First and foremost, I love Star Wars. I love LEGOs. When you mix the two, you get pure amalgamated goodness filled with endless possibilites.
The first two LEGO Star Wars games were, what some might say, groundbreaking and inventive. Traveller's Tales somehow took LEGOs to a whole new level. Building, busting blocks, searching for minikits, collecting studs as monetary value...everything about the games were completely and utterly fascinating. Some even argued that alot of the puzzles were too complicated for children to figure out on their own, and boy were they right.
The franchises started to die down (to me anyways) after LEGO Batman. LEGO Harry Potter was a little too difficult to get a grasp on everything that was going on on-screen. LEGO Indy 2 was purely lame. Nobody wants to play through the Crapfest of the Crystal Skull. So when I heard that LEGO was at it again with Star Wars, I had to check it out.
And here...we...go...
The box claims it covers the entirety of the Clone Wars...that's malarchy. It covers the Geonosian Arena until the end of Season 2 of the hit TV show. The Clone Wars is already in Season 3, so it would've made a bit more sense had they held off until the show had wrapped up. Still, that doesn't take anything away from Traveller's Tales latest masterpiece.
If you read my earlier article, you'll know there were some major tweaks and modifications (i.e. better lighting to give more depth, more movable objects on-screen, same-time story mode, etc.). The lightsaber combat is far superior, with each Jedi/Sith having their OWN unique moves...and lightsaber throws...awesome. The Jedi/Sith building block tactic actually utilizes the Force instead of hard labor, which is quite frankly a nice change of pace. It's also a nice reprieve to see the inclusion of less-popular Jedi like Plo Koon, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and, my personal favorite, Kit Fisto.
The game also boasts different classes of Clones, featuring Captain Rex, Commander Cody, and every other trooper seen in the TV show, with their own unique weapons. The battlefield levels are completely awe-inspiring...no joke. Seeing actual groups of your clone troopers march into battle and attack your target is a sight to behold. There are new features in-game as well, including nearly-free roam vehicle levels, gold boxes that have to be heated up with laser fire, and...brace yourself...indestructible golden Super Battle Droids who fight alongside you.
The level/mission select is similar to that of Battlefront 1 & 2. It allows you to choose which planetary system you'd like to play in and follow the story from there. The levels are far more epic albeit a little confusing to comprehend what's transpiring on screen. Don't get me wrong, the game doesn't feel rushed by any means, but the gameplay gets a little difficult from time-to-time.
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars an
8 out of 10. It's good. Really good. They've taken an almost beaten down concept and breathed new life into it, especially with LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean hitting shelves later this year.
LEGO Star Wars III is slated for release March 22nd (US), March 25th (EU), and March 30th (AUS) on all platforms. Note: This review was for the X-Box 360 version of the game, but I'd imagine the games wouldn't differ much from one system to the other.
CBMTrolls