- Title: LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
- Platform: Xbox, Xbox 360
- Publisher: LucasArts
- Developer: Traveller’s Tales
- ESRB: “E” for Everyone
- Genre: Third-Person Adventure
- Pros: Same great gameplay as original; tons of secrets and unlockables; huge levels; co-op; no Jar Jar
- Cons: No online features; camera occasionally gets in the way
Features and Modes
LEGO Star Wars II uses a central hub similar to the first game where you can access the different levels and other features. Each of the three movies has its own section of Mos Eisley Cantina but you can also open up a special Bounty Hunter room, buy new characters and cheats, create custom characters, as well as see all of the various LEGO vehicles you have built by collecting special canisters in each level. Of course, all of the characters you have unlocked wander around the level as well and it gets pretty crowded once you have everyone unlocked. Each level has a story and free play mode to play through and beating each gives you gold blocks that let you build doorways to new bonuses. There aren’t any online features, which is a disappointment, but you can play co-op which, while not a fair trade off, is still a lot of fun.
Gameplay
There are also special vehicle levels such as the Death Star attack in A New Hope, the Battle of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, or the speeder bike chase and attack inside the Death Star in Return of the Jedi. The controls in these levels take some getting used to, but they are pretty fun and satisfying once you get everything down.
This game is just pure fun through and through and, similar to the original, hits just the right difficulty balance so it is still a ton of fun for adults but kids will love it as well.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, LEGO Star Wars II looks pretty much like the original game. It is a little smoother and more detailed in some areas, but it looks basically the same. On the Xbox 360 everything gets a coat of shiny paint and there are some nice looking reflections here and there. It won’t blow you away with its visuals, but it doesn’t really have to.The sound is also mostly unchanged but still quite good. The classic Star Wars music plays throughout and it really adds to the experience. Sound effects for blasters and lightsabers and the different ships and vehicles are all spot on. There isn’t any voice work, but the characters mumble is Simsish and if you have seen the movies, which I can only assume you have, you’ll understand everything perfectly.
Bottom Line
