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LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Game preview

Game preview 30 March 2016, 13:45

author: Darius Matusiak

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens hands-on – top score for jokes alone

The hype surrounding the new Star Wars is strong. This June, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens will bring loads of fun for all ages!

This article was written prior to the game's release.

This text was based on the PC version.

IN SHORT:
  • 18 levels;
  • More than 200 LEGO characters to unlock;
  • New flying and aerial combat mechanics;
  • Multi-builds system;
  • Shooting sequences with a cover system;
  • Depicts events preceding the movie.

A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away people used to say that you can build anything with LEGO bricks. Today, we should probably add that you can also play virtually anything made out of LEGO. The popular franchise, in addition to original brands, includes a number of well-known licensed titles: Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Batman, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Avengers, Marvel Super Heroes and of course Star Wars. With eleven years of experience in creating titles from the Star Wars franchise, TT Games team is finalizing its latest production: LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, based on the highly anticipated continuation of the world’s most iconic space opera. The short presentation that took place recently provided me with an opportunity to test two fragments of the game, revealing several new additions introduced to the series. Regardless of the new stuff, I believe that enthusiasts of the previous installments should feel at home playing this title. But even those with no previous experience with a LEGO game who liked the movie have two important reasons to check out the game in question.

The first one is without a doubt the humor! The brief, 15-minute long fragment I was able to test was brimming with gags and jokes – sometimes tiny and subtle, and sometimes leading to uncontrollable bursts of laughter. Things like Imperial Stormtroopers going shopping and trying on a sombrero or a Sherlock Holmes cap, or the scavenger Teedo sipping a drink under an umbrella are just a few examples of some of the many fun tidbits that pop up in the background. However, the parody of the scene where Kylo Ren speaks to the mask of Darth Vader, quoting the most popular tweets and opinions that flooded the Internet after the release of the film, has a chance to become an evergreen comedy classic in video games. Funny insertions have always played a prominent part in the LEGO series, but it seems that The Force Awakens aims to bring us top-notch humor above and beyond expectations, appealing to younger players and veterans (of the Star Wars saga or games in general) alike!

However, it takes more than a good laugh to make a good game. And so the authors have prepared something extra for Star Wars fans, namely the first seven levels of the story campaign that present the events that took place before the movie. Thanks to that, we will be able to look at the movie from a little broader perspective, with more knowledge of the past of the characters and places. The creators weren't very eager neither to reveal the details about the additional levels, for obvious reasons, nor answer my question about the greater role of Luke Skywalker in the game, but it is certain that we will learn the fates of Han Solo and Chewbacca before they found the Millennium Falcon, and explore how and why Lor San Tekka, known only from the initial scenes of the movie, arrived to a certain village on Jakku. Some funny tidbits will probably be recognized only by truly hardcore Star Wars fans. The plot of the movie was distributed across the subsequent 11 levels, giving a total of 18 levels to beat. In addition, the game will also feature five hubs: sizable, detailed maps open for free exploration, including Starkiller Base and the planets Jakku, D'Qar, and Takoda, as well as very detailed interiors of the Millennium Falcon, not to mention the free roam mode. In terms of numbers, the authors boast more than 200 characters to unlock, take apart, and personalize, as well as 40 kinds of various creatures and vehicles – from an X-wing to a Sandcrawler.

One of the important innovations in the game is the so-called Multi-builds system. In the previous games, our character could use the bricks to create only a single structure to be used to solve a puzzle and move on to the next part. This time, there will be many moments when we will have to choose from several constructions, and their diversity will urge us to think for a bit longer when it turns out that there is only one correct solution, or allow us to overcome the obstacle a bit differently when repeating the level afterwards. Numerous visits in free roam mode are also encouraged by many hidden rooms, which can be opened by different characters or using different abilities.

The stories presented in the seven stages taking place before the plot of The Force Awakens are obviously more than a product of the TT Games designers’ fantasy running wild. Every single character and event appearing in them has been consulted with Lucasfilm in order to comply with the canon continuity, as well as all possible films or books yet to be created. "Throughout the development of the game we worked together with people at Lucasfilm and they helped us give shape to those levels, and give them direction. We also had the chance to create some new content for the game, which will be later referenced by Lucasfilm in their future projects", said Tim Wileman, Associate Producer at TT Games.

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens features greatly improved flying sequences. While they were already present in the previous installment (Clone Wars), the actual control we were given over our starfighter was rather limited. Now we get almost complete freedom on the maps – arenas for air combat, where the gameplay seems to resemble Star Wars: Battlefront, though, of course, targeting and destroying enemy TIE Fighters is simplified, focusing more on dynamic action. The battles will also take place in traditional rail shooter sequence, where it will be important to destroy some elements of the environment. This will allow us to unlock the so-called microfighters – tiny versions of various vehicles. Imagine the famous aerial chase scene on Jakku in free roam mode, but this time with Han Solo riding a small Millennium Falcon! Collectibles and additional tasks really seem worth the effort.

The final novelty are the Blaster Battles – full of action and explosions, with energy beams from cannons and stormtrooper guns flying through the air in every direction. Our hero will be able to use a cover system, leaning out from behind shelters to shoot, or modify the environment, creating things like gun turrets. Similar behavior is expected from the AI, which should make the skirmishes particularly attractive. Each level can be completed in a local, two-person co-op mode – including a split-screen function for when the characters wander off too far from each other. The levels are designed in such a way that most of the puzzles require cooperation from two characters with complementary abilities.

I have completed the provided portion of the game in both modes – once switching repeatedly between two characters and once with a fellow journalist. Each method works fine, although the thick division line suddenly appearing on the screen may spoil the atmosphere of the game for some of you. The puzzles are not difficult, but will sometimes require some thought as to where to go and what to do. In the level taking place in Star Destroyer wrecks on Jakku, the militant Rey dealt mainly with combat against the Teedo scavengers, jumping and climbing on higher structural elements, while the charming robot BB-8 operated various switches and focused on occasional mini-games. The newly introduced mini-builds do not make the puzzles more difficult, rather providing an opportunity to pack the game with even more humor. If one solution seems to be pretty standard for the environment and the level, you can be sure that the other one will be bizzare, surprising and funny, although, of course, it will also develop the story.

The game shows great attention to detail. You can see it both in the far away background, when a small creature runs through the desert, and when playing your character. BB-8 can, for example, draw pictures on the sandy surface of Jakku by spinning in the right places, and the shape of those works depends entirely on us (during the presentation one of the developers made a smiley face). There's a place where we see an unfinished game of tic-tac-toe, which BB-8 will be able to finish, in another a miniature model of the palace of Jabba the Hutt – we can then smash it and rebuild as a completely different design, straight from the Return of the Jedi. The creators boast that when preparing the famous opening crawl, the text introducing the plot in every movie episode, they precisely recreated the font, the distances between the letters, and event the point where the text disappears! "If something can be seen in the movie, if only for 5 seconds, you will certainly see it in the game", we could learn during the presentation.

I also had the chance to try out two "aerial" sections, shooting down TIE Fighters with the Millennium Falcon. While it is true that we can feel the freedom of flying in any direction as compared to Clone Wars, the ever-present auto-aim does most of the job for us. Thus, destroying all the objects and completing all the objectives required to finish the stage poses a minor challenge in contrast to things we have to do to unlock bonus content. The Millennium Falcon can also be flown in co-op mode – with one person controlling the entire ship, and the other one operating the gun turret.

My only concerns during the presentation involved the game's visuals. At first glance, they seem pretty good, but there are places where you can see that texture resolutions are a bit on the low side; furthermore, there were some instances where PlayStation 4 would lose some fps. No use expecting visual bells and whistles though – the game comes out on almost every existing platform, and the differences between the last and current gen versions are minor: only a tad better lighting effects and reflections.

It took LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens as little as 15 minutes to convince me that I should definitely play this game upon its release. What tipped the scales in the game’s favor was not the introduction of new gameplay elements, which fail to introduce significant improvements and diversity to what is already known to the veterans of the series (although the blaster battles look quite promising and we have yet to see them in action). In my case, it is the game's approach to the Star Wars franchise that turns out to be crucial. Re-watching the events from the movie shown in a completely different way – full of excellent, spot-on jokes and gags – is something you just cannot miss! If we add the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the earlier history of the characters, both familiar and new, there's no doubt that the Force is strong in the upcoming LEGO game – be it on the dark or the light side.

Darius Matusiak

Darius Matusiak

Graduate of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Journalism. He started writing about games in 2013 on his blog on gameplay.pl, from where he quickly moved to the Reviews and Editorials department of Gamepressure. Sometimes he also writes about movies and technology. A gamer since the heyday of Amiga. Always a fan of races, realistic simulators and military shooters, as well as games with an engaging plot or exceptional artistic style. In his free time, he teaches how to fly in modern combat fighter simulators on his own page called Szkola Latania. A huge fan of arranging his workstation in the "minimal desk setup" style, hardware novelties and cats.

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