The Top 7... more fun to watch than play

3 - LEGO Star Wars II - Multiplatform

In the past 30 years, few film trilogies have captured our imaginations like the original Star Wars movies, that three-part epic of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Darth Vader. But there's a dirty secret everyone knows: no matter how much we might enjoy the movies, the games are more disappointing than not.

And let's examine LEGO Star Wars II. It was developed by Traveller's Tales, a company (until the original LSW came out) best known for making crappy licensed kids games. Now, bizarrely, it's revered as the savior of Star Wars. The truth is, the unrelenting charm of the game's cutscenes and its adorable LEGO inhabitants is what carries players through a sloppy adaptation of the original Star Wars movies.

Above: Just watch the video. You'll be much happier this way

Wince in pain as you wrestle with the unresponsive character controls. Stifle a yawn as you swing your way through hapless enemies - only to die due to shoddy hit detection. The most tedious switch-flipping puzzles? They're here in force. No, the saving grace is the unassailable charm of the Star Wars universe shrunk down into cheerful plastic characters - the cinemas would be some of the cleverest around, even without the fantastic source material to draw from.

This game is a dog; trick a friend into playing the whole thing through and then watch the unlocked movies in the cantina.

In the past 30 years, few film trilogies have captured our imaginations like the original Star Wars movies, that three-part epic of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Darth Vader. But there's a dirty secret everyone knows: no matter how much we might enjoy the movies, the games are more disappointing than not.

And let's examine LEGO Star Wars II. It was developed by Traveller's Tales, a company (until the original LSW came out) best known for making crappy licensed kids games. Now, bizarrely, it's revered as the savior of Star Wars. The truth is, the unrelenting charm of the game's cutscenes and its adorable LEGO inhabitants is what carries players through a sloppy adaptation of the original Star Wars movies.

Above: Just watch the video. You'll be much happier this way

Wince in pain as you wrestle with the unresponsive character controls. Stifle a yawn as you swing your way through hapless enemies - only to die due to shoddy hit detection. The most tedious switch-flipping puzzles? They're here in force. No, the saving grace is the unassailable charm of the Star Wars universe shrunk down into cheerful plastic characters - the cinemas would be some of the cleverest around, even without the fantastic source material to draw from.

This game is a dog; trick a friend into playing the whole thing through and then watch the unlocked movies in the cantina.