LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game

The Good
Graphics are cool; game is basic and easy to play. All of the violence is against Lego people/robots/things so it’s ok for most kids. It’s Star Wars, and has most of the major characters and action sequences from Episodes 1-3. The cinematic sequences are really funny (the Lego Dooku stuff is priceless.) After completing a level you can re-play it in “free play” mode, which allows you to switch characters on the fly during play.

The Bad
I have a number of complaints about this game.

1) Poor level design – None of the levels are any fun to play, which really stinks since you will have to play through each of them more than once to unlock the additional characters and bonus stage. They have some pretty good material to draw from so these levels shouldn’t stink and since the “Free Play” mode is a big feature of this game it’s really a shame that the levels are so bad. You will spend time and energy collecting studs to unlock characters to play with in Free Play, and after all is said and done you won’t be able to find a level you’ll want to play thorough again. Granted, a few of the levels are ok (I still like the Episode 3 space battle) but 2 of 17 just doesn’t cut it. Another gripe about the level design is the lack of connection between the areas in the game and the scenes in the movies. Most of the levels only have a passing resemblance to the sequences they represent, and levels are padded out with lame platforming elements and simple puzzles that are just not fun.

2) Mediocre gameplay mechanic –The basic mechanic of the game is too simple. It is geared towards kids so there is not much too it. Puzzles are all very simple, combat is childish (every character with a light saber shares the same two combos.) You have tons of characters available, few actually differ in play, all jedis are interchangeable, as are all sith, or anyone with a blaster, or any of the kids or...

3)Pointless Collecting – You can collect pieces of spaceships that, when completed, serve no purpose. You cannot use them; they sit in a parking lot outside of the diner. Yippee!!

4) Abuse of the Star Wars license – Lame Star Wars games bug me; there have been a lot of really bad titles in the history of the franchise (Super Star Wars anyone….) but there have been a ton of great ones too (especially on the PC.) Usually, the ones that suck tend to have a “take the money and run” kind of feel, and I get that vibe from this game. Certain parts seem abridged, Episodes 2 & 3 are both pretty incomplete and there is little to distinguish each character. In all it feels like it was finished a little early, and coincidentally, it was released in time to capitalize on the pre Episode III hype…

5) Short Short Short – Seriously, if you are a decent gamer, it’ll take you less than 8 hours to beat every level, unlock most of the characters and collect a majority of the Lego ships. This is pretty lame, especially when you consider that there were some important action sequences that were in the movies, but were left out of the game. I mean, why doesn’t Episode 2 have a “Assination attempt on Padme” or “Pursue the Fetts through the asteroid field” level. These were major sequences, why leave them out?

The Bottom Line
If you’re an adult, rent, do not buy. Even if you are a Star Wars fanatic, you will probably not find enough replay value to warrant a purchase of this title, even at the Greatest Hits price. If you have kids, then this is a different story; they will like it, and it will take them a while to get through the game, so it may warrant a purchase.