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THE EMPIRE STRIKES BRICK IN
LEGO STAR WARS II: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
LUCASARTS' SEQUEL TO 2005'S AWARD-WINNING
LEGO STAR WARS WILL APPEAR ON SEVEN PLATFORMS

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Friday, February 10, 2006 – Just in time for the American International Toy Fair 2006, LucasArts and TT Games today announced their plans to release LEGO® Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy [working title], the sequel to one of the best-selling video games of 2005. Created by TT Games and developed by Traveller's Tales, LEGO Star Wars II is slated for release this fall across seven platforms. May the Force build with you on PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Sony PSP, Xbox® video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Game Boy Advance and Windows.

With a comical take on the Star Wars Trilogy that revolutionized pop culture forever (Episode IV A New Hope, Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI Return of the Jedi), LEGO Star Wars II follows the Rebel Alliance's battle to dismantle the Galactic Empire and rebuild a galaxy in pieces. From Darth Vader's pursuit of Princess Leia aboard her Blockade Runner to a showdown on the reconstructed Death Star, the game includes even more of the family-friendly LEGO action, puzzles and humor that earned the original LEGO Star Wars such popularity and acclaim.

And much more new to offer, it still has. For the first time ever, levels feature vehicles and creatures that players can ride or exit at will. Also, in LEGO Star Wars II's Free Play mode, gamers can customize more than 50 new playable characters by mixing and matching body parts, to build their own LEGO Star Wars heroes. And on certain platforms, a game save from the first LEGO Star Wars can unlock as many as 56 additional characters for Free Play -- that's more than 100 characters total, plus millions of possible creations! Other exciting additions include the ability to Free Play with vehicles, cool new character-specific attacks and maneuvers, playable mini-kit vehicles, an optional advanced mode for experienced players and more.

"Whether it was your first gaming experience or you've played everything released since Pong, the first LEGO Star Wars was one of those rare video games that everyone enjoyed," said Jim Ward, president of LucasArts. "With LEGO Star Wars II, LucasArts is working with TT Games and Traveller's Tales not only to set players loose through the original three chapters of the Star Wars Saga, but also to make this feel like the true sequel our fans have been clamoring for."

"TT Games is delighted to have formed a partnership with LucasArts for LEGO Star Wars II," said Tom Stone, managing director of TT Games. "The first game was an absolute joy to work on, and we're excited to deliver even more fun and creativity, this time with more features to work on and the original trilogy as the game's focus."

Distributed by Eidos Interactive, the original LEGO Star Wars was the No. 13 best-selling video game of 2005 (according to NPD Funworld) with over 2.5 million copes sold worldwide, and also won its fair share of awards. A few of the most notable include G4 Videogame TV's Best Adaptation of 2005 at the G-Phoria Video Game Awards, IGN.com's Best Platform Game, GameSpot.com's Best Use of Creative License, and it was one of 1UP.com's Hidden Gems of the Year. To date the first game has sold more than 3.3 million units worldwide.

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A surprise entrant in the list of the top 10 best-selling console games of 2005 is looking to spawn a sequel that could make it into the same list for 2006. Confirming rumors from last week, LucasArts announced today that it will publish Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, a sequel to the prequel-trilogy-based Lego Star Wars. While this cuts the original game's publisher, Eidos Interactive, out of the loop, fans of the original can rest assured knowing that Traveller's Tales, the team behind last year's dark-horse hit, is once again handling the development duties.

A lighthearted take on the seminal space opera, Lego Star Wars II will follow the saga of George Lucas' money machine from the opening scene of A New Hope right through to the climactic battle of Return of the Jedi, with blocky versions of familiar faces showing up at every turn along the way. And in addition to the on-foot fighting of the first game, players will now be able to get behind the controls of vehicles and ride creatures at will.

The sequel also includes a new Free Play mode that lets gamers create new playable characters from the pieces of existing heroes, unlock more characters with a memory save from the first Lego Star Wars game, and learn character-specific attacks. There's even an advanced mode for experienced players looking for a new challenge.

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is set for release this fall on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, PSP, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS.

quote SummonerSupreme

To access the prequel characters, you need to have a Lego Star Wars 1 save file on your Xbox Hard Disk. This will unlock a special extra called "Use old save" that you can purchase in-game allowing you to use the characters from the original game.

As for if it has widescreen or not, I'm not sure. I have the game but on my TV it plays in fullscreen mode. You might be able to switch via the Settings menu on your console though.

quote SummonerSupreme

Missed the 360 part...I read in Game Informer the other day that while you cannot access your old Xbox save on the 360 version, the prequel characters are available as some kind of unlockable in the game. The only other real difference in the 360 version are it has the Achievements that you can earn (I think) Marketplace points for and the like, plus some improved graphics.