Lego
Star Wars vs Lego Star Wars II
In this ‘head to head’ we
are comparing the two Lego Star Wars games
that cover the six films. Both games are similar, so what is the difference?
Gameplay: I - 90%, II – 84%
Both
games are great fun to play, and the fact that the characters and locations
are all made of lego just adds to the enjoyment. The first game is based on
the most recent films (Episodes 1-3); while Lego Star Wars II (LSWII) is
based on the original films (Episodes 4-6). The idea behind the games is to
make your way through various levels, blasting away or completing tricky
puzzles. To do this you will take the part of many of the famous characters
from all the films such as Han Solo, R2D2 and Qui-Gon Jinn.
The main differences between the two games are the relevant film storylines, and therefore the locations and characters. Although the games are fun to play, they both suffer from being a little on the easy side (despite the ability to alter the difficulty setting). LSWII is a little harder than the original, but I feel it’s still a bit too easy. There are also a few new gameplay additions in the sequel, but it disappoints a little because there are not enough new features to improve it. The first game’s take on the Star Wars films was just so original, because no one had ever made a game that mixed a toy and a film series before, and so its score reflects this.
Graphics: I - 85%, II – 69%
The wide difference in score for the graphics (and sound) is largely due to the lack of improvements seen in the second game. When you first play the original game everything is brilliant, as the fact that everything is made of lego, and that everything breaks up like lego pieces would, is really smart, and actually very funny. The second game doesn’t seem to improve on anything, which is a bit disappointing.
Sound:
I - 81%, II – 65%
As with the
graphics, there has been no improvement in the sound. Yes, you get to hear
the famous Star Wars music, which is good, but overall the sound isn’t
anything special, and I had expected the sound in the newer game to show an
improvement.
Value:
I - 84%, II – 68%
While the
first game suffered a bit from a slightly short lifespan, the sequel is very
disappointing in that the makers had the opportunity to improve on the short
duration of the original but didn’t.
Conclusion:
With the PS2 versions of these games being (I think) aimed at the 8-13 year age range, the scores may reflect the 2-year age gap between when I played them both. As always, gameplay is the most important aspect of a game, and both of these are great fun to play, however for LSWII all the makers appear to have done is remake the original game (with scenes from Episodes 4-6), but not improve it.
Overall Score:
Lego Star Wars -
85%, Lego Star Wars II – 72%