LEGO Star Wars II - Return of the Plastic Jedi

I should have written this review sooner, but LEGO Star Wars II the Original Trilogy is just too good to ignore.

Think about it: To write this, I have to have free time. If I have free time, I could be playing LEGOs. It's a never-ending battle that Associated Content is destined to lose.

Sorry.

For those completely out of the gaming loop, LEGO Star Wars has gamers play through crucial movie sequences as the little LEGO men and women we all grew up playing with. Simple controls have gamers jump, shoot, swing a lightsaber and use the force. When your four hearts are up, the character being controlled breaks into little LEGO pieces and loses a few coins (the game calls them studs, but I'm not writing that) before being brought back to life.

Simple controls. Unlimited continues. Well-worn story.

You'd think I'd be able to put the controller down at some point. I can't. I'm obsessed. I'm only typing this because my fiancée is using the PlayStation 2 to watch a movie.

It's impossible to say what makes the LEGO series (2005 brought the world LEGO Star Wars, which followed the three newest movies) so good. LucasArts and TT Games combine simple controls with expansive, in-depth levels that teem with buried blocks, a plethora of puzzling pieces and cloaked coins.

All that is mixed with about 20 levels that recount the battles and turning points of Star Wars Episode IV, V and VI. Want to dogfight over the Death Star? It's in there. Battle Vader in front of the Emperor? You can.

Heck, there're even new missions that put you in the shoes of Jabba the Hutt's bounty hunters.

And all that said, I'm not even a huge Star Wars fan. I like the movies and all, but I'm not one of these goons running around quoting the movie and trying to talk like Yoda. I couldn't tell you what Luke sliced open to stay alive on Hoth, and I couldn't tell you who Obi-Wan sliced up in the alien bar.

This game is so good it sucks your life away - George Lucas fan or not.

The plain fact is there's just too much stuff about LEGO Star Wars to shove in a review. I've polished off the story mode, done some of the bounty hunter missions, gone through a lot of the free play levels grabbing coins and red bricks, unlocked almost all of the characters and bought a bunch of cheats.

I've been playing for more than 20 hours, and I'm 70 percent done with the game.

The game doesn't get old, and the addiction never wanes.

You see, there are four objectives for each level beside finishing the story - find all the mini-kit canisters to build vehicle models at the start screen, find the elusive hidden red brick and fill your stud meter in both the story portion and free-play modes.

Playing through the level once to fill your story stud meter and once to fill your free-play stud meter might sound lame, but your second time through plays like a completely different game - you have access to a handful of different characters whose abilities grant you access to new areas and locations.

A unique drop-in/drop-out system makes co-op play easy and accessible. A second player can pick up a controller and play with player one and leave at anytime. No slow down, no lag, no save needed. The simple controls mean non-gamers can pick up the sticks and not feel left behind, while the deep collectables keep the hardest of hardcore gamers scratching their heads and playing for weeks.

In short, this game is amazing. It's deep, fun and challenging.

Sigh. Now for the lame Star Wars paraphrase.

The force is strong with this game.

Ugh.