Lego Star Wars II – the Original Trilogy
Ages: Everyone

Every once an a while, a great thing appears – Velcro, sliced bread, Lego Star Wars II – the Original Trilogy. I could end the review right here – but I'll go on. Most of you out there who are under 35 never got the emotional impact of the first Star Wars, but this game gives you some of that charge. You just won't believe the cleverness displayed throughout the game. They have kept the original music, which builds up the tension in the battle sequences. The Lego characters are – adorable – even when they are blasted apart into blocks. According to the instruction book, there are more than 28 characters to unlock –some of them in costumes appropriate to the different episodes. As the title suggests – the game covers the original trilogy – IV: A New Hope, V: The Empire Strikes Back, and VI: Return of the Jedi..

You can play in the Story Mode and participate in the original adventure or you can play with characters you choose in Free Play. As a Star Wars aficionado, I opted to play the Story Mode – it was fun to see how much I remembered – and how much I forgot. All the important places are there, Mos Eisley Cantina bar is home base. You will finally be able to drive Luke's landspeeder and steer the AT-ST walker.

Two person mode is activated by pressing START, which might be useful should parents wish to help out their kids. While the game looks kid-like, it is not all that simple. There could be more saves – they only occur at level ends or when you acquire new items and the directions for saving are confusing in the instruction booklet. Game help is of course where strategy guides excel, and PrimaGames has one. There are 100 levels to play through, two different modes, multiple characters and three episodes. There are years of replay value. I only hope that Lego Star Wars II will be around to play on the Playstation 7. I want my grandchildren to play this one. Fortunately for all, it comes on every platform.

Reviewed by: Editor - 11/06