It's almost hard to remember now but the original Lego Star Wars was a revelation. Cutesy yet cool, hugely playable and a genuine cross-generational experience. Five years on and the excitement is long gone, with numerous and increasingly formulaic Lego titles hitting the shelves since. Actually, Lego Indy had its moments and Lego Harry Potter looks quite promising but you can't help feeling that the Lego games are now very much focussed on the kids market rather than the nostalgia plus family appeal of the Star Wars days. The announcement that Lego Star Wars III will be released this Autumn does little to change this theory, with the game based on the Clone Wars TV show rather than, say, Han Solo's finest moments.
Tom Stone, director at the developer TT games is talking big:
LucasArts is an amazing partner, and working with them on the next iteration of the LEGO Star Wars series continues to be a great experience. The team at TT is working hard at making this simply the best LEGO game ever with all new gameplay and features never before seen in a LEGO game.
According to the release these "all new gameplay and features" include, "brand new battle modes, giving players unique, head-to-head combat and an upgraded level builder, allowing the creation of customised bases and in-game battlefields." Multiplayer seems to be even more key then. But as always the best Lego games have been the ones that have appealed to the both adults and the kids - can a games based on the Clone Wars show really do that?
Anyway, I have to ask. What film/book/whatever would you like to see get the Lego video game treatment? Personally I would love to see a Lego Sopranos, or maybe a Lego-ised version of a gaming brand. Lego Call of Duty or WoW maybe? Anyway, what do you think?
