It seems like such a short time ago that I played through the original Lego Star Wars, a game based on the latest Star Wars Trilogy, starring Lego characters. The game was a suprise hit, so the question is will this new Lego Star Wars live up to its predecessor? Simply put, yes; more indepthly put...
First of all, to save you and I some time, I'm not going to repeat myself too much, so in case you haven't played the original, and you want a fairly indepth breakdown of it, here's a link to my review of the original:
http://www.epinions.com/content_2196855555844. There are also other good reviews of it as well. Anyway, moving on...
Lego Star Wars II does just what the title implies, and takes the player through the original Star Wars Trilogy, including some vehicle battles. Yes, you will get to fly down the trench of the Death Star, and yes, you will have to Play Hoth.
Essentially, everything that was in the original game remains here. The graphics are generally the same, and the game plays the same. You still have a partner that is controlled by the computer (or a friend), and that partner is still just as useless as in the original. The camera angles can still get a little bit frustrating, as you will occasionally find yourself fighting things you can't see, and you have very little control over said camera. You also get to go back and play every level in free play to find all the goodies you missed, and you still unlock a ton of characters.
On the bright side, almost all of the changes are improvements. Some are subtle, and some are very obvious. First of all, there's a TON of stuff to unlock and play with in this one, from characters to cheats, and you can even unlock the cinemas now, which is a welcome change. The cinemas in this game are even more lighthearted and amusing than in the first, so you now have a chance to enjoy them without having to play the actual level. Another nifty little feature is the "Use Old Save" unlockable. If you had the Original Star Wars on the XBox, you can use that save and have all your characters from the original imported right in for free play. You can also create characters to play using parts from other characters. If you want Chewbacca to wear Leia's slave girl outfit, you can do so. It's your choice. Ooh, and speaking of characters, you aren't just stuck with Jedis using the force to build things. Now every non droid character can build, which leads me to a complaint that I'll get to in just a second.
The levels are still six to an episode, but this time the levels are quite a bit bigger, and you'll need a lot more studs (Lego currency) than you did in the first to fill up your meter. There's a lot more to explore, and a lot more side paths that are easily missed in the first go round. The difficulty of said levels has also been revved up, I'm assuming because the developers realized they had a larger adult audience than anticipated when they put out Lego Star Wars. Don't get me wrong; the levels are still linear, and easy, but you'll spend some more time with this one.
The sound is a mixed bag, depending on what your tastes are. The music is true Star Wars music, but it's looped, so you'll hear the same few minute clip several times throughout a level. It is nice to hear John Williams' score, but this was one area that could have used improvement. Character "voices" are a bit odd, and a bit difficult to explain. In the game, they just grunt when exerting effort, and squeal appropriately when they die. The cinematic voices for the most part sound like the movie characters, but it's purposely garbled. It's kinda like you're listening to Star Wars if the actors all had marbles in their mouths.
That brings me to my one huge complaint. The dreaded Hoth level. I don't know why every game developer that makes a Star Wars game with vehicles insists of having a Hoth Level. Ten years ago I was wrapping a tow cable around the legs of one of those giant walkers, and ten years ago it was fun. A decade and several games later, it's just not that fun. Granted, there is a new twist. Once you knock the walker down, you have to tow an explosive ball over to it and blow it up, and only then does it "die." New twist, but frankly, not that good.
A smaller complaint is the recurring enemies, a problem imported over from the original, only this time more so. Anytime that you're building, or using the force to build, you almost always have to do it under pressure. If you take one hit, your building stops, and you have to fight off the enemies and get back to building. This would be fine if there was a cap on the enemies, but there's generally not. It can get needlessly frustrating.
However...those complaints aside, this is still a great game. It hasn't changed much in the gameplay, which is good, and you get more stuff to unlock, a choice of vehicles in freeplay, more characters, more movies, and more powers, just to name a few. This is still a great game for both kids and adults, and yes, I still need to grow up.
