Lego Star Wars? You're Kidding, Right?

Star Wars.  Two words that together define a whole culture.  As far as movie franchises go, Star Wars is king.  Action figures?  Definitely a contender.  Video games only continues Star Wars’ domination on every aspect of entertainment.  However, there is one aspect of Star Wars I guarantee you have never seen before.  A Lego Star Wars video game.Lego Star Wars is by far and away one of the most unique, to say the least, idea to come around in a long time.  Obviously, as the name sounds, the game tends to lean pretty heavily on a childish approach, meaning limited violence.  Despite all of this, the game can definitely appeal to older gamers as well, but primarily only to die hard Star Wars fanatics.  Why, you may ask?  Simply read on for the answer.GameplaySimplistic.  If I were to have to use a single word to describe Lego Star Wars, that would be it.  It is simplistic, arguably even to the point of blandness.  The game feels empty in many respects, as if it was rushed and doesn’t have the polish and features it should.  Firstly, the controls are simply terrible.  There is no mouse support, even in the menus, so you will be forced to used keyboard keys to run the whole game.  That might not be so bad in many instances, but when the movement is clunky due to only four directions you can move it, and due to the fact that you have no control over the camera (which can be a huge nuisance), Lego Star Wars simply is not easy to control and that really detracts from the gameplay.In other terms, there really isn’t too much to know about the gameplay.  You have one button with which you can use the Force to push back enemies, move objects, etc, an attack button to cut down foes or deflect blaster attacks (which you will be doing a lot, trust me), and a rarely used jump button.  That’s pretty much it, other than the four movement keys that is all you will need.  Sound easy?  That’s because it is, too easy.  The game doesn’t need to be complicated because there are very few features and things you can do, and there are also unlimited lives, so the game doesn’t need extra buttons.  Really, this game feels more like a flash game you would download for free off of the internet rather than a full published PC game.  Oh, and just for kicks, you can run the game with two people, meaning a friend can use some other controls on the keyboard, and you guys can be bored together.  Yay!GraphicsUpon loading the game, the Graphics at first seemed fairly nice.  Although nothing overly sparkly or eye-catching, the graphics present the “Lego” aspect of “Lego Star Wars” very well and they help to give the characters distinction.  However, after a while, the graphics begin too seem too date, as there are really few special effects, and even those aren’t well detailed.  If a developer wants to make a game with average graphics on purpose to match the feel and setting of the game, they at least need to back it up with great FX or solid gameplay, and Lego Star Wars fits neither of those bills.SoundThe Sound is the most mixed bag of them all.  On one hand, the game has great Star Wars music, with all of your favorite epic songs playing triumphantly.  However, on the other hand the game only has average sound FX and absolutely no, that’s right no, voice-overs.  Not one single line of talking in the entire game.  Are you kidding me?  These characters, rather than talking, just use acting and motions to try to recreate what happened in the movies.  How many different ways are there to say boring?ConclusionLego Star Wars is a unique, innovative title that hasn’t been tried before.  However, after looking at the final product, it is easy to see why.  Although the game uses the licensed music well, the rushed gameplay and lack of any kind of voice-overs make this game one that you probably won’t want to remember.  Just another example of a good idea that went terribly wrong.Overall: 5.5Graphics: 5.7Gameplay: 6.0Sound: 5.1Controls: 4.7Replay: 4.1Fun: 5.8

Ewww, Darth Maul

Credit: Brandon Whitworth