The developer has meticulously
recreated all the environments that
you know and love, in its unmistakable
blocky style, with astonishing
attention to detail. During our behind-
closed-doors demo, we’re given a tour
of Tatooine, from its desert wastes to
Jabba’s Barge above the Sarlacc Pit.
You’ll get to explore all these iconic
locales and more in large open worlds
that are bigger than the series has
ever served up before.There is another...
Other additions and improvements
can be found in the combat. You
can now aim down the sights of
a blaster freely, without the need
to lock onto an enemy, just like
a third-person shooter. Landing
headshots on faraway Tusken Raiders
with Chewbacca’s Bowcaster is as
satisfying as it sounds.
The Force mechanic has also been
revamped, now allowing you to pick
up multiple items at once. We see
a plucky Luke Skywalker levitate a
bundle of rocks, one after the other,
and sling them at enemies.
As well as the story missions, a
major part of the game will involve
taking on various quests, many
requiring you to switch between
different characters in your roster
to progress. For example, you might
meet an NPC that your character can’t
understand due to the language
barrier. Luckily, you have a friend that
is fluent in over 6 million forms of
communication – switch over to C-3PO
and he’ll translate with ease.
A clever twist is that you’re not
forced to play through the films in any
particular order. Want to go through
chronologically? By original release
date? Skip the ones you didn’t like? It’s
completely up to you.
The lingering question we have is
how big will each of the episodes be?
To cram nine epic stories into one
game is a huge feat, so it wouldn’t
be surprising if some story elements
are cut down or streamlined, but
doing so could make the game feel
underwhelming. But perhaps that’s
just a disturbing lack of faith on our
part. Certainly if Traveller’s Tales can
live up to its grand promises, this’ll
be not just a definitive tribute to Star
Wars, but a much-needed breath of
fresh air for the LEGO games too. QThere are many constants in our
universe: time, gravity, change,
humanity’s stupidity and, of course,
the LEGO games – especially ones
based on Star Wars. If Disney keeps
making the films, Traveller’s Tales, it
seems, will keep making the games.
Following the release of LEGO Star
Wars: The Force Awakens, we were
surprised not to see a game based
on The Last Jedi to coincide with the
film. Little did we know that work had
instead begun on The Skywalker Saga,
an epic collection that delivers all nine
films in one.
Traveller’s Tales is promising to
serve up a huge amount of content,
and this isn’t just a remake of all
the old stuff with two new chapters
tacked onto the end, either. This is a
brand new game from the ground up,
offering fresh reimaginings of every
episode in the hallowed series.
It won’t play like any previous LEGO
game, either. Thanks in part to a new
game engine, Traveller’s Tales has
managed to break out of the mould of
an almost 15-year formula and shaken
things up considerably. This time
around, for example, we’re treated to
a constant over-the-shoulder camera
view. Aside from helping you get closer
to the action, this altered angle also
allows you to admire the beautiful,
bricky backdrops even more.In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn uses a modified Gillette razor as his communicator
LEGO
Star Wars: The
Skywalker Saga
Rebuilding a galaxy far, far away
Adam Bryant
PUBLISHER WARNER BROS DEVELOPER TRAVELLER’S TALES
ETA 2020HUNK OF
JUNK
You might not get an
opportunity to do the
Kessel Run in less
than 12 parsecs, but
you will be able to
jump into the
Millennium Falcon and
fly freely between
planets in search of
adventure. But that’s
not all – there’s space
combat too, with
hostile Imperial fleets
liable to ambush you
out in the void.
“You’re not forced to play
through the films in any
particular order”
030 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE
PREVIEW