An opportunity missed. Hey, let's face it, sometimes it happens in this great industry of ours. Someone sees a Golden Ticket better than another company and profits as a result. Take the original Lego Star Wars, a game that chronicled the events of the three current Star Wars films, but used Lego characters and surroundings instead of the usual ultra-serious locales. LucasArts decided to pass on the release because...well, to be honest, I don't know why. Maybe they thought the game was too "child-like" in comparison to their other Star Wars game releases, such as the Empire At War PC releases. So they allowed Eidos Interactive to pick up the rights of the game to publish it. And last year, it ended up being one of the biggest selling games across the board, making millions of bucks in sales and becoming one of the most popular Star Wars video games on the shelves...not to mention one of the most enjoyable. In fact, I think the staff here at GameDaily probably had more fun leading a Lego-shaped Obi-Wan Kenobi over the one featured in the Star Wars Episode III licensed game. But that's just a general view.

But I believe LucasArts is a great company and thus, they refuse to make the same mistake twice. And that's why they've stepped up to handle the publishing rights for the sequel, Lego Star Wars II, which will be gracing store shelves this September. And more than likely, this time around, the game will be an even bigger hit. Why? Well, instead of using characters and scenarios from the new Star Wars trilogy, it will instead shift back in time to the original film trilogy that started it all, the one that debuted in 1977 with the first Star Wars film and wrapped up in 1983 with Return of the Jedi. It seems a lot of people prefer the older films to the new, so, with that in mind, LucasArts should have a big hit on their hands, and see what all the fuss is about with the Lego formula.

To quickly sum up the events of the first film series, here's how it is. The Empire has grown into a massive party that has ruled the galaxy for several years, even relying on the power of their planet-sized battle station, the Death Star. The Rebel Alliance has begun to step up their efforts in an attempt to bring down the Empire, and in the middle of all of it, destined hero Luke Skywalker enters the picture, teaming up with jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, rogue pilot Han Solo, and his hairy cohort Chewbacca, in an effort to rescue the beautiful Princess Leia and help bring down the Death Star. But Darth Vader, a powerful Sith Lord, doesn't intend to give up so easily.

Sounds serious, don't it? Well, fortunately, Lego Star Wars has always had a playful tone with its material, and while staying true to it, it never forgets the fact that it's based on Lego, building blocks with characters that look plastic. Travellers Tales is once again stepping up for development, and doesn't appear to be missing any kind of beat with the pacing of the game. You once again have several members in your party, starting off with Luke, C-3PO, and R2-D2, and have the ability to switch off at any time, which comes in handy since each character has their own special techniques that will help push the adventure ahead. As you proceed, you'll find yourself controlling other characters, including Ewoks, Han Solo, Leia, Chewbacca, and several others, each with their own little techniques that help personify their character, all while retaining the playful style the series is known for.

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