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In
the history of "Ideas so crazy they just might
work", the LEGO Star Wars video games stand as
the shining example. by
Patrick Evans
July
4, 2006 - Growing
up, LEGOs are toys that spark children’s imagination.
From the simple building blocks of a house to the
multi-colored “planks” of a pirate ship
or a square, boxy build of a race car, the only limitation
to what you can build is the imagination. So when
last year, LucasArts reached into our childhoods with
their retelling of Episodes One through Three in LEGO
Star Wars. Answering the calls of countless fans,
myself included, LucasArts will now retell the original
trilogy in LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.
Starring
the cast of the Original Trilogy, LEGO Star Wars II
will refine the formula set by its predecessor in
providing fun adventure gameplay and combat while
remaining fairly accessible to casual gamers. One
of the most important adjustments to the “ease”
in gameplay will be the adjustable difficulty. If,
throughout a level perhaps, you are getting your rear
handed to you by various storm troopers and the like,
the game will adjust its difficulty down to allow
players to continue making progress through the game
instead of giving up in frustration. On the other
hand, if you are slaughtering everything you come
across without so much as a ding, which may have been
the case for some players of the original, then the
difficulty will ratchet upwards to keep play interesting.
LEGO
Star Wars allowed players to play as their favorite
characters throughout the game and unlock countless
goodies, but The Original Trilogy will go one better
by allowing players to customize their character with
interchangeable parts. That’s right, you can
have the head of Princess Leia on the body of Han
Solo carrying a light-saber while donning Darth Vader’s
black cape. LucasArts will be rewarding owners of
the original by using their save files to unlock the
original unlockable characters. Including the original
characters, over 100 characters will be accessible
in The Original Trilogy, including Luke, Lando, Greedo,
and every other memorable character imaginable.
The
customization doesn’t end there either. Like
in the original, players will construct different
vehicles throughout the game to accomplish goals and
clear levels. This time around, however, all non-droid
characters will be able to construct vehicles from
parts strewn across the stage. These pieces will be
found behind obstacles and whatnot, requiring various
character skills to access. Additionally, hidden model
kit pieces will be hidden in each of the levels throughout
the trilogy, allowing you to use custom vehicles,
which aren’t found by default in game, through
specific stages.
Character
specific combat and moves will be expanded upon, making
the difference between playing as Han Solo and Chewbacca
two completely different gameplay experiences. While
Vader may be able to use a Force Choke-Hold to defeat
opponents, Chewbacca will be adept at ripping the
LEGO arms off of stormtroopers. As stated above, various
characters will be able to solve specific puzzles
as well. Chewbacca’s brute strength would be
useless in a specific stage, for instance, where Luke’s
force abilities would be required.
These
improvements and more, such as bigger level designs
and a more competent camera system, will ensure that
fans of the original will be more than satisfied by
the LEGO telling of Episodes four through six. Look
for the LEGO pieces to start flying late this summer.
By
Patrick Evans
CCC
Staff Writer
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