Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga Every true fan can remember at least one incident where Star Wars brought tears to their eyes. By "true", we mean the kind of prequel apologist who will go so far as to agree that yes, Revenge of the Sith isn't as good as Return of the Jedi, but that's because it's even better. Some of us remember crying in the cinema when we were six, terrified at the prospect of Luke falling down the big bottom hole in the sand. Some of us remember crying in the cinema when we were 27, realising as the yellow text scrolled upwards this was the last time we'd ever watch a Star Wars film for the first time. Some of us remember crying at a dinner party last week because still people don't get it yes okay fine Jar Jar blah blah don't you understand there's a war going on up there. Some of us were hoping the arrival of a Star Wars game that a) isn't rubbish b) lets you lightsaber enemies by actually swinging a controller would bring tears to our eyes. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga hasn't quite made us cry, but it does fulfil both criteria and it is a great game.
Or rather, it's a great collection of games. The Complete Saga brings together both Lego SW titles for the first time, so that's all six games based on all six movies on one disc for an entirely reasonable price (GBP 39.99 for the Wii version, which is the one we're reviewing). For those who aren't familiar, the Lego Star Wars games are all about bright, bouncy platform action. You get to play as a wide range of characters from the movies, each with special abilities. There are plenty of puzzles to solve and there's loads of stuff to collect. The co-op mode lets another player join in at any time, and the new PS3 and Xbox 360 versions offer an online co-op option. The games are designed to appeal to a wide range of ages so the level of difficulty isn't very high. You're best off reading Tom's review of the original title and Kristan's review of the sequel for the full lowdown. Here we're going to focus on the new stuff included in The Complete Saga. The big thing, at least as far as the Wii version is concerned, is that lightsaber mechanic.
The first time you swing the remote and your character swings their saber is a real thrill. Especially when the remote vibrates and you hear the familiar whooshhzzz sound emit from its speaker. But the novelty does wear off. Combat was never the strong point of the Lego Star Wars games, and chucking in motion-sensing doesn't improve it. True, slicing through enemies with the remote is highly satisfying and much more fun than pressing a button. However, you quickly realise there's no real skill involved. Your character will perform the same moves no matter how you twist the remote. It's also a lot more tiring than pressing a button; older Jedi must suffer from terrible RSI. You can also use the remote along with the Nunchuk to build Lego structures, shaking them to speed up the process. This isn't essential though, and again, the novelty wears off. It might have been nice if you could use the remote to steer vehicles, for example in the Mos Espa podrace level, but there's no option to do this.
After an hour or two you'll probably find yourself sticking to traditional button pushing and analogue stick waggling. The Complete Saga features a handful of new levels. The press blurb lists the new Zam Wessell chase in Episode II as a highlight. Your vehicle is tricky to control and there's no sense of speed. You spend a lot of time blowing up generators just so you can get on with the race, and the fiddly controls make this tedious. Some of the characters have new abilities - for example, Qui-Gon can use the Force to throw a single droid at a big group to take them out. All the prequel characters can build, but you can use Jedi to do this anyway. There are new power-ups, such as the one which extends the range of light sabers. They're nice additions but again, they don't change the game fundamentally. New playable characters include Watto, Zam Wessell and Boss Nass. There are more than 120 in total, and you can mix and match their body parts as in the other games to create new characters.
Fun for kids but we were never big fans of this feature, what with being 30, and being quite mature actually despite Pat going on about how Star Wars is rubbish and one day we'll grow up and realise this and can we stop talking about the ripped robe theory and get on with executing the European content plan please. All things considered, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga isn't worth buying if you've already played the first two games. Waving the remote like a lightsaber is initially fun, but the mechanic isn't complex enough to keep you engaged for very long. There are some decent extras, but they don't really change the gameplay. This isn't a bad thing. The gameplay was great in the first place, so why muck about? If you haven't played the other Lego SW titles, and you fancy a bit of straightforward, enjoyable platform action, this is an essential purchase. It's also great for younger gamers, especially if you like to play co-operatively. And the sharp, shiny, varied visuals make it one of the best-looking games on the Wii.
Star Wars fans will love it - even the ones who don't cry at, "You were my brother, Anakin!" Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting Show games you have previously hidden from your profile page. They will appear at the top of your list, in case you wish to edit them. Note that this cannot show games you have hidden on the services themselves.The page has been kidnapped! We're rounding up the usual suspects as we speak. Possible reasons for this are as follows: You've typed the URL incorrectly The link you've followed is older than Bruce Forsyth (but we still love him!) If you believe this is an issue with the site itself, please report it either in our forums or directly using our Contact Us page.I’m done with wasting my time. The first video game I ever played was Tetris on Nintendo Gameboy. In fact that was the first “console” that I ever owned. Sure, I had computers and played a ton of games on them.
Don’t even get me started on my MMORPG saga and lack of life in WoW raiding on Cenarius since Vanilla… (that’s another article for another time). Somewhere along the way of playing games like Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam in the Arcades and many other Arcade games (when Arcades were still around), solidified my enjoyment of time spent with friends talking games and trying to beat each others score. When did it all change? Or, more importantly when did I change? Or, was it the games that changed my outlook on them? At what point did I stop caring about the game for the game and the characters and start caring about completing the game to get 100% achievement of said game? It would have to be when I switched from being burnt out PC Gamer and need another outlet to work from. That was the new Xbox 360 console. The first game I ever played on it was Ninety-Nine Nights. It was suggested by a guy at EB Games. (He has long since seen the error of his ways and suggested BioShock.
I still rib him about his first choice. He’s a good friend now.) It was this game which is pretty much thousands of enemies on a screen coming at you from all directions and you are just increasing your chance of early onset carpel tunnel syndrome (CTS) on every button combination mash. Basically, Dynasty Warriors but at a slightly reduced price point. There was one achievement I was trying for, gathering all swords for all characters. But, the problem with that was the camera in the game was horrible. No, let me be clear. Between the limited range and the invisible walls that was a stupid achievement for a first time console player to attempt. I never got it. Even all the YouTube videos and all the guides couldn’t get me that achievement. I moved to other games. Six years I’ve been a part of Xbox and it’s consoles from 360 to now the Xbox One. I’ve also ventured into the realm of Sony with the PS4 now too. I have a gamer score reaching 90,000 of a possible 500,000.
In six years, how many games do you think that I’ve 100% completed? Try 27 out of 162. LEGO® Harry Potter™: Years 5-7 Testament of Sherlock Holmes LEGO Star Wars: TCS Might & Magic Clash of Heroes™ LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game Saints Row®: The Third™ Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning These are in no way easy games to simply get 100% … Ok, sure Avatar: TLAB is but at least I can say I played through the entire game and not just at that one part where you could get all five achievements. A majority of these games are RPG’s that I have spent on average 300 – 500 hours in total. You can thank Skyrim for that over 550+ hours on all DLCs and main game content. In all this time, I wasn’t really playing the game for the game itself. All of those RPGs that I completed. Were for the love of the game and the story/characters. But, games like Forza or the many Arcade games that are no longer available to play and thus increases your gamer score.
Or games like Phantasy Star Online where you can NEVER get the last 250 Achievements because the servers are closed and they no longer support the expansion. So, what game was it that has made me stop caring about getting 100% completion anymore? Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. I loved this game. No, really I did. It’s the best one in the series and Unity has some big shoes to fill in my opinion. Before I traded it in, I have 100% completed everything: Side Missions, Searchable content, Animus fragments, Notes, Killed all 4 Legendary ships. Did the expansion packs as well. Two things just made me stop caring about this unattainable goal. First, the side/objective missions. Kill X number of people that should really be on the Rooftops but they aren’t because they are lazy… All the while you STILL have to keep within range and that stupid Listening cirle while rushing through a mission so that you don’t de-synchronize. Or, do not get into combat before you air assassinate person X.
I was using SLEEP DARTS! I wasn’t in combat at all and STILL it didn’t pop. Can we just STOP with this? Here’s why it is pointless to have them. 1) If the game is popular like a COD or HALO other shooter type games, then by all means, this is meant to have these achievements. But, if you have a game where you are an assassin, chances are there are not many people that will dedicate their time to actually getting these and you’ve just wasted time on content that could have been used to lengthen the game even more. Assassin’s Creed isn’t the only game with a multiplayer component of achievement whoring either. Anyone remember The Club? How about Saints Row 1? Or a slew of other games that have these components only to be forgotten or your life doesn’t allow you the time to indulge in this goodness. 2) If the game’s popularity dwindles to nothing or the servers close RE: Phantasy Star Online… Then you have half a game that is not playable and the person that paid $70-100 for the game (obviously less if used) and if they are achievement hunters then they won’t pick up the game for it’s single-player component.