LEGO Star Wars (subtitled: The Video Game) takes franchising to the extreme: a video game based off a toy based off a movie. This 3D platformer puts you into the Star Wars prequel world, only in LEGO-style. And that means all the characters behave like their LEGO counterparts, as most objects are based off LEGO pieces, even the blasters the characters use. This makes it more violent than anything you could possibly see in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas… characters’ heads, arms, and legs get cut off! I don’t know how this game possibly got an E rating… our standards must have gone down the tubes!
This Review is based on the same 0-4 star scale I’ve been using for… a long time. Yes, that’s right, this 0-4 star scale has even outlasted Nintendo Power’s scoring scale, which changed recently. Oh, and by the way, the version of the game I am reviewing is the Xbox version, which is similar to the PS2 and PC versions. There is no GameCube version. The GBA version is much different than this version.
Graphics: *½
I didn’t expect much from the graphics, and to be honest, I didn’t get much more than the bare minimum. The graphics are not especially pretty, just enough to get by. They’re “blocky”… sorry, I couldn’t resist that pun. Seriously, the game’s graphics are very much like LEGO sets in that they don’t really resemble the real thing that well. However, I’m sure no one who buys this game is buying it for its looks.
Sound: ***½
The game gets a lot right by going with genuine Star Wars music, which of course any Star Wars fan would love. There are also a lot of authentic sound effects, like the Episode I blaster sound and R2-D2’s beeping, and even C-3PO and the Battle Droids sound right. Where the game goes wrong is the screeches heard from the “real” characters, as in the humans. They sound really awful, and they don’t sound like the real characters at all. The characters don’t talk often anyway, but when some of them do make noises, they aren’t pleasant-sounding. Still, that doesn’t ruin the sound category altogether, or even come close, it’s just a minor bone to pick.
Characters: ****
This game is loaded with characters, with everyone from some droids you see in a couple of scenes to Yoda, Darth Sidious, General Grievous… the list goes on and on, and there are even some hidden characters of great interest. They have their lightsabers, blasters, or whatever weapon they use, and many characters have special abilities, like Jar Jar Binks’s hyper jump, R2-D2’s hovering ability, and the authentic Destroyer Droids, which roll like the ones in the movie and even put up shields. What’s more is that you can play as any character in the game… if you can kill them, you can play as them. That includes any bad guy. Then, in Free Play mode, you can bring a host of characters along, using them in places where they normally wouldn’t be, like R2-D2 in the Darth Maul battle. This makes for great platforming fun, and also gives me a wish for the same in a Mario game someday… but anyway, the characters are a big plus for this game.
Difficulty: ½
It’s hard to rate the difficulty in the fact that this game is as easy as it gets when it comes to “beating” the game. If you want to get through all the levels except for the secret level, it’s as easy as pie. It’s not like you have a limited number of lives. If your character dies, she or he or it falls apart, loses some coins, and comes back to life moments later (and you can even recollect some of those coins). You’ll beat the level as long as the game doesn’t freeze (which happens at a disturbing rate). Where does the half-star come from? If you’re like me and want to get everything in the game, including all the hidden canisters and the secret level, then you do have a challenge. It took me quite a while to get everything in this game (I cheated along the way). But if you choose to try to collect as much as you can, you’ll discover a lot more about the levels that you may have missed while just trying to get through them.
Controls: ***½
The controls are very simple in this game, with jumping and attacking buttons being used primarily. Using the Force can be annoying sometimes, as you’ll have a difficult time “locking” on the exact thing you want at times. Still, the controls are generally pretty easy to use.
Gameplay: ***½
This game is flat-out fun to play, and that is its biggest advantage. With all the characters available, you can choose to attack your opponents in various ways, such as with a lightsaber, blaster, or by using the Force. There are always two characters on your team, one controlled by you and another one controlled by either the computer or a second player. You want to collect as many coins as possible along the way (especially blue ones) in order to obtain Jedi status for the level and move a step closer to unlocking the secret level. Most of the interesting stuff happens when you’re trying to collect more and more coins, or the hidden canisters. The game offers a lot of free-form play, where you can do all sorts of things in the levels. There’s so much more than just destroying your enemies… the more you explore, the more fun it becomes. There are quite a few puzzles in the game, which add to the variety in the gameplay. Sure, it may be a foregone conclusion that you’re going to beat the level, but will you find everything in it? That’s what makes the levels more fun to play through.
Story Mode: ***
Story Mode forces you to play with certain characters that actually appeared in the movie in those certain situations. You won’t be using Darth Maul to fight off Jango Fett, for example, in Story Mode. One positive to Story Mode over Free Play Mode, besides the fact that you have to beat the level in Story Mode first to unlock Free Play Mode for that level, is that there are cutscenes that actually are pretty funny. Obi-Wan Kenobi is pretty clumsy in those scenes, which gives them some humor.
Free Play Mode: ****
Free Play Mode is one of those “dream” modes in a video game. You can do whatever you want with whatever character you want. Certain things cannot be found unless you use certain characters, in fact, so playing this mode is a must if you want to collect and unlock everything in this game. It’s also a way of getting to try out characters’ special abilities that you would use only sparingly in Story Mode. This mode is the way of maximizing your enjoyment out of this game.
Replayability: *
I’ve had mostly good stuff to say about this game, but the fact of the matter is, this game is way too short. There are 18 levels including the secret level. That’s an absolutely dreadfully low number for any platformer. And Episode II’s levels skip most of the movie, with the first level coming halfway through the movie and the other four levels centered around the end of the movie. Sure, if you want to unlock and collect everything, you’ll play some levels over and over again, as I did. But with only 18 levels total, and only 17 of those containing hidden things, it’s still not going to take all that long to see everything in this game. It’s not $40 for no reason… it’s short.
Fun Factor!: ***½
Making up for the shortness of this game is the Fun Factor. This is a very fun game. The variety of the gameplay is amazing, as it provides 3D platforming fun without the frustration. It’s more than just a Star Wars game, too, as the LEGO elements make it a lot more fun (and funny) than it would be without them.
OVERALL: ***
If not for the fact that this game is so short, I would have possibly given it the full four stars. However, don’t let that turn you away from this one. This game is well worth the $40, and it’s certainly a nice alternative to your average dark platformer. Now it certainly helps if you’ve grown up with LEGOs and are an avid Star Wars fan, like me. LEGO Star Wars certainly is one of the better 3D platformers out there.
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