Ah, the first Lego game based on a property I just don't give a crap
about. I'm barely aware of the existence of the cartoon and that isn't
going to change unless somebody presents me a reason to give a shit. But
Traveller's Tales' Lego titles have been a lot of fun and they seem to
really be starting to diversify the game style.
LSWIII:TCW actually is one of the more dramatic changes from the usual
Lego game. They provide some unusual level types (some pseudo-RTS levels
abound) and some considerably different overall game systems. Unlike
prior games, the hub consists of two large ships to explore. Cheat codes
cannot unlock all of the characters with some of them actually
requiring more than a little bit of work to unlock them. You still need
the multiplier to hit the Total Jedi score in all levels. There are
hidden things to find in the hub --- heck, the second major hub isn't
apparent until you try something and get over there.
In spite of the updates, the basic game play is the same as the usual
Lego fare. You bust up stuff and build up structures. You come back
after beating the game and use different people to uncover all of the
hidden collectibles. It will take the usual 20-30 hours to get
everything and you will have a decent time doing it, even if the
property is not your cup of tea.
The story is --- OK, I ignored the story pretty badly. It follows the
plot of the first and second seasons of the cartoon, so if you watched
that, it will probably rock your world. My 6 year old liked it a lot, to
be sure.
It is hard to review the game if you've reviewed the other Lego games.
"It's a lot like that" doesn't really fill a lot of space in a review.
They bring back the bounty hunter missions from prior LSW titles and
they are still quick and rather fun parts of the game where you have to
locate a specific target with a usually tight time limit generating a
lot of stress.
The 360 version is unexpectedly pretty. It doesn't look like an
up-resolutioned prior-gen game anymore but, instead, like a really
nice-looking game with a consistent visual style. The shiny plastic work
is drop-dead perfect for the franchise it is covering. I like that
they don't seem to try and have the different version similar (my son
did try the DS version and it wasn't all that similar to the 360 version
from what I tried of it).
But the game isn't bad. It really, really isn't. I like the new
additions to the game (OK, the RTS areas could grind on you after a
while as you get flooded with LOTS of foes). I like that you have to
play as two opposing groups. I think it is the best of the Lego games to
date. Not liking the property won't be enough to kill the game for most
people, including me. In fact, I'm REALLY looking forward to Lego
Pirates of the Caribbean now as the Lego games have been changing, a
lot, from Harry Potter and now Star Wars III.
I've been a fan of the Lego games to date and this is the first one I
had little interest in playing when I started it. But, it shocked me in
its quality. It's well worth playing. Hopefully, TT keeps improving on
the formula.
