Rule the Galaxy Together
I noticed that when I was playing LEGO Star Wars, anyone who happened to walk by was compelled to stop what they were doing and watch me play. The game's originality tends to suck people in. The developers must have planned on this, as the game also sports a well implemented two player mode. When you're playing the game by yourself, there is always at least one AI character following you. Although the extra character doesn't do much on its own (unless you count blocking to defend itself), you can freely switch to them at any time to take full advantage of their unique abilities such as Force powers, blasters, grappling hooks, etc.
Careful, Obi-Wan. Those little, red droids tend to blow up without warning.
At any point, though, a second player can enter the game and instantly take control of the AI character. Thanks to the game's fixed camera, you don't have to worry about the two players getting separated, and it's always nice to have someone else mixing it up in battle with you (as opposed to just defending). If, at any point, the second player wants to leave the game, they can freely drop out, forcing the AI back into control of their character. Surprisingly, this doesn't disrupt the flow of the game one bit, so new players can come and go as they please. Definitely a great way to share the LEGO Star Wars love.
Short but Sweet
Granted, the actual gameplay is pretty simplistic -- this is intended for younger gamers, after all. You could easily get through all three episodes in a day. It also seems a shame that a few key prequel scenes that are ripe for basing levels on were left out. Why isn't there a stage focused on the Gungan/Battle Droid war at the end of Phantom Menace? Or what about Anakin and Obi-Wan's chase with Zam Wessel at the beginning of Attack of the Clones? OK, maybe a stage where you're Anakin rampaging through a LEGO Tuskin Raider camp chopping off heads might be a little too hardcore for the game's audience, but this game isn't always afraid to tackle the darker stuff -- I never thought that Anakin's gruesome transformation into Darth Vader could be both tragic and adorable.
Fact: The purpose of the Yoda is to flip out and kill people.
The game's short length doesn't hurt it that much, though. Just because you've cleared the Story mode, that doesn't mean that you're finished with the game. As you finish chapters, you'll be able to purchase new playable characters with the Studs that you've collected. The general rule is that if you encounter a LEGO character in the game, it's unlockable. I'm talking heroes, villains, random droids -- everything. You can then take those characters (there are over 50 total!) into Free Play mode. Since you're now controlling characters not intended for a particular stage, you can discover all sorts of new secrets by taking advantage of their special abilities. There's even an unlockable secret stage. I definitely won't be giving anything away about it, but it's undeniably awesome.
Anyone who's even remotely interested in Star Wars (or LEGO, for the matter) owes it to themselves to give this game a try. It's definitely not a serious look in to the franchise, but this game has been marinating in fun for months, and the goodness has soaked all the way in. If you don't break into a big, dopey grin while running around shattering LEGO Battle Droids into their component parts, then you should just put videogames down for good -- you've outgrown them. Now, let's start hoping that we seen a LEGO game based on the classic Star Wars trilogy in the future. I want to fight a big, blocky Rancor!
