Lego Star Wars: The Video Game is a video game based on the Star Wars themed toy line by the Lego Group, that takes place during the prequel trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith), with a bonus segment from A New Hope. Lego Star Wars was first released on April 5, 2005, a full month before the final Star Wars film premiered.

It was developed by Traveller's Tales for the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2 video game consoles and Microsoft Windows personal computers, with Griptonite Games developing the Nintendo Game Boy Advance version. These initial versions were published in April 2005. A Mac port, developed by Aspyr, was released in August 2005. A Nintendo GameCube version of the game was released on October 26, 2005. All versions were published by Eidos Interactive and LucasArts.

Lego Star Wars was billed as a kids' game and received the Game of the Year award from Kidzworld.com It received generally positive reviews (PC version Metacritic score 77) and peaked at the top of the UK charts during early May 2005. It later lost the spot to the official game of Episode III but maintained a consistently high chart position throughout the month.

Its sequel, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, was released in September 2006, while a compilation, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga was released on November 6, 2007.

Synopsis

See also: Star Wars Episode I, Episode II, and Episode III

The story of Lego Star Wars is similar to those of Episodes 1–3, with minor differences. Scenes that do not include much action in the movie are only lightly touched on in the game or removed entirely. Scenes are also changed to make them more humorous.

This game was released before Revenge of the Sith, possibly driving sales up as the basic plotline was present in the game. To prevent inadvertent spoilers however, most reviewers warned that this was the case in their reviews.

Gameplay

Characters

Lego Star Wars contains a total of 56 playable characters. The playable characters are modeled like actual Lego parts (but with far more mobility) and when they die, they fall to pieces like an actual Lego minifigure. There are a wide variety of characters included in the game, all of which are unlocked by completing levels or by purchasing them at Dexter's Diner. Characters are divided into groups according to certain skills. For instance, Jedi can double-jump, use lightsabers, and have control of the force, which they can use to activate or lift Lego objects or defeat certain enemies. Jar-Jar, Grievous' Bodyguard and General Grievous have the super jump, which allows them to reach obstacles that Jedi can't jump to. Characters who carry blasters have the ability to grapple. Droids, while not being armed, can travel through the game without being intentionally attacked by enemy characters also, protocol droids and astromech droids can open special doors. Every character, other than the PK Droid and Gonk Droid have a special ability. However, an almost unknown Chancellor Palpatine can use the dark force.

Unlocked characters can be imported into the game's sequel, Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy, as an extra called "use old save" costing 250,000 Lego Studs.

Because Lego Star Wars is based on the Prequel Trilogy (Episodes I, II and III), Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Jawa and other characters from the original Star Wars trilogy are not shown, appearing in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. However, if you unlock the last level (an episode 4 preview), Darth Vader, a stormtrooper, a rebel and Princess Leia become available.

Free Play

Lego Star Wars has a feature called 'Free Play', which enables the player to play a level again, but with the ability to switch between characters. This permits access to areas containing extras the player was unable to get before. In Free Play mode, a player may use any character they have unlocked; unlike Story Mode, which only allows players to switch between the characters involved in that scene. The Free Play option will only appear when the player finishes a level in Story Mode. Levels that are played in vehicles cannot be played in Free Play, but are able to be replayed in story mode like all the others.

Dexter's Diner

Dexter's Diner is the area from which the player chooses what level to enter, or can enter the Parking Lot to view any vehicles whose parts they have found. The parts to these vehicles are contained in 10 mini-kit canisters which are hidden through out each level. Battles often take place between canon-good and canon-evil characters in the Parking Lot as well. At the diner counter, the player may purchase unlockable extras in exchange for Lego studs they have collected by playing through the levels.

Game Boy Advance version

The Game Boy Advance (GBA) version of Lego Star Wars has several differences (mostly for the sake of portability), including fewer playable characters (only 15, without using cheat codes), devalued studs (grey Lego studs are worth 1, blue 5, and yellow 10 stud credits), fewer levels, only one player character on screen at a time, and cutscenes consist of still frames of the home console versions.

All lightsaber users are able to deflect blaster shots aimed at them (provided they are attacking the shot) and each character has their own style. They also are the only ones able to use the force to interact with undeployed platforms and switches. However, unlike other versions of the game, blaster shots can only be deflected if they are headed straight towards the player at the front, not the back or sides of the character. Blaster characters can charge a shot by holding the button, making it stronger and able to pass through several enemies. However, they don't have the shot deflecting abilities of Jedi.

References

External links

• Star Wars Games wikia