2005 was a wonderful year for both Star Wars and Lego fans. Wait, let me rephrase that. 2005 was a wonderful year for Lego fans that wished the prequels were better movies. The reason? TT Games developed and released Lego Star Wars, a wonderfully adorable game that provided the opportunity to play through Episodes I, II, and III in brick form. Adults and children alike booted up their Xbox’s, PlayStation 2’s, and PC’s just so they could make Darth Maul fight General Grievous. Actually, it was really so players could kill Jar Jars in inventive ways. You know you did it…
The cutesy destruction and stud collecting was an addictive formula, and the Free Play mode made Lego Star Wars into a replayable masterpiece. Hell, TT Games even snuck in a secret level where you could play through the opening moments of Star Wars: A New Hope. It was pretty great.
Fast forward 11 years. WB Games and TT Games have just announced Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens in honor of that amazing movie. Oh yes, on June 28, 2016, we will get to fight the First Order on Jakku, fly the Millennium Falcon, and kick brick with Rey and Finn.
On one hand, I’m so excited about the opportunity to play another Lego Star Wars. I loved the first two games, and I tolerated Lego Star Wars III. I can’t wait to reenact some of those great scenes from the movie! On the other hand, I’m a little nervous. You see, Traveller’s Tales has released 20 licensed Lego games in the last 11 years. That’s a lot of games that rely on mostly the same formula and a decent amount of nostalgia. Sure, I’ve loved almost every game in the series, and I even wrote an article about the history of Lego games, but I just can’t shake the feeling of dread.
I’m currently playing through Lego Marvel’s Avengers with my wife, and it’s a pretty fun game. However, it’s fairly easy to see where TT Games cut some corners in order to get the game out the door. Only half of the characters have actual audio from the movies, the open world isn’t as refined as Lego Marvel Super Heroes, and the whole game is just less user-friendly. Watch the video below to see the first Lego Marvel Super Heroes in action. Lego Marvel’s Avengers doesn’t play as well.
Look, I’m not trying to complain; I really do enjoy playing Lego Marvel’s Avengers. It’s just that I’m afraid that TT Games will start to go the way of Activision and EA. Both of these giant publishers ran some big properties into the ground from cranking out too many releases. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Guitar Hero, and Medal of Honor all were shut down after years and years of annual releases and forced sequels. The games weren’t necessarily bad—besides Tony Hawk Ride—but the developers weren’t given enough time to make quality products. Call of Duty is now treading dangerously close to this area with a new game every year, but at least Activision has multiple studios with which to keep things kind of fresh. Call of Duty: Ghosts is the only one that was borderline terrible.
Ok, back to Lego games.
TT Publishing is a pretty big company with two separate developers in TT Games and TT Fusion, but even they can be stretched too thin at times. So far, the different Lego games have all upheld the standard of quality created by Lego Star Wars, with the exception of Lego Indiana Jones 2. For some reason that game constantly crashed. The other games were all pretty great. Lego Marvel’s Avengers is the first game in quite some time to dip slightly in quality, but at least it’s still pretty great.
So how will TT handle Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens? I only ask because this is by far the most important game in the series since Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. I understand that Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter both had great entries, but the fans are nowhere near as crazy as Star Wars fans. I should know because I’m crazy about “the Wars”.
I only bring this up because I will be heartbroken if Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is bad. The movie was absolutely great, unlike the prequels, and the game could be even better. Just think about it! Rey could be the best female character in the entire Lego history because she’s adept at beating up bad guys. The other female characters just jumped high and shrieked. I’m just so paranoid that something terrible will happen. I don’t want TT Games to stop making Lego games; I just want them to stop releasing two or three a year. I swear, I have their best interests at heart.
I’m starting to get worried, but how do you feel? Am I freaking out about nothing, or should TT Games check themselves before they wreck themselves? Please give me clarity!
