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Lego Star Wars Review

Lego Star Wars
Average Reviews:

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Star Wars is undoubtedly one of the most popular fantasy franchises in the world. Legos are certainly some of the most successful children's toys in the world. So what happens when you put popular fiction together with famous building blocks? Pure enjoyment, that's what!
Lego Star Wars renders the people, places, and events of the Star Wars prequel films in a block-built universe. With an aesthetic that leans heavily on actual Star Wars Lego kits, the game closely follows the epic plot of Episodes I, II, and III.
Everything starts in Dexter's Diner, a locale that received brief attention in Attack of the Clones. There you can or interact with all unlocked characters, select levels to play and replay, or order up extras, codes, hints, and more at the counter.
As you progress through the chapters of each episode, you unlock new characters and collect hidden Lego part canisters and Lego "bits". The parts come together to form mini-kits and collecting sufficient bits in each level gets you parts for a super-kit. When completed, each kit resembles one of Legos real Star Wars offerings. If you head outside the diner you can even examine the kits you've collected in the parking lot.
There are several main character types with different skills. Jedi can deflect blaster bolts and use the force to manipulate Lego blocks and push enemies. Blaster-equipped characters can use their grapple guns to reach out-of-the-way locations. Droids can open special doors and are immune to attack.
Some characters even have unique abilities. Jar Jar Binks can jump higher than most. Astromech droids like R2-D2 can deactivate other droids and fly for a short time. Sith like Darths Maul and Sidious can use the dark side of the force to manipulate some objects that jedi cannot.
The variety is important because progress often requires the combination of different character. What's more, many of the mini kit pieces can't be reached without replaying levels using different characters than originally intended.
Some of those puzzles are challenging, so you'll probably appreciate that you can't really die. When the last of your hearts is taken from you, you'll simply explode non-violently into a pile of Lego components. You'll suffer a penalty in bits lost, but you'll immediately regenerate at the same spot. This keeps the momentum of the game going no matter what.
The ability to have a second player join and drop out at any time helps a lot too. Some parts of the game are easier with just one player but most are more fun with two. The game lends itself to teamwork and demands problem solving which is easier with two heads than one. Though this feature is harder to take advantage of on the Mac than on consoles, it's still an awesome innovation.
Though this Mac port has a lot of advantages over the console versions - such as better graphics and much faster load times - control is not one of them. If you don't already have one, this is a game worth buying a controller for. It's less expensive than most games, so you should have enough left over to pick up a console adapter or a USB game pad.
Other than that, the game is awesome and incredibly addictive. It's a lot of fun for gamers of all ages. It's easy enough for kids to win, yet it poses challenges even to adult players. Here's hoping that the Episode IV teaser at the end is a sign that a sequel covering the original Star Wars films is on the way!

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For the first time ever, one of the world's most successful film series meets one of the world's favorite toys in an epic new video game. Play the whole story of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - three movies in one game! From Anakin Skywalker and Yoda, to Darth Maul and General Grievous, control over 30 of your favorite characters.

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Mac) Review

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Mac)
Average Reviews:

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the most advertised and well-reviewed video games of all time. Among it's myriad other achievements, it garnered 2003 Game of the Year from Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, Amazon.com, and others (...).
Set an even longer time ago, none of the traditional Star Wars characters appear in this title. Starting this fresh new adventure is easy thanks to drag-and-drop installation from the now-standard Aspyr installation window. It's going to take time though - KotOR is Huge! It comes on a DVD instead of a regular compact disc and maxes that out at 4.27GB. So be sure to check your system against the requirements.
When you first start the game you'll have to wade through character creation before you see anything but a glimpse of the antagonist. But don't worry; once your character is created and you begin the epic, you'll be welcomed by the traditional Star Wars fanfare, though an original score will accompany the adventure. The game features new characters and places, but like the music, it is recognizably a part of the Lucas universe most of the time.
The game is, simply put, the first full-fledged Star Wars role-playing game for PCs and consoles. It is based on the newest Dungeons & Dragons rules - for better and worse. On the one hand, the rules of the most popular RPG ever are robust and well rounded. On the other hand, they show through the interface and are not a perfect marriage to the Star Wars universe.
The rules have been well adapted and fit skills such as repair and persuasion, feats such as blaster marksmanship and melee combat, and even force powers. By choosing from the limited character types you will find that most aspects of the Star Wars universe can be experienced through this game. Your decisions in the game even affect whether you lean toward the light or dark side of the force, eventually leading to a decision to work for good or evil. Along the way you can customize your abilities, skills, and even force powers.
But that is also where the complexities of the engine start to show through. Initial character creation and subsequent upgrades can take a lot of time for a gamer looking for a simpler RPG experience. To their credit, the developers do include a button that will automatically select recommended upgrades for your character to minimize the labor for such players.
Of course Star Wars is an action-filled franchise and so combat is one of the most important parts of the game. It is not handled as elegantly as some RPGs I have seen, but there are a lot of attack options. Each time you encounter an enemy the game will pause automatically and pop-ups will allow you to select a target and attack for your main character. When you resume, your attack will be carried out along with any other tasks you assign (such as using a medpack to recover health after a hit or a force power to disable your opponent).
Along with combat and several mini-games you will spend a lot of time with D&D staples. Exploring, trading, and conversing with non-player characters are all very important in this game. Unfortunately, your view of the beautiful sights is hindered because you cannot look up or down.
Interaction with other characters is handled better. Most of the dialog is actually recorded so you get to hear conversations instead of just reading them - that does a lot for the cinematic feel the game takes on when the rules aren't showing through. The choices you make in your conversations have an effect on the game too. That's important in an RPG and too rare in computer games.
I won't give away any of the plot, but it is worthy of it's inspiration. The game is beautiful and sounds great too, but it performs poorly on some systems. On my 1.2GHz iBook, I often found video jerky and movement controls intolerably erratic despite exceeding the requirements.
Despite such technicalities, Knights of the Old Republic is an awesome science-fantasy role-playing experience. If you are a Star Wars fan who enjoys the basic RPG dynamic, this game is going to be great for you! If you prefer fast-paced action and less administration in your game, buy Jedi Academy, also from Aspyr, instead.

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It is four thousand years before the Galactic Empire and hundreds of Jedi Knights have fallen in battle against the ruthless Sith. As the last hope of the Jedi you must lead a band of freedom fighters in an epic struggle to save the galaxy. Can you master the awesome power of the Force on your quest to save the Republic? Or will you fall to the lure of the dark side? Hero or villain savior or conqueror...you must choose wisely as you alone will determine the destiny of the entire galaxy!System Requirements:Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later PowerPC G4/G5 1GHz or faster 256 MB RAM 4 GB free disk space 3D Graphic Acceleration required (ATI Radeon 7500/nVidia GeForce 2 or better 32 MB of VRAM) DVD drive required to install and playFormat: MAC X10.2.8 OR LATER Genre:ENTERTAINMENT Rating:T - Teen UPC:618870106601 Manufacturer No:10660

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