Matt asked in the comments below whether the LEGO Star Wars video games are really as good as all that.

The answer, quite simply, is yes they are.

The proviso to that answer is: as long as you’re a Star Wars fan, love(d) LEGO and like playing video games. The thing about them is that they are fun. Sorry, Fun. They definitely deserve the capital F. They are by no means difficult and don’t even take that long to play through - I got both games 2nd hand or on budget as I don’t think they’re worth the full price - but they are very fun to play.

Both games take you through a series of levels that span each of the films (divided, conveniently enough, into chapters). There’s a lot of shooting and a fair amount of puzzle solving. Each character has different types of skills and those skills are needed to complete different puzzles (e.g. some doors can only be opened by droids, some objects can only be opened by someone with force powers etc). And that’s pretty much all there is to it.

What sets it apart is the marvellous integration of both franchises - it’s Star Wars so there are spaceships, lightsabres, John Williams’ score and all the recognisable facets of those films but it’s also LEGO, so items need to be built, rotated or used in someway and all the graphics are representations of the Star Wars universe as if entirely made out of LEGO. When you kill enemies, they don’t so much die as disassemble, for example. Incidentally, the graphics themselves are fantastic.

Two things, however, are definitely worth mentioning. The first is the humour: the games are very funny. There are cutscenes which really play on the fact that it’s a world made out of LEGO and some are downright hilarious (Darth Vader explaining to Luke about his family history). In game there are a few gags to be had - for example, I loved the fact that in the second game (which covers the Original Trilogy and is also the superior game) all the characters could wear stormtrooper helmets as a disguise but it doesn’t fit Chewbacca so he goes around wearing it as a hat. One secret “easter egg” I found on the Geonosis level in the first game was so deliciously absurd that it made me laugh out loud - I’ll leave it to you to find it out rather than spoil it for you though.

The second thing is the very capable multiplayer option. It’s co-operative so you can each play a different character (and also swap characters and with some others you meet along the way) This game is a lot of fun to play with a friend (and I really look forward to playing it with my son in the future too) and it’s simple and easy enough to just jump straight into and play for a short time. If you’re playing it solo, however, the AI is generally more than adequate although there are a couple of levels where I’ve found that the AI can’t work it out which is a drawback.

The other thing the game provides is a high level of playability. There are puzzles and secrets on some levels that can only be got to by a character that is unlocked for play in a later level. Solving these puzzles will reveal a hidden “super” LEGO piece which, when collected, gets added to a special vehicle that gets built in the cantina (the central hub where you get to choose which chapter and level you play). These vehicles are for display only but the completists and achievers will have fun replaying the game to get all the parts.

All in all, these are two games that I have genuinely enjoyed every time I’ve played them and I’m grateful that I own a PS2. (They are also available on PC, Xbox and some other shite too).