Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Xbox 360)

This is the game that combines the two Lego Star Wars games on both the original Xbox and the PS2. It has the original cinema trilogy of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It also contains the three prequels - Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
I have both of the original games and bought the complete saga to see what it was like on a current generation console. And the review i am giving is split into two parts. One is for the those people who have NEVER played the last generation console games, and one is for those who HAVE played them.
For those of you out there who have never played the games before there is a simple recommendation - Buy it Now! It is fantastic! It has all the plots of the entire Star Wars movie franchise, and even better, it includes a vast array of the characters that appear in them - all of which are playable! So you can play as Han Solo, Anakin, Darth Vader, R2D2, Luke Skywalker, The Emperor and a very special hidden character............. (well worth finding). All the space ships are here too - most importantly, the Millenium falcon, The X-Wing, Tie Fighters, and loads more. Again all these are playable and can be unlocked by playing through each level.
At it's heart this game is a simple platformer with some shoot 'em ups thrown in for good measure. But scratch the surface and you find a really big game with lots and lots of extras to unlock. Some of the unlockables are essential in completing the game - super lightsabers, fast force, lego stud multipliers, invincibility and many more.
The graphics are simple, yet effective. They do the job really well and move from a cut scene to in-game action seamlessly. All the characters are well presented and instantly recognisable with their own abilities too. So, R2D2 can connect with computers on the Death Star, Darth Vader can open areas covered with the Dark Side of the Force, C3PO can talk to the moisture evaporaters on Tatooine, and best of all you can fly around with Boba and Jango Fett with their rocket packs!
The music is perfect too. Directly lifted from the films, it cannot be faulted in any way - it is genuinely like being in the film.
In terms of playability it is a piece of cake to pick up and play. Anyone from the age of 6 and upwards will be able to get into this very quickly.
In terms of longevity, this will be down to you. To get 100% completion will take a long time, and you will have to play through levels many times to get all the hidden minikits, red power bricks and new, blue minikits. If you just want to play through all the stories, then the game is ultimately a little bit too easy and too short, but i would recommend trying to get all the characters, minikits and ships.
Another excellent part of the game is the co-operative mode. Two players can play through the levels together and help each other. It is really good fun to do this.
In terms of violence, well, there isn't really any. Lego characters get broken and that is about the extent of it. It is all handled very well, with the main focus being on fun, not blood and guts. The humour throughout is brilliant - every level has cut scenes that poke fun at the films, but in a well-meaning, 'in the spirit of' way. I particularly like the scene where the imperial spy in A New Hope is hiding in the celebratory ceremony after the destruction of the Death Star. And these little asides show a real care and commitment to maintaining the Star Wars Legacy.
So, if you are young or old, then this is a game for you! It is fun, easy going and not too taxing.

If you have neither of the original games, then this would get 5 out of 5.

HOWEVER, for those of you have played the individual versions previously, it is a different review. Basically the developers have combined the two original versions and put in a few extra levels and a few extra collectables. Plus on this, the Xbox 360 version there is a huge raft of 42 achievements to be completed. It isn't particularly lazy, but neither have they tried to expand on what was a great game. The extra collectables come in the form of the blue minikits where you have to play through an entire level and collect ten of them in a time limit. There is also the Lego City from the first original trilogy game, and a new called New Town which is basically an improved version of Lego City. The graphics are not any better than the original games, and if anything i found a fault that i didn't particularly like - when there is a cut scene starting the whole thing pauses! This didn't happen on the older consoles, and although minor, i found it really niggling that an older console played this better than a brand new Xbox 360!
There are more hidden characters and obviously on the 360, there are the achievements to collect. But be warned, if you are trying to get all the achievements, you will need to be on Xbox live as one level has to be played through online.

If you have played through the original versions then in my opinion this game is only worth three stars. It is still fun, but there is not enough new features and levels to justify buying it. It is basically a combining of the first two games with a few extra bits bolted on it. If this game had been priced much more cheaply, then i would have probably been more happy with it, but i think it was overpriced for what you actually got in terms of new content.

Having said that, i had a blast completing it to 100% again, and still have a big, cheesy grin on my face! Roll on Lego Indiana Jones and Lego Batman!!!!

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is one of the best games ever made. There are three reasons for this, firstly it is very fun. The gameplay is perfectly designed so that the levels can be finished by a young child without too much frustration. However, they have also been designed to incorporate so much depth, so many opportunities to go back and find things you missed before, that the older gamer has plenty to see here too.
Secondly, Lego Star Wars looks wonderful through its simplicity. The game does not overreach itself and looks fantastic as a cute, cartoony game that still manages to be absorbing. Graphic power isn't important but presentation is, this game succeeds.
Thirdly, this is one of the most authentic, entertaining Star Wars games ever made. A delightfully charming, tongue-in-cheek approach to the series is taken and it works perfectly.

This game should be played by everyone.

Whoever originally created the concept of combining lego & star wars should be given a knighthood (if they were british). Lego is easily one of the most popular "toys" that kids play with, and more predominantly, is popular with those in their 20-30's who would have definitely played with it when they were young. Star Wars is something which captivates children and really draws them in, and overall has universal appeal.

This game draws perfectly on these synergies, in that it appeals to kids who are playing with lego & watching star wars for the first time, and adults who used to play lego and loved the star wars films. This cross-market appeal has to be why this, or particularly it's parent games of Lego star wars 1 & 2 (LSW), has been so successful.

With respect to the game itself, where to begin? The graphics really shine, and despite being relatively simple, are very colourful and match the gameplay extremely well. The game is also full of humour, and although it faithfully recreates many scenes from the films, it also adds it's own twist on them, usually by using just the actions/reactions of the mute lego characters. This works brilliantly and goes to show that hiring voice actors, good or bad, is not always neccessary if superb animation can tell the story itself.

With regards to the value fo the item, I played the original LSW and bought the LSW 2 before eventually trading it in, but I still felt inclined to purchase this, mainly because it marries the two film trilogies together, and adds a few new features/levels here and there. Quite a few of the flying/shooting levels from the first LSW have been redesigned in the LSW 2 mould, and now play much better.
It also incorporates an online mode, which works relatively well, mainly due to the game's simplicity.

Overall, a fun, colourful game for all ages, and worth buying even if you own one of the originals.