TT Games talks up Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga DS

He's one of the nicest men in game development so we've always been wary about talking to TT Games' head of production Jonathan Smith about what the hell happened with the DS version of Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.

Still when it came to getting some email answers about the all-new The Complete Saga version, which combines the six films from first two Lego Star Wars games plus plenty of extras, we were brave enough to include a 'What went wrong with Lego Star Wars II DS?' question.

Of course, he just ignored it.

Oh well, he did at least answer everything else…

Jonathan Smith: When you're in control of a Jedi character, you can use the touchscreen to control your Force powers and to interact with objects by moving your thumb across the pad. You can also select different characters from your party, simply by pressing their face icons on the lower screen.

On top of that, we have lots of completely new mini-games, like the Pod Race pit-stop, which are controlled exclusively through the touchscreen. The lightsaber training game, based on the scene in A New Hope where Luke tries to deflect blaster bolts under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi, moves your lightsaber in direct response to your movements with the stylus – and it feels great!

The DS game has been built from the ground up by Traveller's Tales; and as part of that process we did import and convert a number of models and animations from the console originals to get the best possible quality. Level layouts are specific to the DS, but are modeled to a significant degree on the console games. We think we've managed to create a game specifically for the DS, which draws successfully upon some of the best elements of the other versions.

Absolutely! The DS version has 30 levels covering all six films, with all the characters you'd expect, and intense starship action. Like the other versions, it offers two-player co-operative player throughout, via wireless link-up. It's a big game, just like the other console versions, with lots of additional surprises of its own.

By remaining ruthlessly focused, being 100 per cent efficient and having a team full of brilliant people smart enough to find clever solutions to seemingly impossible problems.

We really love Lego Star Wars II on PSP, but we simply have limited available resources, and couldn't fit a PSP version of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga into our plans.

We were proud to bring out Lego Star Wars and Lego Star Wars II on mobile phones, and we'll certainly be doing more in the future.

They will definitely be brilliant.