Reviewed by Beth S.
When I first heard that a game called Lego Star Wars was in the works at Eidos Interactive, I cringed. Another Star Wars game? There were already more than there should be, ranging from great to good to pretty darn bad. I’m a big Star Wars fan, and I happily used the Force through Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel… but Star Wars in Legos?
However, I had heard some pretty good things about the game, so I downloaded the demo. I was pleasantly surprised. Far from being overly cutesy or annoying as I had expected, the game had a charm that quickly won me over. As soon as I could, I went out and bought the PC version of the game. Lego Star Wars allows you to play through Episodes I, II, and III of the Star Wars films. Interestingly, this game was released before Episode III ever made it into theaters. There are spoilers in the game for those who haven’t seen the movie, but I didn’t find that to be much of a problem.
You start off in Dexter’s Diner, from which you can access missions in each of the three episodes. You can start in any episode, but you must play chronologically through the missions in each episode as they are unlocked. I started at the beginning of Episode I and found myself playing as Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
One of the unique features of Lego Star Wars is that the entire game is multiplayer. There are two sets of controls, and the optional second player can join in at any time during gameplay. When playing single-player, the second character follows you around and joins in on battles. You can also switch between each character as you please. However, I did find the second player keyboard controls to be very clunky and awkward. It seems that if you are most interested in playing with two people, it would be best to purchase one of the console versions.
Once you have played through all three episodes, you can go back into each mission and play as any of the characters you unlocked. This is very important as some characters don’t have the special abilities needed to reach certain areas or items. For example, Jar-Jar Binks has the ability to jump extremely high, while young Anakin can crawl into tiny spaces. The Jedi, of course, have their Force powers. Additional characters are available for purchase in Dexter’s Diner, as well as funny costume additions for the characters, such as mustaches and hats.
The environment is very well done, and every object is completely made of Lego pieces. Many of the objects in the game can be demolished with a couple of light saber slashes or blaster hits, often to reveal hidden items that can be collected. The game stays true to the Star Wars movies while deftly incorporating Legos into the mix. Each character can also be destroyed once they lose all of their health. When this happens, they explode into Lego bits. They immediately revive, however, so death has lost its sting in this game.
The soundtrack is taken straight from the movies. It is great to hear John Williams’ score as you blast droids or take part in epic space battles. A great bonus is that the music never gets irritating. It’s an excellent addition to the game without being overbearing.
Overall, Lego Star Wars in a wonderful game with plenty of replayability, especially for the Star Wars fan. My only problem with the game was the clunky controls for the second player. Aside from this issue, I would highly recommend this game to anyone, Star Wars fan or not.