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The Force is Strong With This One

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 32 / 34
Date: September 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in theaters we got Lego Star Wars; a game that was a lot of fun to play simply because it emulated the movies rather well with all the characters being made entirely from Legos. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is even better for the simple fact of nostalgia. Any Star Wars fan will enjoy this.

You'll begin the game in the Cantina in Mos Eisley. This is the hub, and from there you can go into any of the three episodes and play through them. At the start you'll only be able to choose A New Hope, but after completing the first chapter, you can choose The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. As you go through the three episodes you'll some of the most memorable moments of the movies acted out entirely with legos. These moments aren't only memorable, but they're given a hilarious charm. These moments are also from the actual original versions of the movies as well. In other words, Han Solo DOES shoot first.

The game is visually striking. Seeing your favorite characters from the original Star Wars films as legos is quite a treat. Not only do you get to have nostalgia with Star Wars, but with legos as well. Even better are the hilarious antics of most of the scenes. On the XBOX360 it looks especially sharp. Far better than the other consoles, especially because it'll actually focus in on objects (far off objects actually look blurry, for example). To benefit the nostalgia even more is how John Williams' classic score accompanies each and every level of the game. For a Star Wars fan this game is the ultimate nostalgia.

As you play through each of the classic episodes, you'll be in control of several characters. Not all at once, but you'll end up having to switch. At times you may only have two characters, at others there may be as many as seven in your party at once. Your characters, depending on who they are, also have their own unique skills they can use. Jedi for example, can double jump and use the force. Those who wield blasters have a grappling hook that allows them to ascend to accessible platforms. The droids can open up special doors for you. Other characters, like the Jawas and Ewoks will be able to go into vents and access areas the other characters can't. In all actuality, they're really no different than their counterparts in the original Lego Star Wars. Also like the original Lego Star Wars, you'll constantly have to switch between characters in order to get through each and every area. You'll have to switch to R2-D2 to open up a door, for example. More than one person can play at a time, which is also really cool. You can also beat up your allies if you wish, and they respawn instantly. The gameplay isn't completely the same, though, there have been some small tweaks made here and there.

The additions to the gameplay aren't huge, but they are welcome. As you progress through levels all your characters may be able to assemble certain materials together to form a droid to help them fight. In the original Lego Star Wars this ability was only given to the Jedi, but here everyone can do it. There are also moments when you'll have to dress up as a stormtrooper in order to gain access through certain doors. You'll also be given the chance at some point to dress up as a bounty hunter and you'll be able to use Thermal Detonators. Characters also have their own unique abilities. Chewie, for example, can rip a stormtroopers arms right out of his sockets. All of these are welcome additions, and that's not even all there is to the gameplay. From time to time you'll be in command of vehicles. Landspeeders, the Millennium Falcon, the X-Wing and more as you take on some of the more memorable moments from the film, like destroying the death star.

It will probably only take you five hours at the very least to complete the story mode of all three episodes. However, Lego Star Wars II is full of extras. Each time you dispatch an enemy, whether it be in story mode or not, you'll earn money. You can also destroy certain objects and obtain money. You can use the money you gain to purchase cheats and hidden characters. Each time you get a new character they'll walk around in the hub, and you can switch to them. "Purchasing" characters isn't the only way to get them. You could easily just use one in story mode and you've got him or her. You'll also get hidden characters if you've got save data from the original Lego Star Wars. Just unlocking all the characters takes a lot of time.

The importance of unlocking characters is so you can play through certain aspects of the free play mode. There are places that in story mode the default characters couldn't reach. These hidden characters might be able to reach it, though, and so you will find yourself playing through levels again. The good news is these levels are so much fun that playing through a second, third or even fourth time is no hassle at all.

Free mode also offers a way for you to customize what a character looks like. You could put Yoda's head on Luke Skywalker's body, for example. This is mostly just a lot of fun to mess around with. Some combinations are just all out crazy. You could, for example, put Chewbacca's head on Leia's body from when she's wearing the slave outfit in Return of the Jedi. This really doesn't do a whole lot for the gameplay as a whole, but it is quite fun to mess around with, and the combinations are endless.

The only real problem with this game that I can really think of is that there is little, if any, challenge at all. Each time you die you respawn right where you left off and you have infinite lives. There's really no such thing as a game over. If you die the only penalty is that you lose money. However, the sheer fun factor of the game is enough to do away with that, and still makes Lego Star Wars II a treat.

Lego Star Wars II surpasses the original in just about everyway. It's a Star Wars game for the classic trilogy done with instant perfection. If you love the original Star Wars movies, you'll definitely want this game.

On the positive side
+Based off the original theatrical versions and not the special editions
+Beautiful game
+Addictive gameplay
+Co-op mode
+Several extras and hidden characters
+Customizable characters
+Tons of replay value

On the negative side
-The story mode is quite short
-While not really much of a con for this game, it's got very little challenge

Perfect Gaming Fun for All Ages

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 27
Date: September 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I loved the original Lego Star Wars game. It was incredibly fun, very replayable and had a wicked sense of humor. Lego Star Wars II is just as fun, and covers Episodes IV-VI!

It's very rare to find a game that kids can play, adults can play, and everybody truly loves it. This is one of those games. I'm sure kids enjoy the game quite a lot - but pretty much every adult gamer I know loves this series as well. It's fun, it has classic scenes from the Star Wars movies done in a VERY funny style, and you can keep replaying it. You can play it with friends! You can unlock new episodes, new ships, new characters, you name it.

The first thing you notice when you enter the "Cantina" is that now you can MAKE NEW CHARACTERS!!! Yes, you can mix up Darth Vader's head, Princess Leia's torso and a stormtrooper's pants. You can mix pretty much any character you find in the game, and give them personalized names! Then you can bring 2 of your creations into the game with you on free play mode. Talk about fun!!

The game gets even better. Yes, you work through all the classic scenes - Luke buying the droids, the Death Star blowing up, and so on from the "first 3 movies" (in release order at least). The cut scenes are VERY funny. Being able to play along as the various characters is amazingly fun in story mode, and even better in "free play" when you can randomly switch between a variety of characters to find all the hidden items.

I love the stud finding system. You want more money? Just replay a mission a few times. You can get all sorts of fun "cheats" (not cheats, really, but fun add-ons), you can buy new characters to use, and much more. It really gives you incentive to keep playing.

Is a youngster in the house having trouble playing? Just have an adult pop into the game for a while to help out, then the adult can pop out again, to let the child keep playing! It is just brilliant. I love this game.

The graphics are superb, as last time, with little lego movements seeming just right. Their swaggers and sliders are incredibly funny. The sound, of course, is the real movie soundtrack and is superb. You couldn't ask for anything better.

Even the tiny touches are funny. If C-3PO starts getting hit, he loses an arm, then another arm, then a leg. You have him hopping along valiantly behind you, trying to remain with your team. Chewie rips off arms from stormtroopers.

Now of course, there are always a few things the game designers get wrong. While Chewie's arm-ripping is quite funny, it is REALLY annoying when he does it - very slowly - in the middle of a firefight when you wanted him to be blasting away. The characters automatically switch into close combat mode if they think someone is nearby, even if you really needed to fire away at someone with the blaster. Even more annoying, if you're blasting away at "destructables" (wall items, whatever) and your friend gets near you start bashing on him!

The camera is also really annoying. You get a *slight* amount of view control, but not much. When you are craning around trying to find a mini-kit on the screen and the camera keeps swooping wildly exactly where you do NOT want to look, it can get very frustrating.

Still, these are minor problems in a game that is so stellar. I highly, highly recommend this game for any gamer of any age. It's incredibly fun.

All around fun for both Star Wars and Lego fans of all ages.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: April 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is a blast to play. It has a great collection of characters to choose from, and the storytelling is presented in a fun humorous way.

Play through episodes 4,5, and 6 while collecting lego pieces to buy unlockable characters and vehicles.

There is tons of replay value within the game. There are so many things to collect, you'll spend hours trying to find everything hidden in all the levels.

The presentation is fantastic.

The story is fun, and is tongue in cheek in it's humor value.

the co-op mode allows you to play along side a friend.

Included in the cantina is a feature where you can change characters around, putting Luke's head on Solo's Body, or any combination you desire. You can then take that character into any level.

If you are familiar with the Star Wars storyline, you will love this game. Tons of unlockables and hidden secrets in the game keep you playing it long after you beat the game.

Software Bugs Mar Otherwise Wonderful Game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: June 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

At first blush, this game seems like it should be an absolute blast to play. And it is - for casual players. The unique, all-ages friendly nature of the gameplay actually does make it possible for the entire family to play and enjoy.

However (and this is a big however), less casual gamers who attempt to complete the entire game will eventually run into a major bug that causes the console to freeze on a certain level (the Battle For Endor level in Super Story mode, for those who are interested), thereby rendering the game almost impossible to fully complete. Because the bug only occurs about forty to fifty minutes into the mode in question, the experience of attempting to complete the game becomes a maddening, time-wasting experience in frustration. How such a clearly unfinished product was ever released to market, and why numerous patches have yet to fix the problem almost defies comprehension.

So, in a nutshell, if you're the sort of person who only expects to spend a few hours running through the basic mode of the game, then by all means buy it; it's great fun. But if you're the sort of gaming completist who enjoys sticking with a game until you have unlocked every last thing, leave this utterly broken piece of software in a galaxy far, far away.

It was good until I hit the freezing bug

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: March 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is a blast. However (and this is a big however), the game crashes at the same point every time you try to play through Return of the Jedi's super story mode. In other words, it's nearly impossible to get 100% complete the game without massive frustration. Supposedly, there are certain ways to play around the bug, but I've tried this level four times (wasting about an hour each time) only to have my Xbox 360 crash whenever I get to the creek in the Battle of Endor level. I'll continue trying because I'm a completist, but failure to properly playtest a game is inexcuseable.

Unfortunately, LucasArts has shown no interest in fixing this flaw, which is absurd. If you buy this game, I'd recommend buying it used so that you don't reward them for putting out a game that obviously wasn't thoroughly playtested.

Frustrating Glitches

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: December 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Loved playing the game until the end, where 2 major glitches occur making it impossible to finish. Game freezes console in Super Story Episode VI in Endor when your character crosses the creek, and again in Death Star as you escape. Read the forum boards at both Lucas Arts and Xbox 360, then decide if you want that much frustration. Lucas Arts is unresponsive to inquiries about bug fixes for these problems. What a shame for such a fun game for the entire family to be released with such problems, and for Lucas Arts to ignore its customers. I am returning mine.

A well-built LEGO masterpiece

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I stopped questioning why LEGO with Star Wars was a great combination when I started to like peanut butter with pickles and pizza with milk. Traveler's Tales and LucasArts put together a wildly popular adventure with the original LEGO Star Wars game, which took Episodes I, II, and III and mixed wacky LEGO-inspired humor with accessible gameplay. For the most part, I avoided the original game, labeling it as a "kiddy game." With LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, I realize my mistake and will be picking up the original as soon as possible-LEGO and Star Wars go together like cake with icing, pizza with cheese, brownies with nuts...well, unless you're allergic to nuts.

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy isn't a sequel, but it takes you through the original Star Wars trilogy, composed of Episodes IV, V, and VI. Those three classic films are the bread and butter of the franchise (yes, I promise I'll stop talking about pairs from here on out). Traveler's Tales did an absolutely amazing job recreating the films and telling the stories from each film in LEGO Star Wars II. You'll live through all of the memorable scenes, like the Death Star trench pursuit in Episode IV, the betrayal at Bespin in Episode V, and the chaos with Jabba the Hutt at the Sarlacc Pit in Episode VI. They even do it all authentic-Han shoots Greedo first in the Mos Eisley Cantina! That's what I'm talkin' about, Traveler's Tales!

Each of the 18 story-based levels features a lot of shooting, things blowing up, and in true LEGO fashion, putting things together to solve puzzles, make switches and vehicles, and all sorts of other items. The creativity that is shown here is impressive, and the level design is excellent. The boys at Traveler's Tales definitely deserve a pat on the back for almost all of these levels. Though some of them tend to drag on a bit-especially some of the last few, which are much longer and more difficult than those in Episode IV-they're all worth playing through and beating LEGO Star Wars II shouldn't take even the slowest gamer more than 10 hours to complete.

Of course, beating the game and finding all of its seemingly-endless secrets are two different things. For those of you looking for some replay value, you've come to the right place. Each of LEGO Star Wars II's levels contains 10 capsules that unlock ships that you can view outside of the game's main hub. Levels also contain hundreds of little LEGO nuts that act as currency, and collecting enough of them unlocks a "True Jedi" rank for each level in both Story and Free Play modes. On top of all of that, you can find elusive Red Bricks that unlock cheats and secrets. I'd estimate that it would take a gamer about 30 hours to find and unlock everything this game has to offer-and it offers everything. I mean, seriously, you can play as some of the most popular characters (Boba Fett, Vader) or some of the more obscure ones (Bossk, anyone?).

The gameplay in LEGO Star Wars II features a lot of puzzle-solving but also a lot of action. The puzzle-solving elements can range from very simple to extremely clever, but not at one point are the puzzles cheap or impossible to figure out-usually I just wasn't looking everywhere or shooting enough. In fact, in almost every puzzle, you have to destroy something in order to build something else. Near the end of the game, if I was stuck, I started shooting things and that seemed to solve my problems. I thought this was nice, since some of the younger players will inevitably get stuck and start shooting things at random.

The action isn't quite as impressive, but it isn't bad, either. Shooting and gunplay show a little bit of LEGO Star Wars II's average side-targeting isn't very dependable, and there are far too many times where I felt overpowered. There are also too many respawns for enemies and too many enemies appear from off-screen and off-camera, meaning a lot of damage can be done before you even see enemies. Dying is extremely annoying in this game! It causes you to lose some of your LEGO nuts and hence some of that progress towards a True Jedi ranking, and exempts you from those elusive "Unbreakable" Xbox 360 Achievements unlocked for winning each level without dying. I felt taunted when I'd get shot from off-screen and I'd watch my little LEGO Han Solo explode into a thousand LEGO nuts. Still, it is always fun to clear out rooms of Stormtroopers and fighting bosses like Darth Vader, the Emperor, and that annoying spy with the goggles and snout in Mos Eisley.

Shooting levels make up about four of those 18 Story missions, and they range from being very fun to very annoying. Fun levels include the Death Star level at the end of Episode IV and the Hoth battle at the start of Episode V...but after those two, prepare for some of the most excruciating missions in the game. Don't even get me started on the Episode V Asteroid Fields or the Speeder Bike level in Episode VI. In short, they were two of my least favorites.

Visually, LEGO Star Wars II isn't as boring and blocky as you might expect. It's actually quite colorful and the visual charm goes quite well with the story. Nice touches like explosions and particle effects that send LEGO pieces flying everywhere make this game, at the very least, a pleasant sight. My favorite note on presentation is the lack of voice acting-it's appropriate and fits the game's humor very, very well. I'm glad that Traveler's Tales skipped voice acting, because it saves what would inevitably be an endless bashing on bad voice acting and stupid dialogue. The sound effects are also appropriate, and you'll hear every blaster and light saber sound effect conceivable before the game's over. Last of all, one can't forget the all-too-memorable John Williams score that heartily picks up when the action picks up.

If you get bored playing alone, LEGO Star Wars II has a fantastic pick-up-and-play cooperative mode that allows a second player to jump into the action at any time. This co-op mode makes each level much easier and even makes the most annoying flying missions tolerable. It's not a big disappointment that there isn't Xbox Live gameplay or competitive multiplayer, so I'm not complaining-the co-op mode works great, feels great, and is good enough for me.

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy isn't just a kid's game. To discredit it as such would be a sin for any Star Wars fan. If anything, it's the perfect throwback to all of the old memories and memorable scenes of the original Star Wars classics. LEGO Star Wars II isn't perfect-the gunplay is a little frustrating and some of the levels had me cursing at the TV-but it's a fun game that people of all ages can enjoy. Parents, there's not a better way to get your children into the greatest trilogy in film history.

Great for kids - all of us that never grew up

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The original Lego Star Wars was a great little lighthearted romp of a game: an amusing way to play out the three most recent Star Wars films in virtual form. The Lego and Star Wars combo proved to also be a terrific formula for the game space, generating an experience in Lego Star Wars that was oftentimes even more entertaining than the source material it was based on. Like any good sequel, Lego Star Wars II improves on the original in almost every way. But most importantly, it's about the good episodes now. For that reason alone, Lego Star Wars II is one of the most enjoyable games of this fall.
Featuring the story lines and characters of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, it's hard to believe that any Star Wars fan (which is, what, pretty much everyone?) wouldn't love this game. While the gameplay is pretty standard action fare for the most part, it's somehow made so much more fun because of the Lego characters. Levels that could perhaps be dismissed as lackluster in other games absolutely work here. Star Wars scenes are comically recreated and look and sound great (though, to nitpick, some of the John Williams music samples don't play in their entirety, making you wish for more). But make no mistake, even those without a predilection for Star Wars will enjoy this -- it's the combination of great story lines, characters, and comedic elements provided by Lego that makes it all work. The game's designers clearly had fun with it all -- you'll be continuously entertained by how they incorporated elements of the film into the gameplay (often taking some rather humorous liberties along the way). The Lego brand clearly afforded them freedom to have fun with the Star Wars license.

While most of the gameplay consists of run-and-gun action, there are lots of puzzles to be found -- many of which are quite good, even though some have rather unclear objectives -- and several missions that take place in vehicles (from AT-ST Walkers to X-wings). While the vehicular stages vary in terms of quality, the mere fact that so many exist really adds to the scope of the game. Lego Star Wars II offers a surprising amount of playtime, and is much larger and longer than the original game (which was one of its biggest criticisms). Once again, you control a group of characters that pertain to a scene, allowing you to easily switch between them on the fly in order to take advantage of their unique abilities. Unfortunately, though, your A.I.-controlled buddies are kind of clueless at times and offer little support in battles (while they do fire, it's all for show -- their shots inflict no damage on enemies). The game's far better when a second player joins in to play (a game can be joined at any time); it's loads of fun as a co-op experience. It's just a shame that Lego Star Wars II offers no online support.

What's also neat about the game is that there's a lot to do outside of the standard mission structure. There are lots of collectables to gather, secret items to discover, and hidden areas to unlock (certain areas aren't immediately accessible on the first playthrough -- only on return using other characters can they opened). The option to build your own custom characters with parts taken from others (such as a C-3PO equipped with a Darth Vadar head) is amusing as well.

There's definitely a lot of fun to be had with Lego Star Wars II, making it a good choice for those looking for a solid action-platformer; it's an ideal choice for those fans of Star Wars. It's also perfect for almost all ages, offering a rewarding experience even for younger players. All of the many versions (Xbox 360, PS2, PC, Xbox, GameCube, and PSP) look essentially the same, with the PC version offering better resolutions and the Xbox 360 version more visual effects (though it's unfortunately priced $10 more than the others). Rumor has it that developers Traveller's Tales have more Lego games in the works after this (including one based on Batman) -- here's hoping, as this formula simply works.

A solid game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

For anyone who's never played the original star wars lego game - it's a tongue-in-cheek take on the star wars franchise. The characters never have spoken dialogue, and the re-created cut-scenes are "modified" to be a little more funny (like R2-D2 falling off the back of Luke's land speeder).

The game plays like a lot of other action/adventure games and follows the plot of the original star wars trilogy. There are two basic game modes: story mode where you play through as specified characters; and freeplay where you play as any one of multiple characters at your choice and can switch between anyone quickly. In regular story mode there can be up to 6 playable characters on the screen at any one time - which clutters up the view a bit.

In place of a main-screen, there's a "cantina" where you can select the level and buy extras, hints, and character models using "studs" collected during the course of the game. (e.g. buying invincibility or Greedo).

There is a co-op mode that allows friends to play as another on-screen character, but otherwise the multiplayer aspect is very shallow. There is no XBL support.

The camera angles will probably drive you mad at points. There are several stages where you must jump from one ledge to another and depth perception can be really skewed by the camera angles. The aim is rudimentary - simply point your character in the direction of the bad guy and you may, or may not, hit him.

My only remaining beef with this game is replayability. There's a ton of things to do before you have "done everything" there is to do. (e.g. there's an item in the cantina that costs 30 million studs to buy - an average mission probably only nets about 100,000 studs at best). But once everything is done - and there are plenty of walk-throughs on the internet - that's about it for the game.

Overall, this is a game that's fun to play through and see your favorite star wars characters as legos. Of course, if you don't like star wars, this game isn't for you at all - but what are you doing playing video games if you don't like star wars? At any rate, this game is a bit steep for $60 and chances are it'll be gathering dust after a month or so. This is a good game for anyone to rent, but only serious star wars fanatics should buy.

Fun for everyone and I mean everyone

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I couldn't believe it. Even more so I have to have my mom over and play. Yeah I said mom. WE loved every part of this game even to the point she went out and bought it for her game cube. YES HER GAME CUBE. This game is fun to play and build up so you can play your favorite character. But at the same time has mini quests and things to do just as a bounty hunter or stormtrooper. Trust me this is a must own game. Play with your kids or your parents. It's a great way to bring families together.

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