Game review: Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is very good, as far as it goes Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Despite the overwhelmingly positive response from everyday fans, inside the hardcore community which waited more than three decades for a true Star Wars movie (the prequels didn’t count, OK?), The Force Awakens tore many a true believer. Sure, most of us liked it – but while some adored it for its rollicking throwback adventure (this critic included), others despised it for the very same reasons, saying it was basically a remake of the original 1977 film. For what it’s worth, this new Lego game doesn’t come with that sense of uncertainty. After a good 20 Lego releases tied to existing properties, you know what you’re getting into here: a series of best-of movie scenes, with all the standard reward-based gameplay elements, simple puzzles and corny character humour that defines this kid- and adult-friendly franchise.Because despite the naysayers – both of the movie and the gaming series – the only Force Awakens video game is still a huge amount of fun.
For a game that you might think is aimed solely at children, the developers have seemingly gone an extra length to appease the long-time fans. There’s the ability to finally control such classic characters as Han and Chewy, but more importantly for all the aforementioned detractors, in-the-know jokes that point out blatant plot holes and obvious retreads. Alongside that is the gameplay, a series of well-worn button-mashing and puzzle-smashing tropes – nothing exactly innovative considering its winning formula, but they are trying: new “building” conundrums attempt to embrace Lego’s original purpose, and while they never live up to the endless possibilities of the blocks, we do appreciate the effort. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a decent game, but I’m ending this review on a rant: while the Lego gaming series is fun and all, don’t you kind of miss real games based on movies? Wouldn’t it have been cool to have a proper planet hopping, light sabre duelling adventure based on the movie?
I get it: real games cost a lot, and more often than not, they epically fail due to studio interference – but the whole Lego-only tie-in thing is getting a little saturated. Here’s hoping the next Star Wars flicks aren’t only built of bricks. How Hongkongers fell for charms of murky Thai occult world Hong Kong’s M+ museum head vows to fight off political interference Five impersonators of political leaders, from Trump to Mao, tell all University of Hong Kong launches MOOC on Hong Kong cinema How films shine light on Seoul’s relationship with Pyongyang DJ Shadow, Ellen Allien, Dave Clarke – stellar line-up for Sónar Hong KongMy name is C-3PO, human cyborg relations!' After I built the 10018 Darth Maul Bust I wondered if it was possible to make an UCS bust version of C-3PO. Inspired by Erik Varsegi's life sized LEGO C-3PO I built a 1:1 life sized bust that took me 3 months. I started with yellow LEGO bricks (ordered from Bricklink), which I spray painted gold afterwards for a realistic effect.
C-3PO's head can turn 180�. The top of his head is removable and the inside is hollow so you have acces to the eyes. [ And yes, his eyes do lit up like in the movie! :) ] The bust weights about 12 kilograms (26,5 pounds) and contains 9000+ pieces. I hope you like it and may the force be with you! The Pied Pauper $$LEGO Star Wars Life Sized C3PO bustMy name is C-3PO, human cyborg relations!' [Inspired by Erik Varsegi's LEGO C3PO] CCC: How did you guys approach the source material when planning this game from start to end? Is there a specific way that you guys looked at certain scenes and decided that comical elements would work better here than in other scenes? Can you give us an abridged explanation of how you guys dissected the Original Trilogy and �Lego-ized� it? David Perkinson: There�s no formula � we tried to convey all the main plot points, and very naturally picked out key moments from the movies which we wanted to bring into our storyboards.
We chose levels based on familiarity and the best opportunities to deliver great gameplay coupled with the tongue-and-cheek spin on Star Wars. Every time we approached a scenario, we�re instinctively putting a LEGO twist on it. Character personalities become exaggerated and we incorporate slapstick visual gags. CCC: In The Original Trilogy, players will get to mix-and-match their favorite character�s body parts to create completely new characters. What is your guys� favorite mixed character in The Original Trilogy? Which parts of what characters would you guys use to make this character? David: It�s really all about putting an alien creature�s head � Chewbacca, Yoda, whatever � on top of slave Leia�s body. It�s so delightfully creepy! Chew Vader, Princess 3PO and Obi-Han are all funny too! CCC: Can you give us a good example of an expanded puzzle that uses teamwork in The Original Trilogy that players wouldn�t have seen in the first Lego Star Wars? David: Mos Eisley has a great one.
You�ve got four characters in your party � Ben, Luke, R2-D2 and C-3PO � and each plays a key role in putting together an AT-ST you need in order to progress through the level. First, you need Threepio to open a door, but he can�t get up there because he can�t jump. Using Ben or Luke, you can bust open a trash can that features pieces to build a ramp for Threepio. Once the door is opened, Ben or Luke can piece together the head. Then there�s another door that Artoo can open, and Ben or Luke can do the same thing. There are also other pieces that Ben can grab with the Force. Once everything is available, Ben can use the Force to piece together the AT-ST. CCC: The adaptive difficulty option sounds interesting. Where did you guys come up with the idea and how does the difficulty adjust within a given stage? Can you describe the mechanism that the computer uses to determine the difficulty? David: Adaptive difficulty is one of the key new features of LEGO Star Wars II and comes directly from feedback we got from the first game.