Jul 11, 2016

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review

Lucasarts may have come and gone, but one important legacy they created still remains. And years later, it’s not the most influential, but always ever so enthralling, combining established franchises among charismatic backdrops. Of course I’m talking about the LEGO games, from the household classics like Indiana Jones all the way to newer entries like Avengers and the toys-to-life Dimensions.

Yet, in some ways LEGO games lost their initial awe. I remember playing the Star Wars demo in Mac stores as a pre-teen, and later moved onto Indiana Jones and Batman, in which I nearly collected every Minikit, Minifigure, Easter Egg and secret. While the game’s still have these extensive features, their willingness to evolve without truly changing anything is somewhat bothersome. Batman 2 introduced voice acting, The Hobbit crafting, and Marvel Superheroes more recently stuck out with it’s open world, one of the few steps I’ve actually liked from the franchise in the past couple of years.

Maybe it’s just nostalgia kicking at me, but the now games have a factory-made feel to them. They are still insanely fun and detailed, but it seems like some of the personality has been stripped out in order to create a bigger, although not better experience. I was hoping this wouldn’t be the case with countless LEGO games before this, but even so, I held expectations that the Force Awakens might be the diamond in the rough that releases every couple of years for the franchise. (In my opinion, Lego Marvel Avengers was the last one, particularly due to the freedom and openness) Lego Star Wars The Force Awakens doesn’t fully achieve this, but comes dangerously close, particularly due to something nobody would have expected.

Gameplay:

New shooting mechanics were heavily needed, but it’s a shame they are more refined in cover

The Lego games have always been chores to play without other people, and The Force Awakens changes this ever so mildly. New orders of puzzles make the gameplay feel less duplicated and repetitiously, but it doesn’t look like it was move done to appease the more isolated examples. Nevertheless, the game feels like a new breath of fresh air. Players can complete objectives with a greater sense of efficiency, and the scenarios in which another player waits for a task to be completed are either slimmed or completely removed. This is a very positive direction for the overall gameplay loop of the LEGO brand, albeit feeling a bit late.

These aren’t the only changes introduced into the game, and thankfully most are natural instead of giving a marked off the checkbox vibe. The dogfighting is some of the best I’ve seen in a movie based game recently, and the new cover based adjustments are the proper way to be influenced by more adult material. (Cough Uncharted or Gears of War Cough) Characters don’t feel as varied, but this is likely due to the more than one hundred and fifty of them.

While some sequences are forced, the gameplay never feels contrived

Story & Design:

Of course there are special characters like Abrams

The Lego games always incorporate a multitude of genres, and The Force Awakens stumbles with some aspects of this notion. Jumping can be stiff in specific sequences, and controls are a greater issue when dealing with the more transportable Star Wars memorabilia. It’s one of the few things in a game that needs more than a polished revamp, which is disappointing since the combat and puzzles were somewhat rewritten.

The feature that sticks out the most however is the story, and not in a bad way! There’s a staggering amount of character development and interaction for a plot that’s been recut for a less mature audience, and some of the lore is fun to dive into. In it’s best moments, TT Games stretched the story into something memorable, instead of pure filler.

While story moments aren’t particularly tense if you’ve seen the movie, TT Games tried their best to cover this

Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:

Character interactions are even developed through the exquisite animations

The LEGO games contain some of the best value on the market, and The Force Awakens continues this trend but to a lesser extent. The main story is rather short, but I’m happy to have this sacrifice for the existence of improved gameplay elements. Of course, there are a variety of glitches at stake, which could definitely confuse the younger players in the audience.

Another memorable aspect is the voice acting. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Harrison Ford all make appearances, with some instances of re recorded audio. Considering how expensive it might have cost, this is exponentially better than simple licensed clips or more egregious examples. (Rambo: The Video Game anyone?)

As with other entries in the franchise, the environments are not as detailed as the characters

Conclusion:

The Force Awakens has only been out for half a year, but the Lego rendition of it makes it feel like an even greater classic. Just like how the movie could attract casual fans, this game does the exact same. The film did it with action packed scenes and great writing, and the game does it the same way but with the addition of great gameplay. Now, who are you going to choose?

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets a 8/10 (Very Good)

We’d like to thank Warner Bros Interactive for giving us a code!

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