Lego Star Wars was a wacky take on the traditional tale of blades and blasters that won over skeptics with a crafty combination of quirky humor and engrossing puzzle-based gameplay. The sequel does exactly what a sequel should-build on strengths of the original without losing the flavor that made it a hit.
Lego Star Wars II offers a fleshed-out puzzle system that utilizes each of the characters' unique abilities. Droids can reprogram doors and Jedi can use The Force to break Lego structures apart and rearrange them. The pilots can build machines out of left-over parts.
Character builds fit the silly feel of the game perfectly, while familiar scenes are brought alive with gorgeously rendered backgrounds. Each level contains a wealth of secrets, some of which can only be accessed by unlockable characters and defeated enemy bosses.
A freeplay mode lets you mix and match Lego parts to custom-build your own hero (think Darth Vader sporting Bobba's armor and a crossbow).
Although the fixed-camera can be unruly, and you might find yourself accidently hacking C-3PO's arms off, Lego Star Wars II leaves little room for criticism. As if the replay factor, light-hearted humor and engrossing gameplay weren't enough, train your midi-chlorians on this: Han shoots first.
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