Lego Star Wars II

[hewkii9]

If you get the Tusken code from all the canisters, I think it goes in the whole game, so wait until the game is out.

Has anyone built an AT-ST using the same pieces as the demo?

[Andrex]

I unlocked the Sand Trooper, Jawa and Greedo but never had the time to collect all the canisters in freeplay.

[Andrex]

Credit to Gamespy for the game coverage. For the latest screenshots that accompany these articles head over to http://www.gamespy.com

Warning: CONTAINS INFORMATION ON ALL 18 LEVELS - MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Episdode IV: A New Hope

Chapter 1: Secret Plans

Playable Characters: Princess Leia, Captain Antilles

Just like in the movie, the action begins aboard the Rebel blockade runner, the Tantive IV. Darth Vader and a platoon of stormtroopers have boarded the ship, and you must guide Leia and Captain Antilles through the ship to find R2-D2, who will carry the stolen plans for the Death Star off ship.

For the first stage in the game, this one is fairly long. The Tantive IV is not a tiny ship, and the level design reflects that. As you work your way through the corridors, you'll frequently have to assist Rebel troopers, who are fighting back the stormtroopers. At one point, we passed by a window where we could see Vader performing his own brand of interrogation on some Rebels with his Force choke.

Leia and Antilles are both armed with a blaster, and sticking to the series' tradition, "blaster" characters are also armed with a grappling hook for launching themselves up to high ledges. Naturally, you'll have to take advantage of this ability a few times before you find the little droid.

Chapter 2: Through the Jundland Wastes

Playable Characters: Luke Skywalker (Tatooine), Ben Kenobi

After fleeing the Tantive IV, it isn't long before R2-D2 and C-3PO are captured by Jawas and then purchased by Luke's uncle Owen. When R2 runs off to deliver Leia's message to one Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke goes after him and is rescued from a Tusken Raider attack by that crazy old hermit, Ben Kenobi.

At this point in the game, Luke doesn't have his father's lightsaber or any mastery of the Force, so it's up to old Ben if you need any Jedi business taken care of. A new Jedi ability that we saw was the Jedi Mind Trick, which confuses your enemy, rendering them harmless for a few seconds. Luke will have to be content with being a blaster character for now. As you travel through the Jundland Wastes, you must fend off the aforementioned Raiders as well as Jawas. Running loose all over the level are dozens of Womp Rats, which are great for a little target practice.

Another new addition to this sequel that pops up in this level is the ability for non-droid characters to ride animals. If you see a Bantha hanging out, you can climb aboard and go to town. In another humorous touch, each character has separate riding animations. Ben is used to riding wild animals (remember his ride on Boga in Episode III?), so he handles the Bantha quite gracefully. Luke, on the other hand, is hanging on for dear life, and he looks like he'll fall off the beast at any moment. The only time your character will fall off, however, is if the creature takes too much damage. Then, they'll rear up and knock you to the ground.

Chapter 3: Mos Eisley Spaceport

Playable Characters: Luke Skywalker (Tatooine), Ben Kenobi, R2-D2, C-3PO, Han Solo, Chewbacca

With a wave of a hand and a "These aren't the droids you're looking for," Ben gets Luke and the droids into Mos Eisley. Right from the get-go, this level introduces you to how vehicles are handled in LSW2. Unlike the original where the vehicle stages were on rails, you can now freely drive Luke's landspeeder around the town. If you hop out to go exploring, don't get too far away from it or Jawas will come along and whisk it back to the beginning of the stage.

At one point, you're forced to find a way to clear a blocked road. By exploring the immediate area, you find piles of stray LEGO bricks. A little bit of building with them, and you've put together a full-sized AT-ST. Hop into the Imperial vehicle and blow the barrier away. You can now roam around in the walker, picking off stormtroopers with ease.

If there's one thing that this stage is good for showing off, it's the variety of extra goodies that you can find by thoroughly exploring a level. Run down a stray alley, and you find a "Double Score Zone" where any LEGO studs (the game's currency) that you collect are worth twice as much. Hop onto the right rooftop, and you'll find a Womp Rat shooting gallery mini-game. Done using the landspeeder? Find the hidden used vehicle lot and sell it to the Jawas for studs. Want more studs for your speeder? Run it through the car wash first to tidy it up before selling.

Sure enough, at the end of the stage you meet up with Han Solo and his faithful Wookiee partner, Chewbacca, where you can take control of them as well.

Chapter 4: Rescue the Princess

Playable Characters: Luke Skywalker (stormtrooper), Han Solo (stormtrooper), Ben Kenobi, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO

From Tatooine, it's off to the Death Star to save Princess Leia before she's executed. Since the Death Star is crawling with stormtroopers, it would be best to try and blend in. Luckily, Luke and Han have donned a couple of stolen stormtrooper uniforms, but in this game, they don't have helmets. Luckily, whenever you get to a door that only stormtroopers can get through (there are cameras mounted near the doors), there tends to be a helmet dispenser nearby. In a cute touch, all the characters can use the dispenser with some humorous results -- Chewbacca's head is too large for the helmet to fit on, so it sits awkwardly atop his Wookiee dome. When Luke and Han are wearing the helmets, enemy stormtroopers will ignore them. That is, unless one of the heroes starts shooting.

In addition to stormtroopers, you'll also face off against TIE fighter pilots and Imperial officers. Near the end of the stage, you must provide cover fire for a computer-controlled Ben Kenobi as he attempts to shut down the tractor beam that is keeping the Millennium Falcon aboard the Death Star.

Chapter 5: Death Star Escape

Playable Characters: Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia

This level is the second half of your romp through the Death Star. With Leia freshly sprung from her cell, you begin the stage in the Death Star's trash compactor. Once you escape, it's just a matter of blasting your way through the hordes of stormtroopers until you reach the Falcon. This level contains a fairly complicated puzzle that involves multiple character swaps and lever switching.

Chapter 6: Rebel Attack

Playable Characters: X-wing

The final chapter in A New Hope is, as you might imagine, the assault on the Death Star. The first portion of this level is seen from a near top-down view, as you maneuver your X-wing across the battle station's surface, shooting down TIE fighters and dodging enemy fire. You will occasionally encounter force fields that block your path. To get past them, you must destroy the shields' generators by finding a bomb dispenser. Flying over the dispenser allows you to drag a bomb behind your ship and deliver it to the generators. Your X-wing is capable of pulling off a few advanced moves like loops, barrel rolls, and 180

[Asuka]

Wow! X-D What a great and humorously game this will be. Thank you Andrex for telling us all these details in such a good summary.

[Andrex]

This is 5 days old now but I presume you've all seen the Xbox 360 trailer right? It has some new footage and shows off the slightly better graphics. It's on www.gametrailers.com.

Anyhow yah, it's shaping up to be stunning, there is a TON of replay value with all the new features and awards, and Bounty mode seems to be an awesome idea! I'll keep you updated still, but remember, I ALWAYS say this, wickettheewok.1up.com is the place to go most of the time.

EDIT:

I had a PM asking about where I preordered from. I sincerely recomend www.gameplay.co.uk. It is

[Andrex]

THE OFFICIAL NINTENDO REVIEW! You're gonna love it!

Hey there, I got my magazine today and it has some awesome new pics and an AWESOME score to match! I'll upload pics for you asap, but it could be this evening when they're up. The review gave it 93% and it had no negative points which was good. Here are the main points they liked:

It's PROPER Star Wars

Vehicle stages are awesome

Great in co-op multiplayer

Clever puzzles in every level

Loads of secrets and replay value

The verdict was:

Lego Star Wars II is simply fantastic. It re-creates the Star Wars world brilliantly then adds a quirky twist to it. Easy to play and immense fun from the word go. Essential.

Because of all that of course it earned itself the Nintendo GOLD AWARD! Things are certainly looking good!

[Lord Thrawn]

I'm gonna have to pre-order this for my XBox 360 as soon as possible. I'll have money after my Birthday on the 8th.

[Zane]

GAME have a free Boba keyring with pre-orders. I already got mine, to collect when I get the game.

[Andrex]

I've seen that. Shame I won't be getting it since I am a collector but never mind I'm fine, as long as I get the game ^^

[Lord Thrawn]

The pre-order is

[Zane]

But you can't get Boba keyring in the UK anymore. *sing*

[Andrex]

I preordered it off the net anyhoo months ago. Not long now!

[Lord Thrawn]

But you can't get Boba keyring in the UK anymore. *sing*

I'm sure I keep seeing them in LEGO Brand stores over here...

Eh well, if you think it's worth

[MattZitron]

I got mine. But I took his arms off. Mainly because if I see parts I can use, I use them.

So mine is a wounded Mandalorian!

[mutley777]

PC GAMER UK gave lego star wars II 88% and a 5 ***** must buy rating :-) oh and here is a little quote

"one of the most enjoyable games of the year" :-P

[Andrex]

CHECK THIS OUT!

'Dear Andrew Porter,

We are pleased to inform you that your order for has been dispatched by our team in Basingstoke.

Thank you very much for ordering from us here at gameplay, you should receive your package in 1 - 3 working days.'

I could be getting it tomorrow!!! Wowsies, if I do I'll let you know how it is! :D

[Zane]

Apparently the 'I am your father' cut scene is avaliable for download, I just can't find where.

[Andrex]

And now, the grand finale:

Episode VI: Your Favorite Moments, LEGO Style!

A tongue-in-cheek take on a galaxy far, far away isn't all that far, far away anymore. On Tuesday, September 12, LucasArts and TT Games unleash LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy to stores everywhere on eight different platforms. With the game all wrapped up now, what better topic to discuss than the final third of the game, based on the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi?

"When I get my two-disc DVDs of each individual movie the same day the game comes out, I'll be using that scene select feature to go straight to the speeder bike chase," says David Perkinson, producer at LucasArts. "At the time, those special effects were amazing -- and to this day, it holds up as one of the fastest, most exciting sequences in movie history. And the developers at Traveller's Tales sure didn't let us down when it came to adapting that scene to game form."

Found in the third of six Episode VI levels, Speeder Showdown is the only stage in LEGO Star Wars II to combine vehicle-only segments (in this case, zippy speeder bikes) with on-foot sections not unlike those found in the original game -- except for one thing, that is. "You sure couldn't blast away at stormtroopers after building and hopping into an AT-ST in LEGO Star Wars," says Jeffrey Gullett, assistant producer at LucasArts. "That's one of the many great additions Traveller's Tales has included this time that make the new game so much better. Well, that and Gamorrean guards that start rocking out whenever you build a LEGO jukebox in Jabba's Palace."

"I don't know," adds Perkinson. "I always feel a little guilty taking those pigs to the slaughter while they're saluting the gods of rock. Letting them attack -- and they are one of the toughest non-boss characters, I'll admit -- and using Luke's Force choke on them seems much more civilized to me."

"I just love that whole Jabba's Palace level in general," says Gullett. "You've got such diversity in your party between Luke with his lightsaber and new Jedi powers, Chewie with his bowcaster, the droids and Leia in disguise, who can throw thermal detenators like the other bounty hunters in the game whenever she's wearing her Boushh hat. Then at the end of the level you throw Han into the mix as the whole gang takes on the rancor. Well, the whole gang except for Leia...who's now in her gold bikini as Jabba's slave."

Later on, Leia adds quite a bit of clothing as she joins Han, Chewbacca, the droids and Wicket the Ewok for the land section of the Battle of Endor. "It's one of the longest levels in the game," informs Gullett. "It takes you all the way from the Ewok village to the shield bunker, with plenty of scout troopers to blast, AT-STs to drive, and catapults to fire along the way."

Your weapons get a little snazzier than catapults in the Emperor's throne room, which presents an intriguing twist on the story depicted on screen 23 years ago. "This was one of those moments where we had to sit back and make a decision," explains Perkinson. "Do you suddenly turn a two-player game into a one-player game for the sake of following the story exactly? Or do you deviate slightly for the sake of better gameplay? Since great gameplay is the most important thing for LEGO Star Wars II, we opted for the latter. As a result, you'll see Vader revert to his Anakin-like ways a little earlier than in the movie, as he helps his son take down Palpatine in an epic lightsaber battle. We know this might bother some diehard fans out there, but we think once they play it, they'll agree that we made the right decision."

The game's final level, Into the Death Star, didn't involve such tough choices in development -- it just provided the chance for developers such as Traveller's Tales' Will Thompson to reinterpret their favorite scene from Return of the Jedi in game form. "I can still remember seeing the space battle over Endor for the first time in the cinema -- all those waves of TIE fighters screaming towards the camera -- and jumping back in amazement!" enthuses the storyboard artist and character modeler. "It was a delightful challenge helping to bring this scene to playable fruition -- but it had to be easier than using the screen-compositing methods they had to use in the '80s! You certainly appreciate the time and effort it must have taken to create those elaborate space battles."

And now that the game is complete, Perkinson appreciates something a little more himself: "I developed a new appreciation for Ewoks."

[Lord Thrawn]

I still need to pre-order this...

[Andrex]

I got it today! Boy this is awesome, first I need to say this game certainly does seem a lot more difficult than the original. It's also a lot more awesome, with TONS to do. This really is going to take AGES to complete! I won't give too much away, if you want to know about any new features or whatever then I'll gladly answer questions. While writing this I have only completed three levels (I've gone for True Jedi status on all three) but I should be further pretty soon ^^. Sorry for not getting the magazine review up, it doesn't matter that much anyhow considering it's out in shops over the UK anyway (it was released on Friday, a few days earlier than planned).

Andy.

[Zane]

Heh, I just came to say the same thing. I picked it up today with my keyring, hehe.

[Andrex]

Hmph, four levels down XD. I had to come off after getting right to the end of level five, so I'm going to have to completely restart it again. Ah wellsies, it's a fun level, as they all are ^^.

[JoeMI6]

It seems I'm gonna have to wait til my birthday for this gem. But it could turn out that I just can't wait! :-D

[Zane]

Hm, I was exploring the Cantina and found a door with a Jabba the Hutt sign on. :O Wonder what's inside...

I bought the save-uploader thing, but nothing seems to have changed.... Can't wait to get Boba! *y*

[Lord Thrawn]

I got the game yesterday (last 360 copy in the store) and I'm finishing ESB right now.

Brilliant game. Get it for a console, it's better than on PC.