It seems a bit strange that, ever since it was announced way back when at Nintendo's January 3DS preview event in Amsterdam, there's been next to no updates about LEGO Star Wars 3 on the 3DS. Despite looking to be a pretty much identical port of the Wii version - only with fancier graphics, and now in full 3D, things have been pretty quiet on the LEGO front - despite it being announced as a launch game, ready to sell alongside the console on day one.
It could well be a sign of confidence on the part of Activision/Lucasarts, of course, as they may be presuming that their new game's so good, it doesn't need any advertising. From what we saw at the event in January, and the few details that have leaked out since, they could very well be right.
While previous handheld LEGO games have attempted to ape their bigger, home console brothers, the end result's always been somewhat disappointing - in terms of sheer power, the previous DS couldn't hope to keep up with the home console games. This is possibly why the series took a slightly different direction for the recent LEGO Harry Potter DS, as the developers, Traveller's Tales, decided to put together a game based uniquely around the DS's strengths.
These terribly blurry screens are still the only ones we've been sent - obviously, they fail to do the game justice.
For LEGO Star Wars 3, however, what we'll be getting, is an upgraded version of the Wii edition of the game. With all the same levels, characters, modes, and unlockables that you've come to know and love from the previous LEGO games, the 3DS version will be a near identical copy of its bigger brothers - only this time, there's a bit more to it.
LEGO Star Wars 3 is a game designed with good, wholesome family fun in mind. With slapstick humour helping the LEGO characters tell a story based around the kid's TV series, The Clone Wars, the game's story's set in the period in between the second and third films - or the rubbish Trilogy, if you'd prefer. Thankfully, there'll still be plenty of familiar faces for those who prefer the older films, with Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and Han Solo being amongst the unlockable characters, but fans of the TV series will be well catered for too, with Yoda, Anakin, Rex, and the rest of the characters from the TV series seeing a plasticy LEGO make over.
Built from the ground up around co-operative play, the LEGO games have always combined puzzle solving and platforming to great effect, with levels packed with collectibles, and secret paths that can only be discovered on a second, or third play through. As different types of characters have different special abilities - Jedis can use the Force, characters with blasters can use grappling hooks, that sort of thing - and you won't always have access to every type of character at the very start of the game, the levels are littered with hidden collectibles, paths, and other goodies that you'll unlock on a later play through with a different character. Adding a load of replayability to the game, there's always something going on - whether you're saving up for a new character, searching for that last missing collectible on a level, or simply playing through the story itself.
While the console versions allow for co-operative play, simply through a friend picking up a controller and dropping in, the 3DS version instead uses its wireless connection to let you play in co-op mode locally - although whether it'll allow for single card download play, or require you to buy two copies of the cartridge, remains to be seen. While we hope for the former, we'd put our money on the latter.
Even General Grievous looks less scary when he's made out of LEGO.
Of course, you're not simply limited to platforming around dark and dingy planets though - this wouldn't be a Star Wars game if you couldn't leap into a spaceship and take flight, and we're pleased to say LEGO Star Wars 3 looks set to please. Letting you take to the sky in Y-Wings, and Jedi Starfighters, the game promises "full 3D space battles" - which sound like an interesting prospect, when you think about the 3DS's 3D screen. It's got us excited already.
Of course, along with the features of its bigger console brother, LEGO Star Wars 3 also comes packing a number of 3DS exclusive features, including full compatibility with Game Coins. Allowing you to unlock characters, and other bonuses by spending the pedometer-linked Game Coins, which you earn by walking around with your 3DS, now you'll be able to keep fit, and get that character you were after, without having to replay a level several hundred times to collect enough studs to buy it in game. We're told the game will also have full support for StreetPass, too, allowing you to unlock new characters, bonuses, and potentially even levels, simply by walking past other people who own the game.
If your main concern is value for money on the 3DS's launch, you're not going to do much better than this. Huge, deep, and a heck of a lot of fun, if you want plenty of bang for your buck, in a game that'll show off most of the 3DS's features, LEGO Star Wars 3 could be the one for you. Check back in a few week's time for our full review.
