Stop me if you've heard this one before. I'm a diehard Star Wars junkie who despises the prequels. Ah, but here's the catch - I love The Clone Wars animated series. Debuting in 2008 on the Cartoon Network, the series, which follows the adventures of Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in between the events of Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith features a sense of adventure and exploration not found in the latest films.

Now that sense of adventure is being ported over into the familiar world of Traveler's Tales Lego game series. Though not much of the format has changed, if you're a Star Wars fan, or just a fan of pure fun, you owe it to yourself to check out Lego Star Wars III. With a set of spruced up new visuals and a few new modes, it's quite easily the best of the Lego games to date, which says something.

"...the quality of the production serves its purpose..."

Lego Star Wars III follows the set formula from each of the previous Lego games; reenact some of your favorite moments in adorable Lego fashion. Here, you'll go through the first two seasons of the acclaimed animated series, and while many won't find the same emotional attachment as they did to the original Star Wars movies portrayed in earlier games, the quality of the production serves its purpose and it's easy to follow along with the grunts, shrieks and explosions that tell the story (interestingly enough, those grunts were provided by the actual voice actors from the cartoon).

For the most part, Lego Star Wars III looks like pretty much every Lego Game you've played, but digging deeper unveils a hefty visual upgrade that's actually quite impressive. Effects like explosions and blasters look phenomenal, especially when played in HD, and everything, save for a few visual hiccups tends to flow very well here. Traveler's Tales didn't reinvent the Lego style here, but they did give it a nice new coat of paint.

Similarly, not much has changed on the gameplay side of Lego Star Wars III. You still traverse throughout the game's blocky worlds, smashing pretty much everything in sight and solving puzzles. While they'll occasionally throw a few curveballs your way, the puzzles are still as simple as you remember. It's excusable since the game is built to be playable for everyone from kids to adults, but I would have preferred a bit less handholding. Similarly, the game's repetitive “one button does pretty much everything” combat returns, and though it's predictable, it's still enjoyable.

"...The Clone Wars puts you in control of a star speeder on more than one occasion."

That's not to say though that there's nothing new in Lego Star Wars III. Taking a cue from the DS line of Lego Star Wars games, The Clone Wars puts you in control of a star speeder on more than one occasion. There's also a Capture the Flag style feature that finds you attempting to control different points on planets and then calling in reinforcements to claim it. The modes aren't all that exciting, but they're still a useful distraction when you're just exploring the game's impressive hub world, which here is an amazing two ships battling in space.

Though it's not all that novel or new, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is still a great time for both kids and adults alike. Featuring a new set of visuals, new modes and the same fun mechanics, Traveler's tales has topped each of their previous Lego games here. It's simple, it's fun, Lego Star War Wars III is quite a good time for all ages.