Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun, creative levels built around Star Wars
Cons: A few overly
hard levels, a few issues with characters
The Bottom Line:
Collect Lego studs
In galaxy far away
Through all six movies
Work Your Way Through the Entire Star Wars Saga Lego Brick by Lego Brick
I normally don’t do movie based video games, but I am hooked on the Lego series. They are way too much fun and contain so many levels you can spend hours playing them. And that’s one reason why I don’t get through them very fast since my time spent playing the Wii is sporadic at best. Recently, I’ve been making my way through Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, and I’ve been enjoying it.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Lego series, they
recreate movies, but with Lego characters and sets. So in this case, you are playing through all
six movies from the Star Wars franchise.
Each of the six movies gets six different levels. The game is designed for one or two players,
and you must work your way through collecting Lego pieces (called studs) and
solving puzzles by building or destroying things. Occasionally, one part will require a certain
character to get through (some doors can only be opened by R2-D2 or C-3PO, for
example, while other places require a Jedi).
You can switch to that character or your partner can do that part,
depending on whether you are playing by yourself or with someone.
There are multiple goals to the game, which requires playing
each level multiple times. The first
time through, you play in story mode, and you play as characters who were in
that scene. Once you have done that, you
can go back and play in freeplay, which allows you a greater variety of
characters that you’ve unlocked from other levels or bought with the Lego studs
you’ve collected along the way. Why
would you do this? Because there are 10
Lego canisters hidden in each level, and it often takes all the types of
characters to find them. There are also
red power blocks hidden in each level that give you cheats to get through the
levels faster - once you've unlocked them with the studs you've collected.
Some of the levels do involve vehicles. These are my least favorites because I have
more trouble using the controls.
However, actually defeating the Death Star more than makes up for that.
Frankly, one reason I love this game is how much fun it is
to play as these characters I love from the movies. I’ve got to admit I do see the appeal of the
movie based video game after playing this game.
The controls are fairly straightforward. You use the normal Wiimote plus the
Nunchuck. The joystick on the Nunchuck
moves your character, and the various buttons do other things. Within a couple of minutes, my fingers are
moving on their own, and I’m not even thinking about what they are doing as I
try to work my way to safety. In a fun
use of the remote, you can wave it around to activate and swing a light saber
if you are playing with a character that carries one.
The graphics are fine, although they won’t impress the
serious gamer. They are a bit on the
cartoony side, but then again, you are controlling and fighting Lego
characters. It’s hardly a surprise. I never find the graphics a distraction as I
play.
The music and sound effects pull stuff from the movie
soundtracks, so any fan of the movies will love them right away. And there are special cues to help you notice
approaching danger.
Of course, these games aren’t just a walk in the park. You can be killed by the bad guys you have to
fight. Most of the time, the only real
consequence is losing studs you’ve collected.
You come back where you were and continue. And, in a detail I love about these games,
you get as many lives as it takes to complete the level. So there’s no almost finishing and then being
destroyed by the final enemy no matter how many times you play.
Of course, a few of the levels are harder than they need to
be. Despite having infinite lives,
trying to get through them can still be an exercise in frustration.
I’ve played through the game solo. What I’ve noticed is the overabundance of
characters who follow you around.
Sometimes there can be four or five members of your party, and that
means they get in the way as you are trying to do something, especially fight a
group of bad guys. Also, when switching
characters, you have to be right next to them, and that creates problems with
the large group of characters around you.
On the other hand, I have noticed a couple of levels where the second
player would get bored since the only character they could play with doesn’t
have much they can do. Irritants? Yes, but minor ones.
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