Lego Star Wars: The Video Game

Lego Star Wars: The Video Game
Developer(s)	Traveller's Tales Griptonite Games Aspyr Media Giant Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive LucasArts
Platform(s)	GameCube, PS2, Xbox, GBA, PC (Windows), Mac
Release	April 5 2005 (PC, PS2, Xbox, GBA) October 26 2005 (GameCube) August 2005 (Mac) April 21 2006 April 22 2005
Genre(s)	Action,Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player, two-player simultaneous

Lego Star Wars: The Video Game is a video game based on the Star Wars themed toy line by the Lego Group, that takes place during the prequel trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith), with a bonus segment from A New Hope. Lego Star Wars was first released on April 5, 2005, a full month before the final Star Wars film premiered.

It was developed by Traveller's Tales for the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2 video game consoles and Microsoft Windows personal computers, with Griptonite Games developing the Nintendo Game Boy Advance version. These initial versions were published in April of 2005. A Mac port, developed by Aspyr, was released in August 2005. A Nintendo GameCube version of the game was released on October 26, 2005. All versions were published by Eidos Interactive and LucasArts.

Though Lego Star Wars was billed as a "kid's game" and received the "Game of the Year" award from Kidzworld.com It recieved positive reviews and peaked at the top of the UK charts during early May 2005. It later lost the spot to the official game of Episode III but maintained a consistently high chart position throughout the month.

A sequel, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, was released in September 2006. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is due to release on the 25th of November.

Synopsis

Episode I
The Trade Federation had blockaded the peaceful planet of Naboo. The two jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were sent to make negotiations. There Republic Cruiser landed in the Trade Federation's capital ship's hanger. They stepped out of the vehicle and the protocol droid TC-14 greeted them. They were brought to a room with a table and eight chairs. They sensed a disturbance in the force (the Republic Cruiser got blown up by a Trade Federation turret) so they jumped to their feet, lightsaber in hand. They opened the door and several Trade Federation Battle Droids were waiting for them. They destroyed the Battle Droids and ran down the hall and found TC-14 who helped them bypass some doors. They got into another room and there were many droids there. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan jumped down and destroyed all of the Battle Droids and decided to get into a MTT and meet down on the planet.

They landed down on the planet and found each other. They traveled through the Battle Droid and Gungan filled forest and a Gungan named Jar Jar Binks was standing in the middle of the forest. A MTT was heading right toward him! Qui-Gon knocked him on the ground and the MTT went over him. Jar Jar said he would then help Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan! He said there was a secret Gungan underwater city nearby. They arrived and the Gungan leader gave them a vehicle that could travel underwater. They traveled through the core of the planet and reached the capital city of Theed. It was here that the queen was being held.

They rescued Queen Amidala and her guard Captain Panaka and they got to the hanger and left the planet. There ship was shot by the blockade of Trade Federation ships though and had to land and repair the ship. They landed on the desert planet of Tatooine.

On Tatooine a young boy named Anakin Skywalker said he could help them get the money for new parts. He said he could win a podrace for them and give them the money. He won the podrace and Qui-Gon decided to bring Anakin with him!

They landed on Coruscant and Senator Palpatine became Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Queen Amidala decided that being there woudn't help and went back to Naboo. On Naboo she went to the Gungan leader and revealed she was actually called Padme. She also asked if the Gungans would help them retake the planet. He agreed and he sent his army to the Great Grass Plains to meet with the Trade Federation army which had been brought out of the city. Meanwhile the Space Fighter Corps would destroy the main Trade Federation capital ship which would knock out the army. With Jar Jar in the army the rest of the group and a helpful little astromech droid called R2-D2 would enter the city and capture the viceroy of the Trade Federation. They traveled through the city and reached the hanger.

Next Darth Sidious's apprentice Darth Maul walked out of a door and Qui-Gon said him and Obi-Wan would fight and they should go a different way. In the battle they reached a room with a large hole in the middle and Darth Maul stabbed Qui-Gon through the stomach! Then Obi-Wan was knocked down the hole but grabbed onto the light and jumped up and used the force to bring Qui-Gon's lightsaber to him then sliced Darth Maul in two! Darth Maul's body fell down the hole. Meanwhile Anakin Skywalker helped out the Space Fighter Corps and blew up the captital ship which ended the battle between the Gungans and Battle Droids and the viceroy was captured! A celebration took place in the city.

Episode II
It is ten years after the blockade of Naboo. Padme is now a senator and Anakin is Obi-Wan's padawan. A bounty was put on Padme from the Trade Federation as revenge and Obi-Wan following a saber dart went to the water planet of Kamino. There he learned of a clone army ready for the Republic and a bounty hunter named Jango Fett and his son Boba. Obi-Wan got in a battle with Jango but was knocked over and Jango and Boba escaped in there ship Slave I.

Obi-Wan followed them to the planet of Geonosis and called Anakin who was with Padme saying he needed backup. In the message a Droideka attacked Obi-Wan so Anakin and Padme landed on the planet to rescue him. They walked through a hall and Geonosians allied with the Confederacy which was trying to destroy the Republic. They killed them and met up with R2-D2 and a protocol droid that Anakin built when he was a kid C-3PO. They almost rescued Obi-Wan but were sourrounded and captured.

Them and Obi-Wan were put in a execution arena and Mace Windu arrived with about two hundred jedi to rescue them. Then thousands of Battle Droids rushed out to the field and it became a battle. In the end Jango flew down and was killed and the clone army arrived with Yoda and the surviving jedi got in ships and escaped.

Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme flew after the Confederacy leader Count Dooku who was also a sith lord but Padme fell out of the ship.

They landed in a hanger and got in a lightsaber battle with Count Dooku and Anakin lost his arm but Yoda arrived to help. In the end Count Dooku tried to kill Anakin and Yoda ran over to save him and Count Dooku got in his ship and escaped.

Episode III
It is two years since Episode II and the Clone Wars are in motion. The Clone Army of the Republic versus the Battle Droid army of the Confederacy. A Confederacy leader with the help of Count Dooku blockaded Coruscant and captured Supreme Chancellor Palpatine! The Clone Army's ships fired at the blockade and Anakin and Obi-Wan arrived and landed in the hanger of the main ship.

They eventually found Count Dooku and killed him and rescued the chancellor. They got captured after that and brought to the cockpit of the ship with General Grievous. Suddenly they grabbed there lightsabers and attacked. General Grievous escaped in an escape pod and They crashed the ship down on Coruscant and the blockade was destroyed. Obi-Wan got a mission to go to Utapau were General Grievous was hiding and kill him to end the war.

He arrived on the planet and with the help of clone commander Cody killed General Grievous.

Meanwhile on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk Yoda was with Chewbacca and the clone army fighting off a droid army. They walked up to a group of clones and the clones began to fire at them! The clones had secretely been working for Darth Sidious! They killed the group of clones and Yoda got to an escape pod and fled the planet.

He met up with Obi-Wan who had to flee Utapau and they decided to go to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and find out how many jedi survived. They arrived and they discovered no jedi had survived but them. They also found a picture of Anakin killing jedi and bowing to Darth Sidious and Anakin was now a sith lord named Darth Vader. Obi-Wan said he would get rid of Darth Vader.

Padme, confused and upset, journies to Mustufar to meet with Anakin. There Padme finally realizes what her husband has done and she states that he is "going down a path that she can't follow". Obiwan walkes off the Naboo cruiser and consequently Anakin becoms enraged. Upset and angered Anakin uses the force to choke Padme into unconciouness. After a dramatic fight sequence between Anakin and Obiwan, Anakin is left for dead; sevearely burned and scarred. Obiwan escapes and takes Padme to an asteroid field where a medical centre awaits. At the same time Padme and Anakin are shows going through changes, she gives birth to the twins Luke and Leia whilst Anakin in placed inside a life support suit. Padme looses the will to live because of what has happened (the droid states that she is in perfect health, indicating that the Choke DID not kill her. in fact it was the very thought that Anakin HAD choked her which wasw partly responsible for her death). Obi wan and Yoda go into hiding and the twins are separated. Episode IV
The new Galactic Empire which stood in the Republic's place was being opposed by the Rebellion. Darth Vader attacked a rebel ship and entered it with a few Stromtroopers and they captured Princess Leia.

Gameplay

Lego Star Wars contains a total of 56 playable characters. The playable characters are modeled like actual Lego parts (but with far more mobility) and are divided into groups according to certain skills.

Characters

There are a wide variety of characters included in the game, all of which are unlocked by completing levels or by purchasing them at Dexter's Diner. Every character, other than the PK Droid and the Gonk Droid has a special ability, such as extra high jumping, control of the Force, or the ability to grapple. Droids, while not being armed, can travel through the game unimpeded (ie. they won't be intentionally attacked by enemy characters); as well, protocol droids and astromech droids can open special doors. Also, unlike other armed droids, player-controlled Battle Droids will be ignored by hostile Battle droids but not Droidekas. The Gonk droid is also indestructible.

Unlocked characters can be imported into the game's sequel, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, as an extra costing 250,000 Lego studs.

Original Trilogy characters

Because Lego Star Wars is based on the Prequel Trilogy (Episodes I, II and III), Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa and other characters from the original Star Wars trilogy are not shown, appearing in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.

This game was released before Revenge of the Sith, possibly driving sales up as the basic plotline was present in the game. To prevent inadvertent spoilers however, most reviewers warned that this was the case in their reviews.

Dexter's Diner

Dexter's Diner is the area from which the player chooses what level to enter, view any vehicles whose parts they have found. Lego Star Wars also has a feature called 'free play', which enables the player to play the same level again, but with the ability to switch between characters, thus get into areas containing extras the player was unable to get before. In Free Play mode, a player may use any character they have unlocked. The player may also match up good and evil characters, such as Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul. The free play option will only appear when the player finishes a level. Levels that are played in vehicles cannot be played in free play, but are able to be replayed in story mode like all the others. Some characters, such as Chancellor Palpatine, the PK Droid, and the Gonk Droid, can't do anything but walk, although they are never attacked in the case of PK Droids and Gonk Droids, giving them the ability to traverse the levels unharmed. Also in the diner, you may purchase unlockable extras for studs.

Levels

Each level in Lego Star Wars loosely follows the various sequences from the Star Wars prequel films, with game play segments linked together by various cutscenes. There is no spoken dialogue; rather, the characters act out their parts using gestures and pantomime. The game begins with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn about the Trade Federation ship, and ends with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi's duel on Mustafar.

Bonus level

In each level, a certain number of Lego studs need to be collected (the number varies per level) in order to obtain a piece of the super kit. Unfortunately, the player has to get all the studs in one try. The studs can be collected in story mode or free play mode. After all 17 kit pieces are collected, a fourth door, marked by a question mark, unlocks in the main room of Dexter's Diner. This room contains the bonus level, a short prelude into Episode IV: A New Hope. This level is available for both story and free play modes, however there are no cutscenes, no mini-kit pieces to collect, no Lego stud meter and no areas that can only be reached in free play mode.

In the bonus level, the player plays as Darth Vader and an Imperial Stormtrooper (Plus they meet up with C-3PO.), upon entering the Tantive IV blockade runner (which is also the model of the super kit collected to unlock the level). In the level, the player encounters a few Rebel soldiers, and is capable of collecting over 100,000 Lego studs. The level ends upon finding Princess Leia and R2-D2. To be continued... follows completion. This is different than the LSWII:TOT Episode IV opening level, as you play as Leia and Captain Antilles in LSWII.

Game Boy Advance version

File:Lego Star Wars GBA - gameplay.png

Yoda rescuing a clone trooper from two battle droids in Kashyyyk (GBA version)

File:Lego Star Wars GBA - characters.png

Freeplay character selection (GBA version)

File:Lego Star Wars GBA - freeplay.png

Anakin Skywalker, battling his future self Darth Vader (controlled by the player) in freeplay mode (GBA version)

The Game Boy Advance (GBA) version of Lego Star Wars has several differences (mostly for the sake of portability), including fewer playable characters (only 15), devalued studs (grey Lego studs are worth 1, blue 5, and yellow 10 stud credits), fewer levels, only one player character on screen at a time, and cutscenes consist of still frames of the home console versions.

All lightsaber users are able to deflect blaster shots aimed at them (provided they are attacking the shot) and each character has their own style. They also are the only ones able to use the force to interact with undeployed platforms and switches. However, unlike other versions of the game, blaster shots can only be deflected if they are headed straight towards the player at the front, not the back or sides of the character. Blaster characters can charge a shot by holding the button, making it stronger and able to pass through several enemies. However, as they don't have the shot deflecting abilities of Jedi, their use is quite limited.

For some reason, this version of the game is quite rare.

See also

• Lego
• Star Wars
• Lego Star Wars
• Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
• Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

External links

• Official website
• Lego Star Wars: The Video Game at MobyGames
• PC Demo (198MB)
• Gamespot review
• IGN review
• Gamespy PS2 review