LEGO Star Wars Games: Family-Friendly Video Games at an Affordable Price

Whether it be parents or gamers simply tired of the hyper-violence of popular "mature" video game titles, many of us have embarked on a common quest in search of a fun-filled, family-friendly experience.  This week's blog is going to contain the first of many game reviews here on the blog. This one will be brief but still informative, as we take a look at the LEGO Star Wars series and its appeal to all ages.

Not too long ago, my nephew came over to the house and brought with him LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and LEGO Star Wars II. After initially rolling my eyes at the prospect of playing what I thought would be lame "kiddie" games, I was amazed at how much fun they turned out to be. Not just fun, but truly gamer-friendly as well. Hours after we initially booted them up in the PS3, I found myself marveling at the simple, yet intuitive controls; the cute, yet cool graphics; and overall sense of immersion into the Star Wars galaxy.

Outside of the classic Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) games on the original Xbox, these are, in my opinion, two of the best Star Wars games ever made. They aren't the prettiest or the most hardcore, but they do offer an experience that provides good clean escapist enjoyment.

The first game in the series originally appeared on the PS2, original Xbox, Windows, Nintendo Gamecube and Gameboy Advance systems. (If you have a newer console, the games should still work thanks to the machine's built-in backward compatibility). The games combine for about thirty-six hours of story mode adventures and over 160 characters.

LEGO Star Wars II can currently be purchased anywhere from $10 to $20. Meanwhile its predecessor, LEGO Star Wars I, can also be found for the pre-owned price of $19.99 or less.

The first two games are also available in a "box set" of sorts as LEGO "Star Wars: The Complete Saga," which you can find for $19.99 at most online and offline retailers for the 360, PS3, Wii, and DS. The cool thing about this version is that levels and gameplay found in the first game have received a face lift to match the quality of the second game. This is the version I recommend you pick up if you don't already own one of the other two games.

I don't have much more to say about LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (available for the Xbox 360, Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Windows PC, and the Sony PSP) at the moment--other than that I am excited to play it--as my copy of the game has yet to arrive in the mail as I type this. It should get here in the next day or two. Once I have it in hand, I will play through it and get my review up as soon as possible.

If the first two games are anything to go by, then I highly suggest you run out and pick up a copy online or from your local Gamestop, Best Buy, EB Games, or favorite Mom and Pop video game shop. LEGO Star Wars III is currently available for $60. For those of you who can't wait, IGN.com has their take on an in-depth look at the Star Wars III game up right now.

For Lego Star Wars game guides, cheats, walk-throughs, and codes, be sure to head on over to Gamefaqs.com, a trusted source/community we rely on extensively here at the Y&G Show.

Our next set of reviews will be more refined and contain detailed breakdowns of gameplay, graphics, replay-ability, the control schemes, and our very own scoring system. Look for the first of the new reviews in about three weeks, when the entire Yasar and Guy Show team is back together in the sunny Santa Monica man cave.

Until next week, be sure to follow all of our latest tweets on the world of video games @SavingsGCapes and @YasarSavings.