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W

hen LEGO branched out

the franchise. I had been brought up on Star Trek,

into franchise titles, I don’t

after all, and was still of the “enjoy this or that”

think even they imagined

mindset, rather than “enjoy everything” one.

there would be so many
titles, let alone two every

I

t might not be the most revered game, or

LEGO Star Wars changed how I felt towards

year! But that first one on PlayStation 2, LEGO

the conflict between the Jedi and Sith. Not that

Star Wars, was fantastic. I bought it, the sequel,

the movies are particularly dense (bear in mind, I

then two copies of the Complete Saga -- or rather,

hadn’t actually seen Episode 1 at this point), but it

my now-wife insisted on a second copy so I didn’t

made it a lot more accessible for me. I had obviously

have to hook up the PlayStation 2 every time.

heard of the characters by 2005, but after hearing
how terrible they were compared to the original

come from the greatest part of the Star Wars
There was something completely magical about

canon, but I still hold dear fond memories of

trilogy, I hadn’t gone out of my way to learn more.

minifigures wielding lightsabers. I’ll admit, I had seen

The Phantom Menace’s official videogame.

the original trilogy but still felt pretty ‘meh’ about

The humour with which LEGO Star Wars
presented the franchise won me over, and I

Picture it: an impressionable young seven-year

old who has had his mind blown by Darth Maul

wound up eventually watching the movies. It was

and Jar Jar Binks (not so much the talk about tax

released a couple of months after my son was

and trade agreements). Then imagine the jealousy

born, so the bright colours were something for

that erupted when he discovered that his best

him to watch too, as I laser blasted, pod-raced and

mate next door now has the game on PC. Evening,

lightsabered my way through the prequel trilogy.

after evening, after evening I would head over and
And up until this point, my now-wife had been

help out with his playthrough, reminiscing about

a gamer, but we had few titles to share. She would

scenes from the film and the “amazing” graphics.

usually just watch me, and as she was also new to
Granted, they look like shit now, but so

Star Wars, she wasn’t too interested until I made

does everything from the ‘90s. Blocky character

her try it out. We spent many hours just listening

designs, bland environments and plenty of

to R2D2 scream as he fell into a pit yet again,

technical glitches, but back in the day it was a

mainly because it made her crack up each time,

AAA experience that I couldn’t believe. Throwing

or one of our characters having to run away as the

droids around using the force, deflecting

other shouted “Grenade!” and tossed a thermal

blaster shots with your lightsaber, and dialogue

detonator at a nearby rock. Being limited to the

choices were enough to blow my tiny mind.

single-screen that didn’t split was hilarious fun.

The Phantom Menace as a film on today’s
You can keep your Super Star Wars’, your

standards may not be much to write home about,
but for me, the game will always be something

Jedi Outcast’s and Force Unleashed’s -- just leave

that conjures up memories of epic proportions.

me with my LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game.
By Andrew Duncan

By Dom D’Angelillo
56 //Star Wars Battlefront Special Edition

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Star Wars Battlefront Special Edition

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