LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Added September 28th, 2006 by Chris Oder
Introduction:
I’d like to welcome you to Star Wars Gamers Anonymous (SWGA). My name is Chris and I’m a Star Wars game addict. Recently though I’ve been doing a great job of dealing with this. You see, I’m not a big fan of the “new” Star Wars movies. I’ve played a few of the games based on episodes one through three and I’m just not feeling them. Where’s the Hoth level? I mean seriously, how can you have a Star Wars game without a Hoth level? Anyway, back to my problem. I thought I’d finally broken my habit. Then, Traveller's Tales added another one of my old obsessions, LEGOs, into the mix last year and I was once again hooked. Luckily LEGO Star Wars for the Xbox was a passing as it was based on George’s latest foray into the Star Wars universe. We all make mistakes, so I forgave myself this little slip up and moved on. Apparently, Traveller’s Tales wasn’t finished tempting me. Spawned by the success of the first title, LEGO Star Wars II shipped the same day the uncut DVD release of the “holy trilogy” hit stores. So, since I’m back on the wagon again, I figured I’d give all of you the scoop on the game. Did I mention it has a Hoth level?
Gameplay:
Your first stop in LEGO Star Wars II is the Mos Eisley cantina. This famous hive of scum and villainy is the central hub of the game that will allow you to venture to various destinations. You’ll have access to a holographic display that shows the percentage of the game you’ve unlocked, bacta tanks for creating custom characters, docking stations for the minikit vehicles and, most importantly, the staging areas for each of the game’s movie themed missions.
After selecting which of the three films you enjoy most (I’m partial to Empire), you’ll begin your LEGO themed adventure. Each movie is broken down into six sections in which you’ll reenact key scenes from the film in Story Mode. These can be broken up into two types of gameplay: character based and vehicle based.
In a character based story mode mission, you’ll begin the mission with the relevant Star Wars characters and usually add more to your group as the level progresses. For example, in the Echo Base level you’ll start out playing as Han Solo and Princess Leia, but you’ll meet up with Chewbacca and C-3PO later. Each level consists of battles against Imperial troops and various environment puzzles.
Combat is fairly straight forward especially with non-Jedi characters. Most characters will be packing a blaster of some sort and will usually hit their target by simply pointing them in the general vicinity and wailing on the fire button. The characters lacking Force powers can dish out punches, kicks, and slaps at close range, while the lightsaber equipped Jedi have various combo moves that take a little bit more finesse to use. In every level of the game it only takes a single hit to kill the normal enemies, while bosses can sustain a good bit more damage. The odd thing is that, while they still engage in combat, any extra characters in the party not under human control cannot destroy their targets no matter how many times they hit. It’d be nice if the CPU could actually assist, especially when you don’t have a buddy to play with.
To supplement the somewhat repetitive combat, LEGO Star Wars II levels contain quite a few puzzles. Most people probably view this as a kid’s title, but believe me some of these puzzles will even stump adults on occasion. Most of the puzzles are LEGO driven and require your character to build something out of blocks of LEGO bricks that are lying around the level. This could be a keypad that a droid can use to unlock a door or a crank that when pushed unfolds a set of stairs. Other puzzles rely on the character’s special abilities. Some of these include the Jedi ability to move and activate objects using the Force; blaster toting characters have a grappling hook to reach high places; and small characters such as Wicket the Ewok can access tunnels that other characters can not. These are especially fun when playing co-op because the majority of the puzzles require simultaneous use of two characters to solve.
Vehicle levels on the other hand are a bit weak. These usually consist of flying an X-Wing or the Millennium Falcon, but there also missions that feature the snow speeders from Hoth and a speeder bike level on the forest moon of Endor. The flight controls feel somewhat awkward at first, and I found myself crashing into structures and enemies quite often until I got the feel for it. The other odd gameplay mechanism is the use of proton torpedoes. There are various targets in some of the levels that must be destroyed by one of these purple balls of energy. Unlike most Star Wars games, you don’t have a stock of torpedoes on board, you have to come across them in the level and then they follow you until they are fired. In a few portions you’ll be stuck repeatedly backtracking to a point where the torpedoes spawn all while being pummeled by endless waves of enemies. Definitely not the best part of the game.
While you’re making your way through each level, you’ll come across a ton of bonus content. Every enemy you destroy, box you smash, etc. will yield a cluster of studs (the little round LEGO pieces you used to always lose as a kid). Studs serve as currency and can be used to purchase new characters and other unlockables. There are also minikit canisters scattered throughout each level that can be collected to build vehicles that appear outside of the cantina. Often times in Story Mode you’ll be unable to access these because they require special skills the “normal” characters for that mission don’t have. That’s why there’s Free Play mode.
In Free Play you’ll be able to change your character on the fly by hitting the left and right triggers. This allows you to quickly switch to Boba Fett to access special Bounty Hunter sections of a mission or switch to a Dark Jedi to manipulate an area of the level that Luke and Ben Kenobi couldn’t. In addition, each player can also create a character to use in free play by accessing the bacta tanks in the cantina. You’ll be able to mix and match all of the various character heads, bodies, legs, etc. to come up with the perfect character for every situation. For me this usually involves putting alien heads on Slave Princess Leia’s body, but maybe you’ll be more creative.
Graphics:
Traveller’s Tales was able to come up with body language animations for the LEGO characters that was absolutely amazing! From Chewie ripping off Stormtrooper arms to Han’s cocky looking idle animation, each character has a unique style that sets them apart from the rest. The 360 version of the game is by far the most polished looking version of this “must release on every system known to man” title. Environments have an extra layer of shine and every detail is super crisp with no jaggies in sight. I saw a few minor clipping issues and some blinking hair textures on Luke in one cut scene, but these are relatively minor quirks. The only major issue is the fixed camera that can make some locations difficult to explore and can sometimes cause players to get booted out of vehicle levels if they aren’t keeping up.
Audio:
I am LEGO and I must scream! It would suck to be a LEGO person. Without working mandibles the most they can do is grit their teeth (do they even have teeth?) and make strange noises. In the long run though, the lack of voice acting adds to the charm of the game. Hearing the original actor’s voices emanating from tiny plastic figures would be a bit surreal. Luckily the game’s sound effects and musical score fill in the void left by the voiceless LEGOs. The timeless John Williams composed tracks are as much at home in the game as they were in the movies. Even LEGO TIE Fighters have the patented screeching engines and LEGO lightsabers retain the distinctive hum that screams “Here comes a Jedi!” It’s exactly the sort of audio experience you’d expect from a Star Wars title.
Controls:
The controls are incredibly easy to learn, consisting of the X button for basic attacks/evades and B for character or environment specific actions. Y is occasionally used to enter and exit vehicles and A is inevitably relegated to being the jump button. This works well when playing the character based levels and when controlling the AT-ST walkers and speeder bikes. For some reason the flying levels, Hoth, the asteroid field, and both Death Star runs, just feel off to me. It took me a while to adapt to the controls in those levels and I’m sure they’ll be the last levels I gain the “undefeated” achievement on.
Replay:
Just like the movies, LEGO Star Wars II isn’t content to stay in its case and collect dust. It will sit on your shelf silently beckoning you to drop it into the drive for yet another lightsaber filled romp. When you do, it will reward you by offering an almost endless bounty of unlockable content along with great drop in-and-out co-op play. Countless hours will be spent scouring each level for minikits, power bricks and studs that can be used to unlock new characters and cheats. You’ll also have to be quite adept at using the Force to log all of the achievements in the game as well. A majority of them are awarded for finishing each level without dying. Good luck.
Summary:
A quick look at my friends list lately reveals that I’m not the only one to succumb to temptation. LEGO Star Wars II is a must-buy for both fans of plastic bricks and the “real” Star Wars movies. Combining a humorous take on the classic films with simple controls and tricky puzzles, this game is a standout in the seemingly never ending avalanche of repetitive Star Wars titles.
I’d like to welcome you to Star Wars Gamers Anonymous (SWGA). My name is Chris and I’m a Star Wars game addict. Recently though I’ve been doing a great job of dealing with this. You see, I’m not a big fan of the “new” Star Wars movies. I’ve played a few of the games based on episodes one through three and I’m just not feeling them. Where’s the Hoth level? I mean seriously, how can you have a Star Wars game without a Hoth level? Anyway, back to my problem. I thought I’d finally broken my habit. Then, Traveller's Tales added another one of my old obsessions, LEGOs, into the mix last year and I was once again hooked. Luckily LEGO Star Wars for the Xbox was a passing as it was based on George’s latest foray into the Star Wars universe. We all make mistakes, so I forgave myself this little slip up and moved on. Apparently, Traveller’s Tales wasn’t finished tempting me. Spawned by the success of the first title, LEGO Star Wars II shipped the same day the uncut DVD release of the “holy trilogy” hit stores. So, since I’m back on the wagon again, I figured I’d give all of you the scoop on the game. Did I mention it has a Hoth level?
Gameplay:
Your first stop in LEGO Star Wars II is the Mos Eisley cantina. This famous hive of scum and villainy is the central hub of the game that will allow you to venture to various destinations. You’ll have access to a holographic display that shows the percentage of the game you’ve unlocked, bacta tanks for creating custom characters, docking stations for the minikit vehicles and, most importantly, the staging areas for each of the game’s movie themed missions.
After selecting which of the three films you enjoy most (I’m partial to Empire), you’ll begin your LEGO themed adventure. Each movie is broken down into six sections in which you’ll reenact key scenes from the film in Story Mode. These can be broken up into two types of gameplay: character based and vehicle based.
In a character based story mode mission, you’ll begin the mission with the relevant Star Wars characters and usually add more to your group as the level progresses. For example, in the Echo Base level you’ll start out playing as Han Solo and Princess Leia, but you’ll meet up with Chewbacca and C-3PO later. Each level consists of battles against Imperial troops and various environment puzzles.
Combat is fairly straight forward especially with non-Jedi characters. Most characters will be packing a blaster of some sort and will usually hit their target by simply pointing them in the general vicinity and wailing on the fire button. The characters lacking Force powers can dish out punches, kicks, and slaps at close range, while the lightsaber equipped Jedi have various combo moves that take a little bit more finesse to use. In every level of the game it only takes a single hit to kill the normal enemies, while bosses can sustain a good bit more damage. The odd thing is that, while they still engage in combat, any extra characters in the party not under human control cannot destroy their targets no matter how many times they hit. It’d be nice if the CPU could actually assist, especially when you don’t have a buddy to play with.
To supplement the somewhat repetitive combat, LEGO Star Wars II levels contain quite a few puzzles. Most people probably view this as a kid’s title, but believe me some of these puzzles will even stump adults on occasion. Most of the puzzles are LEGO driven and require your character to build something out of blocks of LEGO bricks that are lying around the level. This could be a keypad that a droid can use to unlock a door or a crank that when pushed unfolds a set of stairs. Other puzzles rely on the character’s special abilities. Some of these include the Jedi ability to move and activate objects using the Force; blaster toting characters have a grappling hook to reach high places; and small characters such as Wicket the Ewok can access tunnels that other characters can not. These are especially fun when playing co-op because the majority of the puzzles require simultaneous use of two characters to solve.
Vehicle levels on the other hand are a bit weak. These usually consist of flying an X-Wing or the Millennium Falcon, but there also missions that feature the snow speeders from Hoth and a speeder bike level on the forest moon of Endor. The flight controls feel somewhat awkward at first, and I found myself crashing into structures and enemies quite often until I got the feel for it. The other odd gameplay mechanism is the use of proton torpedoes. There are various targets in some of the levels that must be destroyed by one of these purple balls of energy. Unlike most Star Wars games, you don’t have a stock of torpedoes on board, you have to come across them in the level and then they follow you until they are fired. In a few portions you’ll be stuck repeatedly backtracking to a point where the torpedoes spawn all while being pummeled by endless waves of enemies. Definitely not the best part of the game.
While you’re making your way through each level, you’ll come across a ton of bonus content. Every enemy you destroy, box you smash, etc. will yield a cluster of studs (the little round LEGO pieces you used to always lose as a kid). Studs serve as currency and can be used to purchase new characters and other unlockables. There are also minikit canisters scattered throughout each level that can be collected to build vehicles that appear outside of the cantina. Often times in Story Mode you’ll be unable to access these because they require special skills the “normal” characters for that mission don’t have. That’s why there’s Free Play mode.
In Free Play you’ll be able to change your character on the fly by hitting the left and right triggers. This allows you to quickly switch to Boba Fett to access special Bounty Hunter sections of a mission or switch to a Dark Jedi to manipulate an area of the level that Luke and Ben Kenobi couldn’t. In addition, each player can also create a character to use in free play by accessing the bacta tanks in the cantina. You’ll be able to mix and match all of the various character heads, bodies, legs, etc. to come up with the perfect character for every situation. For me this usually involves putting alien heads on Slave Princess Leia’s body, but maybe you’ll be more creative.
Graphics:
Traveller’s Tales was able to come up with body language animations for the LEGO characters that was absolutely amazing! From Chewie ripping off Stormtrooper arms to Han’s cocky looking idle animation, each character has a unique style that sets them apart from the rest. The 360 version of the game is by far the most polished looking version of this “must release on every system known to man” title. Environments have an extra layer of shine and every detail is super crisp with no jaggies in sight. I saw a few minor clipping issues and some blinking hair textures on Luke in one cut scene, but these are relatively minor quirks. The only major issue is the fixed camera that can make some locations difficult to explore and can sometimes cause players to get booted out of vehicle levels if they aren’t keeping up.
Audio:
I am LEGO and I must scream! It would suck to be a LEGO person. Without working mandibles the most they can do is grit their teeth (do they even have teeth?) and make strange noises. In the long run though, the lack of voice acting adds to the charm of the game. Hearing the original actor’s voices emanating from tiny plastic figures would be a bit surreal. Luckily the game’s sound effects and musical score fill in the void left by the voiceless LEGOs. The timeless John Williams composed tracks are as much at home in the game as they were in the movies. Even LEGO TIE Fighters have the patented screeching engines and LEGO lightsabers retain the distinctive hum that screams “Here comes a Jedi!” It’s exactly the sort of audio experience you’d expect from a Star Wars title.
Controls:
The controls are incredibly easy to learn, consisting of the X button for basic attacks/evades and B for character or environment specific actions. Y is occasionally used to enter and exit vehicles and A is inevitably relegated to being the jump button. This works well when playing the character based levels and when controlling the AT-ST walkers and speeder bikes. For some reason the flying levels, Hoth, the asteroid field, and both Death Star runs, just feel off to me. It took me a while to adapt to the controls in those levels and I’m sure they’ll be the last levels I gain the “undefeated” achievement on.
Replay:
Just like the movies, LEGO Star Wars II isn’t content to stay in its case and collect dust. It will sit on your shelf silently beckoning you to drop it into the drive for yet another lightsaber filled romp. When you do, it will reward you by offering an almost endless bounty of unlockable content along with great drop in-and-out co-op play. Countless hours will be spent scouring each level for minikits, power bricks and studs that can be used to unlock new characters and cheats. You’ll also have to be quite adept at using the Force to log all of the achievements in the game as well. A majority of them are awarded for finishing each level without dying. Good luck.
Summary:
A quick look at my friends list lately reveals that I’m not the only one to succumb to temptation. LEGO Star Wars II is a must-buy for both fans of plastic bricks and the “real” Star Wars movies. Combining a humorous take on the classic films with simple controls and tricky puzzles, this game is a standout in the seemingly never ending avalanche of repetitive Star Wars titles.
