Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for Nintendo Wii

When we finally got our hands on a Wii, one of the first games I bought was Lego Star Wars, the Complete Saga. Being a huge Star Wars fan (and enjoying a friend's old Lego Star Wars Game), I couldn't wait to get this home when I exchanged it for the WWE game for the Wii the day after I bought the WWE game.

As bad as the WWE game was, the Lego Star Wars game is awesome. The moment your first put the game in, you become immersed into a different world. That is probably the best way to put it.

You begin the game with just two characters to play, Qui-Gon and Ben Kenobi. Also, you can only play one level at that time, with is the first level of Episode I. You start play in the Cantina, where the store you purchase additional characters, extras, and gold bricks is, as well as the two characters you can create are made here.

Each movie has six levels of play. As you finish one level, the next level will open up to you. In total, there are 160 bricks you can collect in this game. However, you can't finish all of the levels and expect to have all of those bricks. There are other ways to get bricks, such as getting a True Jedi (collecting the required amount of Studs, the currency of the game, on each level) as well as collecting the mini lego kit parts on each level.

After completing a level, you gain some new characters that you can use in free play on any open level. You also get some characters you can purchase with your studs in the store that were seen in that level. The characters you purchase are usually the bad guys from those levels.

Some levels are difficult to finish. It can get frustrating at times when you are stuck, and are not sure how to proceed. Also, trying to get the studs required for each level can be frustrating, as the number required differs for each level. However, if you don't get it the first time you play a level, you can go back in Free Play and get it, which is more fun because you can pick some of the Characters that you can use, instead of being limited to the two that are required the first time you play that level. There is a special surprise character that you can unlock in the bonus rooms, which you can then use to play in the free play modes.

I like the fact that you can control the lightsaber characters by waving the Wii controller around. I prefer the Jedi special attack myself, but it's nice to be able to swing around the controller like a lightsaber. There is no special for blaster characters, sadly.

The two player "mode" on this is fun. It's not a split screen, which is a huge bonus. It also allows you to team up to take on end of level bad guys, or reach areas of the level that one person alone couldn't do, and get the True Jedi faster as well. Also, if there is any reason that you need to quickly drop to one player, either the first or the second player can drop out, and the game will continue. The other player can jump in at anytime as well.

One of the best parts about this game are the cut scenes. The little movies that appear at the beginning and end of each Story level (the only available option the first time you play a level), are priceless if you are a Star Wars fan. Instead of showing what happened in the movies faithfully, they add humor to them. It makes watching them a treat as well, as you may miss something in those scenes that may leave you in stitches.

This game is very addicting. My son, who loves this game because it combines his love of Legos and Star Wars, is always asking to play this. It is a fun time when he and I get together and play this game. That said, you can waste hours playing this game, which means at times, something else isn't getting done, like laundry.

The graphics on this game are pretty good. I really have no complaints with them. In some respects, this is more of a cartoon-like feel to the graphics, as you feel like you are watching a cartoon. Given the nature of game, and it's target, which is the younger set, this is a good thing in my opinion.

Sound quality is great. Most of the sounds and music will be very familiar to you if you watch any of the Star Wars movies. They stay pretty true to that feel of the movie, only you get to play Lego Style.

Learning the controls and how they affect your character is somewhat difficult at first, but you soon get the hang of it. The most important item to remember and understand first is how to switch characters if you are in first player mode. This will save alot of aggravation the first couple times you play.

In summary, I highly recommend this game to any fan of Star Wars, or a family looking for a game that is kid safe, and will keep their attention.