Lego Star Wars 2 : The Original Trilogy

Review by IanBear

A Stunning Sequel?

The original Lego Star Wars was one of the surprise hits of 2005, selling over 2 million copies across all formats. It featured a mix of platforming and puzzle solving from an isometric perspective; unsurprisingly Traveller’s Tales have decided not to mess with a successful formula. This sequel deals with the original trilogy (episodes IV-VI) and in a similar vein to the original title, pokes fun at the films at every opportunity. However, is the game any good?

Built from the ground up?

What is an instant disappointment to the gamer are the graphics. The developers chose to just work with the engine from the first game, and whilst there are graphical improvements, it’s easy to tell that this was a game designed with last-gen systems primarily in mind. The 360 version is only a marginal improvement from the PSP version; the only real difference being the jump upwards in resolution. There is some HD gloss, but the only difference between the 360 version and other versions are achievement points really; so if you own another system and are not obsessed with point collecting, one of the other formats might be a tempting option considering the lower price point.

Hilarity ensues!

However, with a game like this, it’s not really about the graphics; there’s only so much you can do to make a bunch of Lego bricks look cool. It’s not like the graphics are really terrible, they suffice, just. They are used well though; the cartoon-esque characters have a real sense of personality and the cut-scenes are genuinely hilarious, lampooning classic moments from the films. What’s more impressive is that I was laughing even though there is no dialogue as such. The characters just mumble to each other, but despite the lack of one-liners, I was giggling away like a small girl for much of the game! The lack of dialogue doesn’t matter; the cut-scenes are well animated enough so you always know what is going on. It also does not detract from the audio quality from the game, which uses John William’s score exceptionally well.

Great Gameplay?

Lego Star Wars 2 plays great, but has some niggling issues that frankly drag the score down. Its great fun controlling the characters, they respond well to the controller, and the difficulty is pitched about right, although curiously you can’t actually die! The hot-swapping feature between characters in invaluable; it means that far more puzzle-solving is possible than in the previous version. The blaster and lightsaber dynamics work pretty well; combat feels quite satisfying for what is, essentially, a kid’s game. As the game follows the story pretty closely, there is a good variety to the levels, and pretty much all the most memorable parts of the films appear in the game in some form.

However, the game itself is quite short, I blasted through it in about 5 hours. With all the stuff to unlock and buy, the game has a lot of replay value, but you may not be willing to play a level 4-5 times or more just to find all the secrets. If you are aiming for 100% completion, it will take about 25 hours, but the game asks for too many run-throughs, and you’ll probably get bored before then. There are some bonus stages, but they need to be unlocked, and you’ll need to run through the game a couple of times just before even they start to unlock. Also, the switch to isometric x-wing levels is, for me, a step back from the previous game. Ships are much more difficult to control accurately than the characters, and these stages can be quite a bit more frustrating. Vehicles in general handle badly, and make the game pretty difficult at times. The fixed camera itself can cause issues as well, especially when hunting for secrets. You have virtually no control over it, and when you’re aiming for a vital red brick, it can cause you to mis-time and plummet to your death. These issues aside, the game is still a hoot to play, with a well-judged mix of shooting, platforming, puzzle-solving and flying missions. There is also drop in/out co-op multiplayer, which is great fun with a friend. Unfortunately, what would have been the icing on the proverbial cake, co-op over Xbox live, does not feature; a real shame and missed opportunity.

Conclusion

Lego Star Wars 2 is a great game, with some serious flaws. You’ll have a lot of fun playing it, guaranteed, but it’s too short and has some annoying issues. The lack of online co-op shows how this is just a lazy port really. But if these issues don’t put you off (and believe me, the good points very much outweigh the bad) you will be playing with a big stupid grin on your face!