Official Website
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1 or 2

Support: HD 720p / 1080i/ 1080p, Ethernet Broadband Required, PlayStation Network Compatible, Headset Compatible

People keep going on and on about the Lego Star Wars video game, but it’s been one that I never played mainly due to not having the time (and not working with Lucasarts in terms of review material otherwise we probably would have covered it.) But, with a bit of time to kill before any huge releases, I decided that it was high time to see what all the fuss was about. Besides, it’s cheaper than buying a full set of Lego’s and I won’t get bored in an hour, at least that was what I was hoping.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is a retelling of the Star Wars saga, that being the three good ones, and the three new movies. From Attack of the Clones to Return of the Jedi, every major event in the Star Wars Universe is retold from the perspective of the characters in the films being a part of Legoland, but it’s not quite as serious as the movies and there is plenty of opportunity for humor and the availability to poke fun at some incidents in the Star Wars saga. The game is a combination of the two previous releases, Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and the action begins in the Mos Eisley Cantina. You will begin as Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and players can either alternate between playing the character of the game can be played as a two-player co-op.

Just because you begins as characters from Episode I doesn’t mean that you have to start specifically with those events. Each of the six films is available from the start of play and in turn, each of these also has six chapters to play through. But, in order to move further through the story, you will have to play the chapters in order to unlock the next. The chapters work through the most of the major plot points and even throw in a few other story points, though that’s mainly just to have more levels. So, if you’re playing through the A New Hope portion of the series, you’ll begin on the Tantive V as the Empire attacks in search of the Death Star plan, then on to Tatooine where you’ll have to work through the Jundland Wastes is search of R2-D2 and C-3PO, find a pilot (Han Solo) as Mos Eisley, work through the Death Star to find Princess Leia, find a way to escape until finally things culminate with the battle over Yavin to destroy the Death Star.

Most of the missions are ground based and are simply getting from point A to point B. At times you might only have one playable character, though very rarely, and other times you will have a number of playable characters. There are other missions that use vehicles and of course, boss battles. In order to switch between characters you simply move up to them and press the triangle button and they have different abilities depending on their character type. Jedi are armed with light sabers and can use the force to push droids away, stun the weak-minded by manipulating their minds, and use their ability to move objects. Characters like Han Solo, Princess Leia and any other human that doesn’t use the force have access to blasters and the ability to grapple when standing in red circles. Non-combat droids can be used to access computer terminals to unlock doors and bounty hunters have thermal detonators that can be used to destroy metallic objects. Some abilities will differ with characters simply based on how they are. Astromech droids can fly for a limited time, smaller characters like young Anakin and Jawas can move through small areas, Jar-Jar can jump higher than other characters, and with 162 different characters, the differences might be minuscule at times, but still entertaining.

Besides trying to reach the end of each of the chapters, there are a few other things to accomplish. Destroying objects and using the force to manipulate different things will give you studs and each chapter has a certain number that should be obtained in order to reach the status of True Jedi, one of the sub-objectives of the chapters. These can be plentiful at times, difficult to find others, and there are the low value grey studs up to the important blue studs. If you die, you will lose bolts but once you’ve hit True Jedi, you could lose all of them and still pass the objective. There are also red blocks hidden in each stage that will unlock new options that can be used within the game, though many of them will have to be purchased.

At various points you’ll see piles of bricks that will bounce slightly. When you approach these, you can build something from them and this can vary depending on the stage. Sometimes it will be something to help you move further into the level, others times it might be a object that just gives you more bolts, but it is always good to piece these together. There are vehicles that can be used as well Some of these are standard Lego vehicles you’ve seen with the real sets, others are Lego renditions of craft seen in the Star Wars films, and much like a character, pressing the triangle button allows you to use them. There are even beasts to ride like Dewbacks and Tauntaun.

Each stage also has a mini-kit which will build another Star Wars vehicle for you and there are 10 different portions to locate in the stages. If you can’t find everything however, you shouldn’t worry too much as there are certain types of characters that you will use the in chapters that aren’t accessible in the normal story portion. The free play mode will let you replay any completed chapter with the starting character of your choice and a selection of others from your current list. There are portions of stages that you simply can’t access in the normal story mode. You’ll find doors that can only be opened by using bounty hunters, Imperials, or droids, Force sensitive portions that might require a Sith lord, and sections where a character with good jumping abilities or the capability of squeezing through small areas become necessary.

But, how exactly do you get these characters you may be wondering? That comes in two different parts. Completing the chapters will reward you most of the time with a new character or vehicle, sometimes only one, but other times more. Some of the characters that appear in the chapters will also become available to purchase in the Cantina bar. Simply approach Wuher at the bar and you’ll see a number of icons that will allow you to buy new characters and craft with the studs you’ve collected. There is also a cheats section to enter any codes you’ve managed to obtain, you can take a look at the gameplay tips, buy Gold Bricks to unlock some helpful in game abilities or watch the movie clips that you’ve seen so far. There are also two Bacta tanks where you can create your own character and throughout the Cantina, you will see the characters you’ve purchased walking around and be wary of occasional fights since this is a bar. One thing missing however is the Tonika Sister, but maybe they’ll show up in another game. Outside of the Cantina there is another area for Bounty hunters, but you’ll need to purchase all of them in order to unlock their missions.

Aside from the freeplay mode, there is also a challenge mode to play where you’re objective is to collection 10 blue canisters. These are much like the ones found in the regular story mode and the free play mode but these challenges are timed and you can’t just collect a few and then return later. If you opt to quite the game, you’ll lose all your progress. When you’ve finished all six chapters in any of the Star Wars installments, you’ll receive a Super Story mode where you can play through without having to select a new door in-between the missions and in this mode, the game works on time and trying to obtain a high score with the studs you’ve collected. Within the Cantina, there is another selection of doors which will give you bonus missions including a trip to Lego land to collect even more studs, something done by destroying just about everything in your way.

The game itself looks like you would expect it to, assuming of course you’re familiar with Legos, and most are. The characters all look like they have their faces and clothing painted on, destroying vehicles will result in a shower of Lego parts which is quite entertaining. The spoofs on scenes from the movies are great, like seeing Luke and Anakin get their hands cut off or Han trying to get a more intimate moment with Leia prior to the Falcon leaving Hoth. The game is in 1080p, though I noticed some occasional moments where there was a bit of breakage and lines moving through the images. It’s not often, but it’s definitely notable. I’m not sure that Lego Star War is something that needed to be in full high definition, but I’m glad that it is. The game though isn’t really about intense visuals but is really more about having fun, and there is plenty to be found. The only thing I really didn’t care for is the inability to skip the cutscenes, but it’s tolerable.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga offers a lot of different things to collect and find, and this isn’t going to be a game that you can easily breeze through in just one evening. If you love Star Wars, the humor of the game is going to hit home with you not to mention just seeing some of your favorite characters in Lego form. The game is very easy to get into as far as how it plays and this is one PlayStation 3 title that is actually suitable for any age group. The Force is definitely strong with this one.

-mike-