Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Nintendo Wii; Nintendo DS; Xbox 360

The Complete Saga’s cover jacket reads: “Kick some bricks in I through VI.” Getting away with RoboCop amounts of character-on-character violence, through players and foes created completely out of digitized Lego pieces, is truly the allure of the game for both young and old. Prompting Chewbacca to grab a writhing Stormtrooper and rip off his limbs—with an audible cork pop and multicolor cascade of Lego pieces—is a funnier and more rewarding experience than grotesque blood sport. All of the goodies from the prior two Lego Star Wars games are now rolled into one, from piloting Tie fighters, X-Wings and pod-racers to dueling the Emperor with the Force and light sabers. Graphics are vastly improved, explosions vivid, character definition perfected and transitional video clips entertaining. Don’t get me wrong, the game is violent. If your in-laws come over with their Stepford children, don’t put The Complete Saga into your game console in hopes of providing some wholesome family time. The game offers stand alone and cooperative two-player modes (console and online) and is rated E10 (10 and up) for cartoon violence.