Traveller's Tales have been making licensed Lego puzzlers for 15 - count ‘em! In that time they’ve built a reputation as the benchmark for video games that parents can play with their kids, thanks to their rewarding co-operative play and lashings of slapstick humour. There’s been a raft of Lego Star Wars titles during that time - no great surprise as it’s a series in many ways that provides the ultimate opportunity for TT’S designers to tap into a shared interest - how many parents of a certain age kept their Millennium Falcons in the loft in the hope of one day playing them with their kidsRead more: Lego Marvel's Avengers review It’s fair to say they’ve pulled out all the stops for this latest Lucasfilm tie-in which as the name suggests takes its inspiration from last year’s blockbuster return to a galaxy far, far away. It likely took many months of negotiation and undoubtedly many millions of dollars to get original heroes Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher to sign up to the Force Awakens movie, so it’s impressive to hear them all lending their voices for original dialogue here, along with almost every other significant actor from the film.
Aside from a new, basic button-bashing duck and cover system for shoot-outs, gameplay is predictably similar to every Lego game before it. There’s a plethora of characters for you to control from Rey, to Finn, to rolling ball robot BB-8, each with their own unique skills and characteristics that you’ll need to deploy at the right time to get past a puzzle, coupled with a huge amount of collectible items to find and scores of minifigures to unlock. Controls are as child-friendly as ever, with unlimited lives and immediate respawns that keep frustration at bay for younger players, with a wealth of goofy jokes to keep things light throughout (check out Kylo Ren’s teenage fanboy bedroom shrine to Darth Vader). What does come as a surprise is just how much new story material is offered in the game, with a number of of set pieces and side games filling in some of the plot holes and mysteries of the Force Awakens. From why C3PO now has one red arm to Poe Dameron’s rescue of Admiral Ackbar - it’s the sort of fan service uber Star Wars aficionados will lap up.
If your young one already has a Lego game in their collection then the formulaic nature of what’s on offer here might feel too much of a retread to justify. Nevertheless, for Star Wars fans of all ages, this slick and outright fun, blocky retelling of the canon’s most recent adventure has enough of the Force within it to be worthy of a look. Platform: PS4 , Wii U , 3DS , PS3 , PS Vita , Xbox 360 , Xbox One Price: £29.99 - £49.99 Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterDaily NewsletterFollow @MirrorTechSubscribe to our Daily newsletterEnter email will premiere animated adventure comedy series Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures this summer. The series from Wil Film, the Lego Group and Lucasfilm combines new heroes and villains with familiar Star Wars characters. It stars the Freemakers, a family of scavengers who build and sell starships from the scoured debris of space battles strewn throughout the galaxy. When their youngest discovers a natural connection with the Force through an ancient artifact – the Kyber Saber – his world is turned upside down, and he and his family are thrown into an epic struggle against the Empire to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy.
Throughout their adventures, the Freemakers explore new worlds, meet new and familiar characters and learn the true value of what it means to be a family. Bill Motz and Bob Roth (Penguins Of Madagascar) are developing the series and executive producing with Torsten Jacobson (Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales) and Jill Wilfert (The Lego Movie). Carrie Beck (Star Wars Rebels), Jason Cosler (Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled!), Jake Blais and John McCormack are producing. “We are very excited to launch for the first time a TV series with Disney XD,” said Jill Wilfert, VP Licensing & Entertainment at the Lego Group. “The show masterfully combines the rich heritage of storytelling, great characters, action and adventure in a galaxy far, far away with the creativity, imagination and humor that only Lego Star Wars can deliver.” Said Carrie Beck, VP Animation Development at Lucasfilm: “With The Freemaker Adventures we are thrilled to bring all new stories to life that could only be realized in the Lego Star Wars universe.
We are embarking on an unprecedented collaboration that will allow us to extend the narrative experience of the Star Wars saga with the same playful spirit that’s always made Lego Star Wars so much fun to watch.” Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happyNo Kindle device required. Download one of the Free Kindle apps to start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, and computer. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. I'd like to read this book on Kindle Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE .Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Game Review Fans of the previous Lego titles will find the force – and farce – is strong with this latest entry. Written by: Chris Mitchell July 8, 2016 I’ll be honest, I haven’t played any of the Lego video games in quite some time. If memory serves me right, I think it’s been since the first Lego Star Wars game. So I was more than pleased to see how far the series has come after all these years with Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which builds (yes, Lego pun intended) on the series in so many ways to make this one of the best entries yet.
After playing some levels from the end of Return of the Jedi that serve as a tutorial, you get to start on the Lego take of The Force Awakens, which we all know is full of funny jabs at the film and the franchise as a whole. As with the movie, you start off with Poe Dameron and BB-8 on Jakku as they try to make their way offworld with info that will lead the resistance to where Luke Skywalker is located. You’ll get to use some of the new skills you learn from the tutorial such as swapping between characters and their unique abilities, such as Poe’s grappling hook and BB-8 being able to interface with consoles and power up objects, to build things and solve puzzles. There’s a new mechanic added to the puzzles by letting players choose which things to build and the order they’re built, which adds a new layer of fun in going about solving them. I also think this was added to encourage parents and older family members to join in via drop-in/out local co-op with the kids playing this for some family fun.
You’ll also come across sweet space battles where you’ll pilot ships, and eventually reach the newly added blaster combat that has your character taking cover behind something, made famous by games such as Gears of War or The Division, and firing back at baddies. There’s also moments when you’ll have to target something like an explosive barrel or some debris that can used to dispatch giant waves of enemies. Anyone who has played the Lego Star Wars games already knows the combat isn’t the best part of the game, but it stills manages to be fun despite the button-mashing. Even with a few instances where you’ll have to use quick time events to get by, the unlimited and instant respawns when you die makes any battle winnable for those who don’t give up. Those looking for a fun game to play with family or friends are sure to enjoy Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It has a nice blend of action and puzzle solving, along with a few new features to the franchise to keep things from getting stale.