and clear, although there was a distinct lack of sound on the cut scenes which was disappointing.
The chapters come in two types: Platform chapters, and vehicle chapters. The platform sections involve a group of relevant-to-the-scene characters from which you can chose who you play at any given time. The others will then follow you around as you move. You can swap characters at any time by simply walking up to one you wish to be and pressing a button. Each character has different strengths and weaknesses (e.g. R2-D2 and C3PO are good at opening locked doors, you can use the force as Obi-Wan etc), and there are some areas where you need to be playing a particular character to be able to progress.
Throughout the platform levels, there are a series of challenges to be met from simply shooting up lego-stormtroopers and moving blocks around to reach higher platforms, to having to build extra bits of scenery from piles of lego bricks left strategically around, and using the Force as appropriate. None of the puzzles are particularly difficult, but this game is suitable for youngsters so that is perhaps not too surprising, however there is enough to keep you interested and moving through the plotlines. Some of the end-of-level bosses (Darth Vadar, the Emperor etc) can keep you occupied for a while as you work out the best system to defeat them, but even these won't hold you up too long to get frustrated.
The vehicle based levels are a nice variation from the platform ones, and you get to fly snowspeeders, x-wings and the Millenium Falcon to shoot down the lego-enemy. In my opinion the snow speeders are the most fun as you re-create the scene from Empire Strikes Back by wrapping your tow-cable around the legs of the giant lego AT-AT Walkers and send them crashng to the ground. My only complaint about these sections is that it can get a bit repetitive, as you are restricted to a relatively small playing area whilst in the vehicles and it can be a little annoying when you hit the unseen boundary and your vehicle is flipped around and sent in the opposite direction, but this is just a minor irritation.
As you make your way through the story levels, there are a number of items to collect which lead to bonus items and characters. Some of these are hidden away behind doors that it is impossible to open in storymode, however there is also a freeplay mode which allows you to go back over any completed levels with the unlocked characters of your choice. Whilst it is possible to complete the story part of the game without doing this, you will need to go back over these levels trying out the different characters before you will be able to say that you have completed the game 100%.
It took me about 15 hours in total to complete the story part of Lego Star Wars, but then many more have been spent in freeplay trying to find all the bonus items - I can't yet tell you how many it takes to complete the game as I haven't got there yet, but the game is addictive enough to keep me coming back for more.
If you need timeout between the story and freeplay modes, there are also 3 additional mini-chapters which allow you to tackle the big-baddies from the first three films (Darth Maul et al.), and this is a great time to practice your light saber skills.
Overall Impressions: This is a good fun game which has enough in the gamplay to keep you coming back for more. The graphics are good, and there are some nice humorous touches as you progress through the stories. My only real criticism is that there isn't much in the way of sound effects or background music, but this is really only a minor irritation, and the game doesn't suffer too much as a result.
Would I recommend this game to anyone else? "Yes" is the simple answer. It is a must for any Star Wars fan, and one that even non-Star Wars fans will get a lot of enjoyment from. You should be able to pick up a second hand copy from about £15 without too much trouble, and for this price the game is great value for money. The retail price new is around £25 - still not bad for the game, but much better value if you don't mind buying second-hand.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I think this game is haunting me! My children are basically doing my head in over this as they fight to get on it as soon as they come home from school. I think the words "X Box" and "great height" come to mind. Apart from that, you wrote a darned good review. x
clownfoot 13.02.2007 15:08
A quality overview - hopefully the addictive nature of Star Wars Lego kept you entertained during the flight, despite the relative ease of the game! Alboy
Build and battle through the original trilogy! Play through a fun Star Wars galaxy that ... more
combines the endless customisation of Lego with the epic story from Star Wars Episodes IV-VI. Build And Ride Vehicles: Build and ride classic Star Wars vehicles and...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: Out of stock
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a comical take on the Star Wars Trilogy, the ... more
movies that revolutionized pop culture forever. LEGO Star Wars II follows the Rebel Alliance`s battle to dismantle the Galactic Empire and rebuild a galaxy in pi...
Postage & Packaging: £1.93 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a comical take on the Star Wars Trilogy, the ... more
movies that revolutionized pop culture forever. LEGO Star Wars II follows the Rebel Alliance`s battle to dismantle the Galactic Empire and rebuild a galaxy in pi...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: great gameplay, variety of locations, improved upon the first game, so much more! Disadvantages: long loading times, sometimes can be a bit repetative
Advantages: great gameplay, variety of locations, improved upon the first game, so much more! Disadvantages: long loading times, sometimes can be a bit repetative
Advantages: great gameplay, variety of locations, improved upon the first game, so much more! Disadvantages: long loading times, sometimes can be a bit repetative
![Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy [Platinum] PSP](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/105169363.jpg "Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy [Platinum] PSP")
Feb 13th, 2007
very helpful by (100%):
