Lego Star Wars is a great series that was always destined to be popular, maybe it’s the comic value, maybe it’s the excellent co-op mode or maybe it’s just because it includes two of man’s favorite things. So now that Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is here to provide us with even more colored bricks for our money, does it still work or does this just feel like one cash in too many?

So what is different about Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for those who already own both games? Well for starters, the original has now been reworked and presented alongside the levels from Lego Star Wars II in high definition. New extras include an all new level in which you relive Episode II’s high-speed pursuit of bounty hunter Zam Wessell and if this is not enough then Traveller’s Tales have also included new playable characters and new bonus levels.

 
In previous the Lego Star Wars games, missions where accessed from the Mos eisley Cantina lobby and in The Complete Saga this remains the same, except this time you can visit any of the episodes from both games all in one place.

Once you start the game and finish the first chapter in Episode I, this then unlocks the first chapter in each of the other six Episodes, meaning you don’t have to play the game in any particular order if you don’t want to, this is good for anyone who has an Episode that they favor.

The great thing about Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is that you don’t have to play through all the missions in story mode to have fun, this is because when you complete any of the six missions within an episode you can then go back into it in freeplay mode with any of the characters that you have unlocked or bought from the shop, this also has it’s advantages as you can use Darth Vader’s dark force powers to reach places that Luke couldn’t or use an Ewok to get into gaps which are only small enough for them to get through. 

Freeplay mode is probably the best place to collect everything there is to collect, such as the red bricks (which unlock new features for purchase), canisters (collect all 10 in each level to build mini kit vehicles) and of course lego studs (which act as in game currency). The lego studs are probably the most important part to the game as they allow you to buy new characters from the shop, as well as various other extras which are available there and this in turn will help you during the missions.

As well as the excellent freeplay mode, Travellers Tales have also included a new arcade mode where you can battle against a friend in a lightsaber dual, this is great fun, although you can always do this in the game during co-op mode, it just means you lose all your coins when you kill each other that’s all.

Other new additions outwith the main game include a cinema, where you can view a rather cool trailer for Lego Indiana Jones, this is almost worth the money itself and certainly had me excited at the though of dodging large lego boulders while trying to keep my hat on.

The co-op mode in Lego Star Wars has always been one of the best out there, giving players the ability to drop in and out whenever they want to is a great idea and the developer have improved this by adding an option for Xbox Live, meaning that you don’t need someone next to you to play co-op.

Graphically the game is as cute and wonderful as it has always been, the animation in the characters is excellent , all the environments also look fantastic. Considering the original Lego Star Wars didn’t make an appearance on the Xbox 360 it is great to see the missions looking as good as they do. The only disappointment is that the camera can be very problematic, especially when you are trying to look somewhere it doesn’t want you too, but then this has always been the case.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is a fantastic game and anyone who has never played the series before should seriously consider investing their hard earned money on it, however for those who already own any of the games, it may not be worth your time, outwith the reworked graphics for the first game and a few extra characters, it doesn’t really offer enough that should make you want to part with your cash, especially when you consider the other games on the horizon over the next few months.