Comparing this to the Padawan Menace DVD that came out last year, I feel this video is better, it feels more spontaneous in it's humor and presentation overall is better. But, it also doesn't have the extra features that Padawan Menace does, it's just the video and short advertisement commercial for the first LEGO Star Wars movie.

Like the first DVD out, there is a free minifigure of Darth Vader with a medal which is rather neat to have, especially for those who collect minifigures.

Pricewise though, this DVD seems to vary, I picked up mine from Wal-Mart for $7.50 which I think was very good and I've read and seen other places list this for as high as $15. $15 is clearly the high end of what I would find acceptable for this DVD. So obviously shop around if you're looking to pick this up for a collection.

I rather enjoyed it and found it better than the first dvd.

LEGO Star Wars The Empire Strikes Out: LEGO has a habit of making some interesting DVDs and specials the past ten years or so, from Bionicle to the Ninjago and Legends of Chima shows they've begun to embrace the digital media form of entertainment.

And while this special is oodles of fun wrapped in a bright colorful package it does fall a bit flat past the presentation front. I suspect this is mostly due to the very nature of what a LEGO Special is, a short 22 minute adventure featuring all your favorite LEGO Characters. With tons of humor found in the LEGO brand, great fun for the entire family. And this short doesn't dissapoint on that end, it's charmingly cute and hilariously fun to watch over and over again, taking the best of the Original Trilogy era and mashing it with mixed results with the Prequel Trilogy. (Gungans and Darth Maul alongside Luke, Leia and Han, how can that possibly fail?)

There's even a clever cameo by Yoda and what really sells these two shorts is the acting, the voice actors really give it their all.

That being said, the DVD is just that, one 22 minute short for 8$ at most CND retailers, including a special incentive Darth Vader Mini-Figure with unique medal printed on the torso, made in China, so really once you've watched it there is nothing to do with this thing. And that's where I have my complaints. Like The Padawan Menace before it LEGO has failed to offer up any creative or fun little DVD games to play for the younger crowd. (Say what you will about Disney, but at least their films on DVD includ activities for the young ones to do after the film is over.)

There are no bonus features, no hilarious spoofs, no hidden easter eggs of any kind that I could find. It's just the main dish without any of the extras. LEGO seriously needs to re-think their marketing strategy for these releases, Yoda Chronicles isn't even available yet and already I've heard we're only getting two episodes and no bonus Mini-Figure with that release, that's even worse than this.

Overall I'd say this is still worth picking up, the show is clever, fun and enjoyable to watch. Even after seeing it twice on Teletoon I still found this fun and fresh. I just wish LEGO would offer more on the disk to do, it doesn't have to be much, a tiny spot the difference game where they toss in still shots from the film and you have to find something out of place. A digital catalogue of commercials featuring the years LEGO Star Wars sets, a unique look at the behind the scenes method of creating the special Mini-Figure included. Give us something, just let us have more to do with it than simply watch it, place it on our shelf and then pull it out again maybe five years later when we feel like it again. Also a lack of the Blu-Ray with the Mini-Fig like they did with Padawan Menace is a bit dissapointing as well.