LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Nintendo DS)

The sequel to the popular LEGO Star Wars arrives, this time for the Nintendo DS. The DS version of the game is in 3D, but the scenarios and levels are unique, thus creating a different experience for those who have already played the console versions of the game.

Players navigate their way through familiar scenes of movies from the original Star Wars trilogy: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. The difference here being that all the characters and sets are made entirely from LEGO, and the cutscenes (acted out by characters in amusing pantomime) and gameplay reflects this. Jedis can use The Force to shift blocks and make plants grow, normal characters can build certain blocks to make items, and droid characters can activate special locks.

Building, destroying enemies and triggering switches usually yields “studs”, the game’s currency. Studs can be used to unlock more characters via the Mos Eisley Cantina (the game’s hub world), as well as cheats, and extras like Disco Mode, Letterbox Mode, and other amusing things. Players can also create their own custom characters by unlocking more LEGO parts and selecting the head, torso and legs of their choice.

The DS version of LEGO Star Wars II also allows two players to play through the game cooperatively through Wireless mode. Or, if helping isn’t your thing, you can play a four player Wireless capture the flag game in Jabba the Hutt’s Palace, where the “flag” is Han Solo encased in carbonite.