Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga Review

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Publisher: LucasArts Developer: Traveler's Tales Platform: Wii Players: 1-2 Release: 2007 Genre: Action / Adventure Rating: 9.7 \ 10.0: Masterful 

Wow. I was already a big Star Wars fan when I first played this game (I was five years olds, but also new to gaming), and for that simple matter, I thought I couldn't underestimate it. I was wrong. Over time, I've grown to like The Complete Saga far more than I thought I would. It doesn't offer much  to those who've already played through its predecessors, 2005's Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and 2006's Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy. The Video Game is based on the prequel trilogy of the Star Wars film franchise (Episodes I-III) while The Original Trilogy is based on the first three films-- the Original Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI). The Complete Saga recycles all of its predecessor's stages and playable characters while also throwing in some new ones, but for newbies of Lego Star Wars (like I was at the time), it's really quite fun. The addictive nature of smashing Lego structures to obtain Lego studs (the game's currency) is surprisingly addictive, and can lead you to collect every stud in sight. This is the first of many Lego games to use this concept. You need studs to purchase new characters and vehicles. (You can even buy and play as Indiana Jones!) Not only does your stud-collecting pay off, but so does your character-buying. Many stages contain doors that can only be opened by specific characters, such as bounty hunters and Astromech droids. Behind these doors may be one of the stage's 10 Mini Kits. Mini Kits are cylindrical Lego objects that you must collect in order to assemble small Lego vehicles themed after their corresponding locations. You can view these from outside your hub, the Mos Eisley cantina. Other secrets are humorous, such as a movie theater that streams Lego Star Wars movie footage and rooms with disco balls and dance floors. You can also freely customize two Lego avatars from the cantina. Although your avatar can't unlock secret rooms, there's nothing I enjoy more than running around as a caped commando strangling baddies with the Dark Force and slicing up adversaries with a red-bladed Lightsaber in Free Play mode. Free Play allows you to play stages you've beat with any character (or vehicle on vehicle stages), and a group of randomly selected others that can unlock secret areas. But you don't unlock Free Play in a stage until you beat the Story Mode of it, in which you must play the stage with its corresponding characters. Story Mode is also the only way you can watch a stage's humorous cut-scenes, which add laughs and Legos to new versions of iconic film scenes. There are also bounty hunter missions, which you can't play until you purchase all the bounty hunters in the game (with the exclusion of Jango Fett, Zam Wessel, and any other bounty hunter not from the Original Trilogy). In them, you must track down the character hidden within the stage under a time limit. Finally, there are bonus stages, which you unlock from acquiring Gold Bricks. Gold Bricks are earned by collecting enough studs in a stage to earn a True Jedi ranking. Most of the bonus stages are based on normal stages, but some aren't-- like Lego Town and Lego City, which both challenge you to obtain one million studs in a non-Star Wars-themed city. All this fun can be enjoyed with a pal, including the two-player only Arcade mode. In this mode, you and the other player must duke it out in a small area under a time limit. (Tip: If you have purchased a ghost character, use it. They're invincible, and your friend will get really ticked as he / she tries hopelessly to defeat you. Pick the character before your friend does or you'll get really angry you! It's happened to me and it's not fun!) All these bonuses make it so the game doesn't always feel genuinely Star Wars, although it remains true to the formula for a good deal of time. The soundtrack is even composed entirely of John William's incredible tunes, so it's pretty much the best game soundtrack ever. You'll here all your favorite themes, my favorites being the "Star Wars Main Theme", "Mos Eisley Cantina Theme", "Imperial March" (Darth Vader's theme), "Duel of the Fates" (Darth Maul vs. Qui-Gon Jin), and "Battle of the Heroes" (Anakin Skywalker vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi, not Darth Vader vs. Ben Kenobi)  (of course)  The visuals aren't great, but that can be excused because this is essentially a port of two previous-gen games. If I have any complaint about this outstanding game, it's that some stretches of the stages are infuriatingly challenging. One part of a stage took me over an hour to beat-- you must assemble a massive puzzle while endless waves of Stormtroopers rush out of two doors. Getting struck by even a single laser while constructing the puzzle will cause it to break. You can temporarily close the doors, but it leaves you ill-prepared for the next assault. One other small issue, a control bug,  is that, occasionally, you'll start veering off course, but all you have to do is unplug and plug back in the Nunchuck. Despite its minor flaws, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga stands out above nearly every game I've played, and it holds many great memories for me.

Ups
Tons of content
Remains true to formula
Sense of humor
Two-player co-op or versus
All the music is from the movie

Downs
Infuriating at times
Mild control problems

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $49.99 (Retail)