LEGO Star Wars II Unleashes Bounty Hunters and Free Play Mode

Building upon the success of the first LEGO Star Wars installment, which included Jango and Boba Fett and travelled the prequel storyline, the sequel game expected in September has a few new pieces to play with that are giving it quite the buzz.

Today, GameDaily.com published in it’s entireity a LucasArts-created write-up on their upcoming LEGO game. Here’s a reference to Boba Fett:

But what good is having so many characters without them showing some, well…character? Thankfully, LEGO Star Wars II prevails by staying true to the likes of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia with character-specific attacks. Chewbacca rips arms out of sockets, for instance, while Darth Vader Force chokes enemies to pieces, Jawas disable droids with their ionization guns, and bounty hunters like Boba Fett, Bossk and IG-88 unleash thermal detenators to clear groups of enemies or to break through scenery. You might even recognize new abilities for characters making a second appearance in a LEGO Star Wars game, like R2-D2, whose periscope allows him to see where he’s headed as he navigates the swamps of Dagobah.

The Free Play mode is also getting some attention, especially on the LEGO.com forum. Imagine Princess Leia + Boba Fett, one poster typed in all caps, surely in a quick and excited state. GameDaily.com’s report included a clever caption to explain LEGO Star Wars II’s creative element:

“Obi-Wan aboard Princess Leia’s Blockade Runner? You may not remember it in the movies, but you can make it happen – or with any other character you unlock – in Free Play mode.”

But what about the story, levels, and details? GameSpot.com Forum digs deeper, but who knows it to be true until it’s formally announced. Could this be a scene, or a Fan Choice? “Fight Darth Vader, try to save Han from Boba Fett, and rescue Luke.” Another forum post questioned Boba Fett and the Sarlacc Pit, and how much interactivity you might have for changing the story around.

The first LEGO Star Wars video game included Jango and Boba Fett, as it followed the prequel saga. It’s available for several platforms — Playstation 2, XBOX, PC, GameCube, and GameBoy Advanced — and criticall rated across the board around the 77th percentile according to MetaCritic.com.

LEGO Star Wars II is scheduled for a September 30, 2006 release.