Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

...better than some kind of jam and peanut butter mega sandwich

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Before I begin, I assume the most part of the readers of this article will be English and so bare with me through my opening paragraph. There will be moments in your life, when you have too much time on your hands, when you will sit and think about the most random of things. For example, who in their right mind would eat a jam and peanut butter sandwich? Who was the first person to do such a hideous thing and create something so controversial in the way of sandwiches and spreads? After recovering from the initial thoughts of horror you will then come to realize that there is not a single American (which I have met) who does not love jam and peanut butter sandwiches. It is a combination that at first seems ridiculous and unbelievable, but turns out to be something that is now a staple of the entire North American continent.

This exact same process of thought (one I pride myself on) came to me when I first heard news of the original Lego Star Wars game in the works. Lego. Star Wars. Lego Star Wars. Unbelievable. Who ever was responsible for the initial concept must have been up in the small hours of the morning under the influence of a high dosage of opium. In the words of Eddy Izzard "we will call our dog food Caesar because Caesar was a Roman emperor and small dogs are Roman emperors."

However absurd then, it is a concept that turns out to be pure genius and is executed so perfectly by Traveler's Tales that the original game was a huge success. With the three original Star Wars films begging to be converted in the same way, all we had to do was wait for the sequel to arrive in stores. In just over a year it has arrived and Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy tastes better than some kind of jam and peanut butter mega sandwich. In every single aspect it has surpassed the original game and then some. It is near-perfect. This perfection comes from such simple gameplay mechanics coupled with the most famous movie license of all time; within the game all you do is go through each main event of the three films using all of the most known and loved characters to shoot and cut your way through wave upon wave of enemies whilst overcoming obstacles and puzzles to progress. A long sentence yes but a simple concept too.

The player can control one to six characters at a time and with a quick press of a button selecting the next to the character you want to change to, it is quick and easy. One of the most enjoyable things about all of the playable characters from the Star Wars universe, which is pretty much every single one, is that they all have unique attacks and functions depending on the set group they are within such as Droids, Jedi, Bounty Hunters, Rebels, etc. Some are arguably better than others when it comes to exploring levels and attacking enemies but others have vital functions, especially the Droids who are often needed to activate various doors or pieces of electrical equipment. Even characters good at combat such as the Jedi with their light sabers and troops with blasters will be needed to attack different types of troops for close or distance combat.

The inclusion of multiple characters can often be the downfall of many an action game, as they more than often perform identical attacks and functions, but it is the manner in which each character has their unique purposes that makes the Lego Star Wars series so successful. Another new feature within the single player mode is that the developer have got rid of the "on rails" vehicle levels and now allow the player to roam freely throughout the levels on any vehicles available. Although this might at first seem like a good idea, the top down view used throughout these vehicle levels and simple directional controls are a major down-point. In my own opinion I very much prefer the system used in the original. However, you will naturally be able to play all of the well known vehicle moments from the trilogy such as the trench run on the Death Star, the Hoth battle and the speeder bikes on Endor. Each of the vehicles also have their own unique features just like the characters; x-wings have torpedoes, the Hoth ships have tow cables and the speeder bikes, yes, can go at very high speeds.

One of the most successful aspects of the series is that it has a solid foundation of well-refined unsophisticated gameplay and then builds upon it with unique layers of fun. One of these is the immersive use of the environments from the Star Wars universe and combining it with the use of Lego blocks to allow players to use the varied array of characters to construct or destroy structures, machines, vehicles, etc. This was present in the original game but there has been a few tweaks and additions made in Lego Star Wars II. The first addition being that you can now use any character you want, apart from Droids, to build the Lego structures scattered throughout all of the levels and not just Jedi. The puzzles are also a little more complex to challenge players rather than simple "push this here" or "build that there".

Those familiar with the three original Star Wars films (and who out there isn't) will know that there is a wealth of gameplay hours in Lego Star Wars II and plenty of delightful set-pieces and major events to be completed. However, the single player mode although fun, is not alone. At any time during the game anyone can simply jump in and join. There are some good and bad points to this feature; the good point being that the camera view zooms out and adapts to the second player controlled character participating, one of the bad points is the fact that if player one progresses on through the game player two will be warped beside them despite what player two might have been doing at the time. The second bad point is that Lego Star Wars II has no online co-op mode, not even on the Xbox 360. This is extremely disappointing as there are endless possibilities for online modes and with the Xbox 360's extremely successful and competent Xbox Live system there are no excuses.

An all new character creation aspect has also been included that allows players to create their own characters from an immense library of pieces, as all characters both major and extras from the films have been included in the game from the ewoks to the sand people, storm troopers to the band from the cantina. Naturally, Lego Star Wars' block-like design lends itself perfectly to computer graphics no matter what platform the game is on. On every console this game looks fantastic, especially on the Xbox 360 with the addition of detailed textures, advanced lighting effects and smooth edges.

The soundtrack, as you would expect, is also fantastic with the use of the amazing film score composed by John Williams, the input of one of the world's leading composers lending much to the game's atmosphere. There is only one major flaw in Lego Star Wars II that was also present in the original, which is the fact that it is just far too easy. It is not much of a challenge for experienced gamers at all, with no different difficulty settings. Whenever you die you are always re-spawned (but simply lose money acquired throughout the level) making the collection of hearts from dead enemies pointless.

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a prodigiously enjoyable title. It has lots of action, violence, crazed humour and simple gameplay for pick up and play moments. It might be too easy and the multiplayer mode is not the best, but apart from those two minute annoyances there is nothing else you can fault it on. No matter what console you own, seriously consider buying this game. You Xbox 360 owners out there are especially lucky as your version is the best available. Get it now.

What would a Star Wars article be without the send off of "May the force be" - oh you've heard it before.

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By Tobias Rowe