bit-tech Shopping: Eidos LEGO: Star Wars (PS2)

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: Graphics, Gameplay, Sounds, Characters and it's not to hard.

Weaknesses: it is soooooooo easy to defeat opponents.

Summary: This game is absolutely, very fun! You get to use almost every Star Wars character you could imagine,even Darth Maul! I'd think this game will be fun for all Star Wars fans! review by BRENT

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Excellent use of license, fun, funny, and a blast to play.

Weaknesses: Too short, not enough challenge.

Summary: Lego Star Wars is the gold standard. Well designed, fun, and with terrific production values, apart from increasing the size of the game, it's hard to think of anything to improve it.Lego Star Wars takes the plots of Episodes I, II, and III and retells them with Lego characters. You light saber, blast, run, and jump your way through levels defeating enemies, collecting Lego pieces (the currency), special Lego kits, and opening up new areas and characters.What Lego Star Wars has done is quite phenomenal -- they totally captured the Star Wars universe and made a great game around it. You can play as just about any character in the first three movies (though you have to unlock many of them), and if you're anything like me, you'll enjoy this game much more than you did the movies. Being able to play as any of the characters is immensely fun.Control is spot-on. There are very few moments of irritation -- there are a few spots where the camera makes completing a jump a little dicey -- but it almost seems unworthy of complaint. I have rarely played a platform or sidescroller that worked so well.The only downsides are the length of the game and the lack of difficulty. You can breeze through this game much quicker than you might want to. You can't really die in the game -- the worst punishment is losing your Lego 'money' for the level. On the one hand, this makes the game great for kids, who won't get frustrated. On the other, it makes it just a little too easy. Even if you take your time to find all the hidden items and unlock the characters, it still leaves you wanting more. But I suppose that's a good thing, too.The game gives you plenty of incentives to play and replay. You can play each level in story mode, reliving the relevant part of the movie. You can replay the level, using any character you've earned so far, and you must replay the level to find all the hidden pieces. Each level has 10 hidden kit pieces, which assemble into a Lego model of a ship for that level. Each level also has a set number of pieces you must collect, to earn a single piece for a Lego model built from all 17 levels. It's a lot to do, and it's not always a cakewalk. Finally, you can also purchase goofy extras.If there were a sequel, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 14 Days

Strengths: Allows two player cooperative play

Weaknesses:

Summary: When I first rented this game I thought it would probably be rather childlish, but being a huge Star Wars fan I had to give it a try. Well I went home and could not put it down. A frend and I played it for hours. (Podracing with two players is very difficult.) We quicklky became obsessed and all my gaming frends agree that it is a great game. I loved it so much that I bought it the day after I rented it.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: Great co-op features; ability to play levels in "free-play" mode

Weaknesses: Absolutely no dialogue from characters

Summary: While this game is marketed toward kids, it is great fun for adults too! Play through any or all of Episodes I, II or III and find hidden canisters to build star ships from the actual movies! Use force powers to push back your enemies, or unlock and open secret doors to reveal hidden areas. Play with a friend, and "tag" other memorable characters from the movies to use their special abilities to gain access to hard-to-reach areas. Relatively easy, the game may be a little frustrating at times, especially for the little ones. Blaster, light-saber and ship sound effects, together with the unmistakable music of composer John Williams make this game worth playing and finishing.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 4 Months

Strengths: Wonderfully fun cooperative game, many unlockables, great to play with a child

Weaknesses: Relatively easy

Summary: This is one of my favorite Playstation 2 games. I got this game when it first came out - it had good reviews but not spectacular ones. However, I have been thoroughly satisfied with this purchase. The game is based on the first 3 Star Wars movies (the prequels that is). There are 2 main modes of play. In the story mode you play as the main characters and embark on 5 or 6 missions for each of the 3 movies. During each mission you must do some platforming, solve puzzles, and of course, fight battle droids and other enemies. Once you complete a mission the next is unlocked. Each movie has one vehicle mission in addition to the normal on-foot ones, with the jedi starfighter one in the third movie being by far the best (they could have made a game out of this by itself). The other mode is "free play" where you can play any mission you have completed in the story mode as any character. You can also switch to a few other characters on the fly during the free play missions. Characters are unlocked by completing story missions and by purchasing them in the main hub (Dexter's Diner) with the lego studs you collect during the game. The main game is very easy and an experienced gamer could probably blow through all the story missions in a few hours. This is the only knock on the game. Hopefully the rumored sequel (which will focus on movies 4-6) will up the difficulty just a little. However, it is still takes quite a bit of time to unlock all the extras in the game. To do so you must collect 10 lego kit pieces in each mission and also obtain a large number of lego studs in each mission. The latter task is particularly difficult in a few of the levels. And a few of the kit pieces are well hidden as well. The way this game transcends most others, though, despite its lack of difficulty is in the two-player cooperative mode. This is an absolute blast to play with a young child. It is also a great game for 2 kids to play together as you really need to cooperate to get through the missions. And if you want to go at each other in the Dexter's Diner area you can duel to your hearts content there (my son loves playing as General Grevious and attacking everybody in the Diner, while I try to protect them with another character). All-in-all, while it is a simple game, Lego Star Wars is an excellent family game (and recommended for any Star Wars fan). Our family can't wait for the follow-up.