Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is the latest entry in the successful franchise by Traveller’s Tales where cult classics are given the ‘Lego treatment.’ These include Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean. The games include humorous, voiceless skits in-between gameplay scenarios which tie in with the plots of the intellectual properties on which they are based. The characters and vehicles in these titles resemble Lego creations and the games are always child friendly.

This time round the game is based on the first two seasons of The Clone Wars TV series, the film by the same name, as well as Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. So don’t get confused by the ‘III’ in the title and think it refers to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith!

In Lego Star Wars III you’ll undertake 18 missions spread over 13 planets as you pursue Asajj Ventress, General Grievous and Count Dooku across the galaxy. You’ll control a different group of characters for each mission (usually comprising a party of three) and you can switch between them on the fly – very helpful for when you need to use one of their abilities to progress through a level.

The game is an eclectic mix of exploration, puzzle solving and combat, and even includes Real-time Strategy (RTS) and shooter sections. There are plenty of bits and bobs to collect if you’re looking for that 100% completion rating, but getting every goodie available will take quite some time and will feel like a chore to most.

Lego Star Wars III supports drop-in co-op on the same system so if you’ve got a friend who’s willing to play through the adventure with you then this is the way to go. The game’s biggest weaknesses are its repetitive gameplay and lack of clear objectives. Having a friend nearby should help alleviate some of the boredom which creeps into play as you swat away the thousandth clone trooper. Also, there are very few visual or textual hints during gameplay, and since some of your objectives can be quite obtuse, it’s better to have someone with you to help figure out what to do next.

While the gameplay often feels tedious and more like a chore than a game, there are some enjoyable moments, such as when you can take control of a Walker and blow stuff up with it on a battlefield teeming with dozens of clone troopers as well as an assortment of other laser-fitted vehicles. If you’ve ever wanted to get behind the wheel of one of the signature crafts from Star Wars, then this is as close as you’ll get to the real thing.

The boss battles can also be quite fun, and usually have multiple parts to them. It’s a great feeling when you finally figure out how to do damage to them, and then swiftly execute your newfound strategy.

The humour in the game is all good-natured fun, and despite being slapstick it still provides plenty of laughs. The cutscenes are deliberately melodramatic, and while spotting the many references to the source material should bring a smile to Star Wars fans’ faces, they are difficult to truly engage with because it feels like you’re watching a cartoon on mute due to the lack of dialogue. I think the game would have been a whole lot better if they had defied convention and included well-voiced, witty dialogue which actually made you care for the characters instead of perceiving them as mute, animated Lego pieces.

The audio-visual aspect of Lego Star Wars III is its best feature. The graphics have been improved considerably from previous Lego games and have finally moved into true next-gen territory. Excellent textures and lighting create believable alien worlds, while the frame rate stays steady even during real-time gameplay scenarios featuring over a hundred fully animated characters and vehicles. The cutscenes look straight out of a CG film at times with the Lego characters appearing suitably plastic-y.

The soundtrack definitely benefits from the inclusion of music from the Star Wars films and TV series. The epic nature of many of the melodies provides a fitting backdrop for the grand scale and chaos of the larger battlefields. The fantastic sound effects were probably also ripped straight out of the Skywalker Sound library, and thankfully the recording of lightsabers slicing through droids is exactly as you remember it from the movies.

Star Wars III: The Clone Wars has enough decent elements in it to look good on paper, but it’s hard to recommend to anyone but the most ardent fan of either Lego games or The Clone Wars TV series. If you’re keen to buy this title for your kids then just be wary of the fact that they’re probably going to get stuck a short way into the game and need your help (with walkthrough in hand) to complete the level. The developers deserve a serious rap over the knuckles for making each stage’s objectives so vague. This game catapults the Lego series’ graphics into the next-gen ballpark, but unfortunately some of its other outdated features were left far behind.

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