By Elias Dounis on April 16th, 2005

As a diehard Star Wars fan I know how it is when a new videogame based on the franchise hits retail shelves. The curiosity of playing the game is always stirring inside you, as it appeals to you simply because of the Star Wars name that is branded on it. Well folks, the newest Star Wars-branded videogame has hit retail shelves, and unlike any previous Star Wars videogame, this one tells the story of the Prequel Trilogy with the game’s world and characters designed to look as if they are made up of LEGO blocks.

Imagine the Star Wars universe completely made out of those LEGO blocks we played with as kids, and you have LEGO Star Wars. The game’s characters look like the funny-shaped LEGO characters and the interactive parts of the game’s environments, such as doors, switches, platforms and starships are made to look as if they were comprised of LEGO blocks. With this visual style comes a sense of humor that is sure to appeal to many players, particularly younger ones. For instance, if you were to destroy an object or get "killed" by an enemy, the object and your character would be shattered into LEGO parts. LEGO Star Wars is a lighthearted game and it’s definitely intended for an audience meant to appreciate its lighthearted atmosphere - - the pre-teen gamer.

Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul

The game is based on the first three episodes of the Star War saga: "The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," and "Revenge of the Sith;" and with May 19th fast approaching, I’m sure there are thousands of Star Wars fans interested to see the events of RotS played out in videogame form a month before its release. Though, it should be noted that the events of the game, and Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the Dark

"LEGO Star Wars is a lighthearted game and it’s definitely intended for an audience meant to appreciate its lighthearted atmosphere..."

Recently, games such as Resident Evil 4, Devil May Cry 3, and God of War have pushed the envelope in the action genre to the extent where all other games seem to pale in comparison. Unfortunately, LEGO Star Wars is one of those games that doesn’t seem to be that good when standing alongside games such as those mentioned. If I were to give readers a brief description of the title’s gameplay, I would simply say that LEGO Star Wars has many strong points, but is hurt by stiff controls and gameplay that feels somewhat repetitive. Though, doing something like that would annoy some of you, wouldn’t it?

LEGO Star Wars is mainly a third-person action game, and like most action games, progress is made in a linear fashion. However, the unique thing about LEGO Star Wars is that it shares a slight resemblance to classic 2D beat ’em ups, such as Streets of Rage and Final Fight, in which the camera perspectives given (which cannot be manipulated) show you the battlefield in a narrow perspective that sometimes makes the game feel like a sidescroller or 2D platformer. For some awkward reason that I can’t put my finger on, this makes the linear nature of the game feel more acceptable than it would’ve been if the game were to play like a third-person shooter such as Max Payne 2 and even gives it an old school feel that I’m sure many players will love.

Unfortunately, the third-person action featured in LEGO Star Wars feels somewhat slow and the lightsaber melee attacks feel stiff. This can easily become a nuisance since most of the game involves hacking and slashing your way through hordes of droids and Clone Troopers. Additionally, players will often make use of their "Force Power," which is really nothing much more than a gameplay feature that allows players to move objects in a predetermined fashion. This Force Power can be used to shake objects for credits, to create platforms and other objects out of LEGO rubble, etc... Personally, I find the use of "Force Powers" to be very disappointing in LEGO Star Wars since there are many Star Wars games that have come before it and made better use of this staple in the series.

While going through each of the game’s levels, you’ll notice that you’re never alone on the field. You’re almost always accompanied by a Jedi or blaster-wielding partner such as Yoda, Qui Gon Jinn, Padme Amidala and even everyone’s favorite walking carpet, Chewbacca. The cool thing about this is that players can switch between any of the playable characters on the fly with the simple press of a button when getting close to them. This character switch is used to solve many of the game’s puzzles, since each character has their own unique abilities. For instance, blaster-wielding characters can use a grappling hook to reach platforms that wouldn’t easily be accessible for a Jedi (even though they can double jump). Additionally, other secondary characters can be encountered on the field, including protocol and astromech droids, who are meant to represent C-3PO and R2-D2 respectively, and Jar Jar Binks. These characters make available further abilities to players. For instance, an astromech droid can open certain doors other characters cannot (same with protocol droids). Jar Jar, on the other hand, can jump even higher than a Jedi, but thankfully he’s not seen in the game for too long.

For the first time that I can recall in a Star Wars videogame, Yoda is included as a playable character in LEGO Star Wars and he is easily my favorite character in the game. When playing as this wise and powerful Jedi master, there are some interesting control

With the ability to switch between multiple characters on the fly, you would assume that the experience would be much more enjoyable if your partner wasn’t being controlled by the game’s AI. Of course, it most definitely is. A second player can jump into LEGO Star Wars at any time during gameplay and not only does this naturally make the game more enjoyable but it lessens the agony felt when playing with the game’s dumb-as-nails AI. In all seriousness, supporting playable characters in this game are absolutely worthless.

Interestingly, in what came off as a surprise to me, LEGO Star Wars isn’t strictly a third-person action game. For moments such as the pod racing scene from Episode I and the "Battle of Coruscant" from Episode III, the game steps away from the hack ’n slash and pursues some light racing and even on-rails space shooter gameplay (a first for a Star Wars videogame). It’s not anything mind-blowing, but it helps give the game some much-needed freshness because the last thing anyone wants is to play a repetitive hack ’n slash.

Gamers looking for a videogame to tide them over a few days may be pleased to hear that LEGO Star Wars can easily be completed within a rental’s time. Of course, others may see this as one of the game’s flaws; however, if the adventure were any longer, its semi-repetitive gameplay could possibly get on someone’s nerves if it took any longer to complete. The entire game can be beaten in a single sitting, if a person

Lego Star Wars has clearly been designed for youngsters, and I’m sure the younger crowd is sure to appreciate the game more than the hardcore gaming crowd, but the game will still offer something that older and more experienced gamers will enjoy. Even while there may be plenty of better Star Wars games available, such as Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Knights of the Old Republic, Lego Star Wars is a refreshing game that can easily eat up time for those looking to have some simple fun. It’s not necessarily worth a purchase, even for the most fanatical of Star Wars nerds, but it will make a rental’s fee feel very well spent.