he first Lego Star Wars was a huge hit, and it wasn’t even based on the trilogy everybody likes. Now that we can play Episodes IV, V, and VI, it’s set to explode even more. We talked to LucasArts producer David Perkinson about new playable characters, expanded vehicle missions, the character creation mode, and why LucasArts let Eidos publish the first game.

GI: What are some things that you wanted to do in the first Lego Star Wars that you’re now able to accomplish with the sequel?

David Perkinson: With the new game, the team at Traveller’s Tales is aiming to put out a game that includes everything you loved about the first Lego Star Wars – its tongue-in-cheek humor, its charmingly compelling gameplay, etc. – and really add to it.

Vehicle levels have been completely overhauled, you can customize your characters in millions of ways; we’ve improved the camera (especially for two-player games) and added the ability to get on and off and ride creatures.

I also love the new character-specific attacks, like Leia’s slap, Obi-Wan’s Jedi mind trick, Chewie’s ripping arms out of sockets, and especially the Emperor’s force lightning.

GI: You’ve said that any characters unlocked in the first game can be transferred over to Lego Star Wars II with the old save file. Which platforms will support this feature?

Perkinson: PS2, Xbox, GameCube and PC will all support this feature. 

GI: The new roster of playable characters is said to be around 50. Can you name a few characters that fans might not expect to be able to use?

Perkinson: Well, of course you’ve got Han, Leia, Luke, Darth Vader, Chewie, and other classic characters. However, we’re also giving the player access to lesser-known characters, as well.

A few that fans might really appreciate include some of the bounty hunters (Boba Fett almost goes without saying, but finally, playable Bossk and IG-88!), Biggs Darklighter, Bib Fortuna and a Tusken Raider. And how would the game be complete without playable Lobot?

New playable characters clockwise from top left corner: Bossk, Bib Fortuna, Tusken Raider, Boba Fett, Biggs Darklighter, IG-88, and Lobot. 

GI: Lego Star Wars II is said to have more of a vehicle focus than the first game. Can you explain some of these additions?

Perkinson: If you remember from the first game, vehicle levels were purely vehicle levels, and on-foot levels were purely on foot. Now, when it comes to the on-foot levels, we’ve kind of merged the two. For example, you can cruise through the Mos Eisley spaceport in Luke’s landspeeder, entering and exiting at will. In that same level, you can even construct an AT-ST, then progress to blast away at stormtroopers. There are also creatures to ride like dewbacks and banthas.

Of course, we still have pure vehicle-based levels like the Death Star trench run, but these are different than in the last game, too, in that you have complete freedom in your movement – the vehicle levels are no longer on rails. Also, in Free Play, you can take any vehicle you’ve unlocked and place it into any vehicle level. So if you’ve ever wanted to experience the irony of a TIE fighter blowing up the Death Star, now you can.

GI: Can you give us an idea of what the character creation mode will be like? Is it simply appearance-based or can you define attributes as well?

Perkinson: Character customization in itself can provide you with hours of play – there are literally millions of ways to mix and match all of the characters you’ve unlocked, much like you probably did with actual Lego characters as a kid. The more you play, the more characters you have at your disposal, and you can switch between nine pieces: the head, helmet, cape, arms, hands, chest, beltline, legs and weapon.

GI: You’ve hinted at an Advanced Mode for more experienced players. Is this just a “hard” mode or can we expect some other modifications?

Perkinson: We won’t have a separate “Advanced Mode,” but we do have a rather unique, optional adaptive difficulty setting meant to supply greater challenge for those who desire it. If you’ve opted to utilize the feature, the game tracks how you play and adapts its difficulty accordingly. But if you want a similar difficulty experience to the last game, you certainly still have that too.

GI: Why was the first Lego Star Wars released through Eidos? Was LucasArts kicking themselves after it became such a big hit?

Perkinson: A lot of people don’t realize that companies other than LucasArts, such as Eidos, Ubisoft and THQ, have actually released quite a few Star Wars games through partnerships we have formed with them. As the original Lego Star Wars was being developed, LucasArts was in a very transitional phase, and there just weren’t enough people to devote to the game in addition to everything else we had going on at the time, like Star Wars Republic Commando, Mercenaries, the Episode III game and the Star Wars Battlefront games. Now that we have the necessary resources, we believe that Lego Star Wars II can be an even bigger hit than the last one. 

GI: Since the Lego Star Wars games have essentially crafted Lego versions of almost every character and vehicle in the Star Wars universe, has Lego released any new toy sets based on your designs?

Perkinson: That’s a good question. Much as I love them, I’m not sure the Lobot or womp rat Lego characters would be huge sellers. But you never know…