Playing LEGO Star Wars is an if-then equation: If, upon unleashing your lightsaber and force-pushing your way past droids that split into a mess of LEGO bits, you are not all smiles and best described as giddy, then you are an old turd. Solution: buy sports car; cheat on spouse with 22-year-old.
For everyone else, this should be a thrill ride. Like no other Star Wars game before it, LEGO Star Wars captures the goofy magic of what it was like the first time the silver screen went pitch black, John Williams' orchestra chimed in, and the explanatory yellow text started scrolling. But this time, the combatants are made of the building-blocks of youth, as are the ships, the weapons, the buildings, and everything else in this sharply constructed far, far away galaxy.
Based on all three of the Star Wars prequels, the game lets players work through each of the movies' action-oriented LEGOfied high points, without the bother of George Lucas-penned dialogue. Characters never make a peep (outside of an occasional "huh" and "roger roger" from droids), but the cut-scenes still manage to make the young Obi-Wan out to be a total rube. Using all of the films' key characters, you'll cruise through as the Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon tandem, graduate to Anakin's pod race, and even come to appreciate Jar Jar Binks.
Things blow up with fiery explosions, sure, but only a litter of LEGO blocks remain. The illusion is never fiddled with: This is Star Wars (from the original saber and blaster sounds to every character imaginable from the new trilogy), and this is LEGO (from the hairpieces, cup-holder hands, and stumpy block legs that are just as unflattering for Mace Windu as for Princess Amidala). The game's ridiculousness is never lost, either: this is LEGO and this is Star Wars, simultaneously.
Beyond the game: LEGO Star Wars is shorter than an average game, but you can replay levels in Free Play mode, which allows you to find many of the game's secrets, including characters from the original Star Wars films.
Worth playing for: Much as he did for Episode II, Yoda makes the game. When his lightsaber is in full burn, he moves like a pile of glowing lime Play-Doh having a seizure.
Frustration sets in when: After slashing through Episode I and battling through Episode II, you should hold off on playing Episode III until seeing the film, which opens May 19. Otherwise, it's Spoiler City, and you're the mayor. Don't give in to the Dark Side.
Final judgment: LEGO Star Wars is a brief but must-play game for anyone that loves (or loved) LEGOs or Star Wars, two iconic brands that fit together like Darth Vader and asthma.
