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Platforms: PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC - PS2 Version Reviewed.

Apologies to those of previous or subsequent generations, but the late seventies/early eighties was the perfect time to be a kid. Children’s TV was great, food was tasty and chock full of stimulating additives, Action Man was at the peak of his powers, and video games were about to hit the mass market. Best of all, we got wave after wave of fantastic popcorn movies, from the Moore Bonds to Raiders, Superman and, of course, Star Wars. We collected the figures, bought the vehicles, read the comics, rubbed on the free-gift transfers, and saw the movies over and over and over again. If there had been such a thing as Star Wars Lego, we would have played with it until our fingers bled.

But we didn’t. Maybe today’s kids get all the luck.

In fact, not only do they get the marriage of two of the most iconic brands of the seventies, they also get a game that does justice to the union. Remember. Lego Star Wars: The Video Game is a kiddie console title. As an adult gamer, you shouldn’t be caught dead playing it any more than you should be caught dead playing Finding Nemo, Robots, or any of the slightly soulless licensed hits that get churned out every time Pixar or Fox release another 3D toon. It looks like a kid’s game, plays like a kid’s game, and is a kid’s game. Try and keep this in mind when you’ve been up until 2am in the morning playing it, or when you’re telling your five-year-old daughter that she can’t join in on the second controller, because she’ll spoil the game for Daddy.

On paper, it’s almost too simple. Lego Star Wars recreates 17 key scenes from Episodes I to III using the medium of virtual plastic bricks. In each sequence, you take on the role of a Star Wars hero (and a second player can join in or out at any time). Episode I starts you off with Qui-Gon Jin and Obi-Wan, then gives you Padmé, the dreaded Jar-Jar, young Anakin, the droids and a handful of others as you go. The majority of levels have you running basically from left to right, armed with light-sabre or blaster, shooting baddies, collecting Lego studs, solving simple puzzles and leaping from platform to platform. Every now and then you trigger a cut scene or get involved in a boss battle, but really that’s all there is to it. You can’t even describe the game as a 3D action game, proper. Most scenes have their moments of depth, but if you want worlds to explore then this isn’t the game you’re looking for.

Luckily, Lego Star Wars throws in a fistful of twists. First, different heroes have different powers. The Jedis can use their force abilities to thrust battle droids out of the picture or manipulate their environment. Padmé has a handy grappling gun with which she can reach new levels. C3-PO and R2-D2 can access special switches, young Anakin can climb through vents, and even Jar-Jar Binks has a mighty leap to prove he’s not entirely worthless. This becomes important, because the game allows you to switch between characters as you go, sometimes starting you off with a small party, then introducing new heroes during the scene. Picking the right person for the puzzle is the key to making progress in the game.

Time for twist two. This being Lego Star Wars, some of the puzzles involve the main property of Lego: the fact that it can be assembled and reassembled to create new forms. Using Jedi Powers, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Anakin can target statues, pillars and miscellaneous clumps of Lego, and turn them into platforms, bridges or staircases. This isn’t quite as clever as it sounds – it only works on prescribed areas and in prescribed ways – but it’s fun.

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