Star Wars

Game Description: LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a comical take on the Star Wars Trilogy, the movies that revolutionized pop culture forever. 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 the family-friendly LEGO action, puzzles and humor that earned the original LEGO Star Wars such popularity and acclaim. Drop-in/drop-out feature enables friends to join easily and engage in multi-player action.

Okay, in my defense, I didn't realize that it was a children's game. I can't say whether it's a testament to Lego's enduring popularity as the world's greatest toy, or my own fundamental lack of maturity, but when I first looked at the box on the videogame store shelf, it didn't occur to me that Lego Star Wars could have possibly been made for anyone other than me specifically.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

Game Description: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is the next chapter to Knights of the Old Republic saga. It's five years after the first game and the Jedi are being crushed by the Sith. The twisted wreck named Darth Sion will bring down the Republic, unless a lone Jedi can reconnect with the Force. You will guide this Jedi and make an important decision: Do you follow the Light or succumb to the Dark?

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Violence

Star Wars is without a doubt one of the most popular and powerful franchises in Hollywood history, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn't at least heard of it. It's nothing less than a cultural juggernaut, and along with that comes the expectations of the legions of fans that have supported it for decades.

If Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is "a beacon of light" as Keith calls it, I don't want to follow. This game should change its subtitle from "Jedi Outcast" to "Faces of Death" because it isn't so much an interactive adventure set in the Star Wars universe as it is the most elaborate and punishing three-dimensional mousetrap ever conceived.

Before the hate mail starts coming in for giving it an eight, let me say that Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic is a good videogame. It's doubly good on the Xbox, since it's the only substantial role-playing game (RPG) for Microsoft's machine outside of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Metal Dungeon, and possibly Pirates Of The Caribbean, though it's safe to say that they all stray from what one usually expects of a console RPG. However, would I call it a great game? I guess that would depend on your love of the Star Wars license.

There have been plenty of times when I've wished my life was structured similarly to the existential glee found in certain videogames, games like Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic. Like a scene straight out of Mike Judge's first film Office Space, my editors often hunt me down to say, "I'm gonna have to ask you to come in on Saturday."

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence