| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Review Archive >
Video Games
> Results: LEGO Star Wars
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
So you're a conscientious GamerParent, have just read the rave review for LEGO Star Wars on the PC (same as PS2 or Xbox), and are at the store. You are in the video game section and think, "We have no PS2 or Xbox, and I don't know if our PC meets these requirements. But my kids have a Game Boy Advance! Cool! There is a GBA version right there on the shelf. I'll just reach out andﾅ"
STOP! Sure, it has the same name, and very similar cover art, but LEGO Star Wars on the GBA is *not* the same as on the PC and consoles and that isn't a good thing.  Star Wars games on the Game Boy Advance platform have never reached the height of excellence their PC counterparts have. There are no landmarks like Dark Forces or Knights of the Old Republic here. There are only good entries like New Droid Army or Apprentice of the Force, mediocre titles such as Jedi Power Battles, and a couple truly awful games like Attack of the Clones and Flight of the Falcon. The basic gameplay mechanism in LEGO Star Wars is similar to the PC and Console versions except you use simple menu choices to access Episode I, II and III. Once you have completed a chapter in 'Story Mode', you can then go back and repeat it in 'Free Play'. You can also start working on Episodes II and III after you complete the first level of Episode I. Within episodes progression is linear until you completely finish the levels, then you are free to replay whatever chapter you want. Graphically, everything is made of LEGO blocks with obviously lower resolution than the PC and console games. You can break things apart for LEGO ﾑstud' currency or manipulate LEGO blocks with the Force. When you die you shatter into LEGO pieces. Finally, different from the PC version, switching characters involves you breaking into blocks and the other character re-forming. While this is a nice concept, and gets around the graphical overhead of multiple players running around, it takes several seconds and gets to be more annoying than interesting. The game plays from an isometric perspective which is more similar to Jedi Power Battles than the PC version of LEGO Star Wars. There are a few other marked differences between the PC and GBA versions. First, when you die, you don't reassemble in place and lose some of your LEGO studs, but instead lose all of your studs and restart from the beginning of the area. This can be extremely frustrating since you are often required to complete sections with certain characters, so you are unable to switch between strong and weak characters to get through an area. Another difference is the humor. While there are some humorous bits, the majority of it is gone. Cut scenes are done as slideshows, which means only plot highlights are featured. That removes much of the charm that LEGOs added to the console and PC games. Objectives and dialogue are all handled without text or voice-overs. Instead you get emoticon bubbles over each character indicating what is needed. For instance, when Cieg Lars is having Tuskan Raider problems in Episode II, his bubble flashed icons show a Tuskan and then a moisture vaporator. Similarly in Episode II, the scene where Anakin finds his mother is handled through these bubblesﾗshowing love for each other, then Anakin's sadness turning to anger before he goes on a rampage. It is simple and effective, and at times cute. A feature found only in the GBA version is the presence of Jawa traders. These appear occasionally, and allow you to purchase upgrades that will restore and increase health or Force power. You can also purchase a repair remote that will follow you around and revive you if you die. The Jawas' goods are handy but use the same studs that would otherwise go towards unlocking characters for free play. The GBA version features fourteen levels compare to seventeen for the other versions, broken down as five for Episode I, a paltry three for Episode II and six for Episode III. Before getting too excited about the Episode III content, realize that two of the levels are pretty much inverted repeats of two other levels. The choices of areas are questionable, especially for Episode II. While the inclusion of a well executed Tuskan Slaughter level was very nice, there was nothing included with Jango and Kamino, which was a personal favorite area of mine in the PC version (including one of the funniest unlockables, too!). There are no vehicle levels in the GBA game, which is a mixed blessing. While you might be terrible at them, they did very nicely break up the gameplay, leaving too much of the game with a feeling of sameness.  The controls make sense and the graphics are nice, but they're hurt by poor responsiveness and slow screen updating. The control response often gets you in trouble. My eight-year-old confirmed my own problems with the controls when he noted the controls were ﾑweird' (his word) because he would keep moving in one direction even after switching directions on the D-pad. Another interesting idea that is only on the GBA version is saber-lock. During most saber battles, when the opponents both swing, they lock sabers, and whoever powers out of the lock hits the other player hard. It is a great idea marred by the frenzied button mashing required. Coupled with the control issues already mentioned, you often need a break to rest your hands. To top it off the bad framerates can make everything very sluggish, including the already sluggish controls. It is extremely frustrating at times and results in one of my favorite original trilogy and prequel characters being one of my least favorite characters to play in the GBA game. Similar to the PC and console versions, you use your earned studs to unlock characters for Free Play mode. The main reasons to take characters into Free Play are to earn more studs, find ﾑDeath Stars' (same as LEGO canisters in the PC game) and to explore more of the levels. There is not the same ﾑtrue Jedi status', but rather a ranking of Padawan, Knight or Master. It's not nearly as compelling as on the PC. While on the PC version you want to replay parts of Episode I before you even start Episode II, on the GBA you probably won't touch Free Play until after you completely finish the game. LEGO Star Wars for the Game Boy Advance is an ok game. It's probably the third best handheld Star Wars game behind Apprentice of the Force and New Droid Army. It's at least much better than a disaster like Flight of the Falcon. However if you have a PC or console, you should skip this and go with those far better versions. 
Any kid who can play any GBA action/adventure game can play this. The biggest problem is difficulty, but kids who have succeeded with games like Metroid: Zero Mission can handle that. Even the more violent scenes in the films have been scaled down and simplified to make this a truly E-rated game.
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: LEGO Star Wars |
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
