New Lego Star Wars 2 details

Traveller's Tales has revealed more details of the sequel to Lego Star Wars - including news that you'll now be able to create your very own character.

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will focus on the plot of the first three films, which are approximately as good as the prequels no word of a lie. Speaking to IGN, director Tom Stone said: "We've worked hard to bring out the distinctive individual personalities of all those great Original Trilogy characters - and that's given us lots of cool new moves.

"So, as you'd hope, the Emperor now has a Force lightning attack, Vader has his Force choke, Han's got some athletic blaster combat moves, and Chewie's got a signature melee attack - he pulls arms out of sockets!"

The vehicles have been overhauled, too. "Giving the player the opportunity to wander freely throughout vehicle levels is a great change, as is including vehicles and creatures that any non-droid character can build and ride through certain on-foot levels," LucasArts producer David Perkinson told IGN.

"And character customization is another fantastic addition. Players will finally be able to create their own Star Wars character and bring it into the LEGO Star Wars world!"

All the gameplay features of the first game will be present and correct, but "plenty more" are being added too, according to Stone.

"There's a lot that worked well in the original game, such as the character animations, the 'drop in/drop out' two-player feature, the general pace, collection of studs and characters, and so on. However, we have spent a lot of time improving the vehicle levels - you'll be very pleased when you see what you can do with the X-wing and TIE fighters on the Death Star!"

The camera has also been overhauled, so when you're playing in co-op mode, it'll move further back so you've got more freedom to move away from your partner. "We received a lot of feedback from gamers saying that while they liked co-op play, they wished that they were allowed more freedom to fight and explore. With the new co-op camera, they can do that," Perkinson said.

For those who like a bit of a challenge, Lego Star Wars II even features an option that will make the game harder the better you're playing. ""When switched on, the game will begin at the base level of difficulty and ramp up as the player succeeds," Perkinson explained.

"The opposing AI will become more aggressive, harder to destroy and more accurate with their fire as the user improves."

Star Wars Lego II: The Original Trilogy is down for an autumn release on PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox, GameCube, GBA and Nintendo DS.