Lego and Star Wars: for years a marketing match made in heaven but recently thanks to Lego’s recent business trouble a partnership in desperate need of rescue. Never fear, for now we have Lego Star Wars, a game merging two of the most recognizable products in our global culture. What sounds like merely a creative marketing ploy to hype both the imminently releasing Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and rekindle interest in Lego is actually a hugely entertaining action-adventure game suitable for people of all ages who all have fond memories of both the science fiction legend and those little plastic building blocks once so heavily adored. The concept is simple: bring all of the numerous Lego Star Wars figures to life in the video game medium by placing them through the paces of some of the most recognizable scenes of Episodes I, II, and III of the Star Wars sextuplet of movies. The delivery is nothing short of astounding, from the charmingly blocky awkwardness of the character models to the overemphasized facial expressions, Lego Star Wars oozes with nostalgia in every sense. The game is clearly designed to appeal to kids, with bright colors, low difficulty (you cannot lose at this game) and very clean combat (beaten enemies burst into Lego pieces). The hook here however, is that this game will appeal to the kid in all of us. Everything is recreated in impressive detail and absolutely looks like it is built from Lego bricks. Characters and creatures are faithful to both Lego and Star Wars. The appearance is dead-on, right down to the stick-on hairpieces and hole-filled legs. Fans of Star Wars will undoubtedly benefit the most from the game, as there are numerous at times almost surreal and extremely hilarious moments scattered around the game. Whether it is the attempts by a stumpy Darth Maul to intimidate you or the immensely satisfying scene of Jar Jar Binks plummeting off of a cliff, you can tell Star Wars fans made this game, and they had as much fun creating the scenes as you probably will playing them. The franchise has I felt been stuck in a sort of lackluster “Han Solo Syndrome” ever since the lovable scoundrel vanished from the series, and this game successfully revives some of the classic comedic value the original trilogy so effectively captured. There are of course other perks, like the rampant use of random celebratory dance scenes which add to the utter absurdity of it all. On top of it all is John William’s classic Star Wars score. Faithfully reproduced and playing throughout the whole game, the dramatic orchestrations make the game just that much more enjoyable as the squat figures lock into mortal combat, such as when Qui-Gon is stabbed by Darth Maul and has the classic X’s over his eyes to signify his death. The contrast between the musical score and the actual presentation ups the absurdity level even higher, and makes it absolutely hilarious. There’s plenty of action to go around too, from the opening fight of Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon Jinn aboard the droid control ship in the Phantom Menace all the way through the activities of Episode III. It must be noted that spoilers abound in this game, and so for Star Wars purists you had best put off playing the last third of the game until after you have viewed Revenge of the Sith to prevent any spoilers from reaching your ears. Throughout the game players will take control of all manner of characters from the Star Wars universe to tackle varying tasks, each one faithfully replicated in comical fashion from their real-world Lego model counterparts. Obi-wan and his Jedi ilk will appear when fighting is required, but sometimes droids and others step in to solve puzzles and unlock doors. Combat is a simple manner of running around and varying between a couple buttons to attack, block incoming attacks, or use a special ability like force push to move an obstacle. An additional bonus to the game is on-the-fly two-player mode in which a second person can grab a controller and jump in on the action at any time they choose. If there is any downside to this game it must be traced back to the kiddy nature of the actual game play. Children will absolutely devour this game, but for older players there is no challenge to the game unless you are obsessed with achieving new high scores, and some people will only need a couple of trips through the game to thoroughly enjoy everything there is to see. Nevertheless, Lego Star Wars won't leave fans of either trademark feeling short-changed. Once the novelty wears off, the lasting humor and utter absurdity make for one of the most original games in years. Here’s hoping the developers come back later with a longer adventure using the original trilogy. Fanboys unite, you have a new hero.
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