Product Description

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy takes the fun and endless customization of LEGO and combines it with the epic story, characters and action from the original Star Wars movies that revolutionized pop culture forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2469 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Released on: 2006-09-10
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
In a nutshell:
The surprise hit of 2005 is back and this time it’s moved on from the prequels and onto "proper" Star Wars. It may sound like one of the worst excesses of marketing hell but this is good enough to rejuvenate your love for both video games and Star Wars (and Lego)!

The lowdown:
As ridiculous as the idea sounds this is one of the few games that really can be played by all ages, from tots to grandparents – the game even adjusts its difficultly level on the fly depending how well you’re doing. The graphics are absolutely hilarious as the game pokes gentle fun at all the films and characters and uses the Lego motif so you can build new structures and objects as you go. With more playable characters than ever each now has their own special move, such as Chewbacca’s ability to pull the arms off Stormtroopers, and you can get in and out of vehicles whenever you want in some levels.

Most exciting moment:
The game features a large number of vehicles to drive, including landspeeders and AT-STs. You can also ride a Dewback which excretes an ominous looking brown Lego stud if you press a button...

Since you ask:
The all important two player co-op mode from the first game is still in the sequel, plus you can now design your own characters out of component Lego pieces. Darth Greedo, anyone?

The bottom line:
The Force is strong with this one.
Harrison Dent

Manufacturer's Description
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy takes the fun and endless customization of LEGO and combines it with the epic story, characters and action from the original Star Wars movies that revolutionized pop culture forever (Episode IV A New Hope, Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI Return of the Jedi). With a unique tongue-in-cheek take on the Original Trilogy, LEGO Star Wars II follows the Rebel Alliance's crusade to dismantle the Galactic Empire and rebuild a galaxy in pieces. Build and battle your way through your favourite film moments, from Darth Vader's pursuit of Princess Leia aboard her Blockade Runner to a showdown on the second Death Star, as the game includes even more of the family-friendly LEGO action, puzzles and humour that earned the original LEGO Star Wars such popularity and acclaim.

And much more new to offer, it still has. For the first time ever, characters can get in and out of vehicles, as well as ride creatures. You can also mix and match the body parts of more than 50 playable characters to create one of millions of possible LEGO Star Wars heroes. And on console and Windows platforms, a game save from the first LEGO Star Wars can unlock another 50-plus additional characters for Free Play - that's more than 100 total characters! Other exciting additions include free-roaming vehicle levels that are no longer on rails, the ability to switch ships at will in Free Play, cool new character-specific attacks and manoeuvres, playable mini-kit vehicles, an optional adaptive difficulty mode and more.

Customer Reviews

Lego + Star Wars = Fun
The original Lego Star Wars game (based on movies 1-3) was refreshingly original, looked great and was a lot of fun.

The sequel sticks to more or less the same template as the first game, in that the levels are structured along the lines of the films (episodes 4-6 this time) and can be played through in Story or Free Play mode. Story mode is a straightforward run through using set characters, whereas Free Play allows you to change characters (that you have unlocked elsewhere) during the level in order to access previously locked areas to get to various items.

Playing through the levels to just finish the story mode is fine and good fun, but the real challenge in the Lego Star Wars games is collecting all the minikits (little Lego vehicles such as X-Wings and so on), studs (the game's currency) and so on to unlock characters and other extras and eventually reach 100% complete.

Lego Star Wars II is, in both presentation and gameplay terms, very similar to its predecessor. There are tweaks here and there but overall it is very familiar. There is more to do and more to collect, meaning the game will take longer to complete, and this makes a lot of replaying necessary, which can become a bit tedious.

Graphically there are some nice effects but we're talking Lego here so by and large the graphics are simple but effective.

It's a fun game but a bit repetitious and not a huge leap over the original. What saves it from being a bit of a disappointment is the obvious care that has been put in by the developers and the improved subject matter of the original trilogy. The levels cover all the main plot points and action scenes from the films and the cutscenes are rarely short of very funny. The game has a very tongue-in-cheek humour running through it.

There are unfortunately a few problems: when equipped with a lightsabre, I found it quite tricky to hit enemies, which was very frustrating. The cutscenes, although entertaining, cannot be skipped when replaying the level. And finally, the Xbox 360 version has bugs that cause the game to crash at certain points during chapters 4 and 6 of Return of the Jedi, which LucasArts are not doing much about. Check out the forums on Xbox.com for lots of advice in getting around these glitches.

The game does get past its shortcomings and is great fun while it lasts, so I think it is well worth purchasing.

Superb fun.

As a boy growing up in the 80's star wars was a huge part of my life and this was the decade when the toys associated with the film really took off. Sadly, star wars toys made of Lego were 20 years away and now, as a 30 year old, trying to persuade my wife that buying Lego is a good idea is just not happening. Thankfully the genius's at Lego and Lucas arts have come up with this cracker of a game which I can just about get away with buying. The premise is simple in that it follows the last three films (or first 3 depending on your age!!) and you are taken through virtually every major set piece, in each film, playing as various Lego/star wars characters. The learning curve is perfect for both kids and adults alike. The cut scenes in between each level are hilarious. My first play of the game was with the "help" of an 8 and a 6 year old and we all spent most of the time in hysterics. The animation is superb and the controls are very cleverly done. Just push gently on the left stick and watching the characters "creeping" is very funny. This is a game which provides excellent family entertainment and really fits the category of "suitable for all ages". If you are a fan of the first Lego star wars game then this comes highly recommended.

How much fun??
I was looking for a game that I could play with my 5 year old son that did not bore me to death (Nemo on the old Xbox anyone??) and this looked promising. I wasn't expecting too much but this is fantastic. It is a worrying amount of fun blasting stormtroopers and watching them fall into bits of lego. The gameplay is pitched just right for the younger player but with enough fun and wit to keep the parents amused. If you like star wars the tongue in cheek cut scenes are great and the ability to re-visit levels with your own custom lego character gives my son a good opportunity to learn the game without worrying about progression.

All in all, an excellent mix - obviously not GTA but, at the risk of sounding a little cliched, it is fun for all the family!