LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is based on the animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars . As usual, the game re-tells scenes from the original while replacing everything and everyone with LEGO bricks. It also brings humour into play; mostly slapstick and often based on the fact that LEGO constructions are fragile.
The game is built around three co-op campaigns. Players choose one of many Star Wars characters to go through the levels. Those consist of action-based fights, platforming, and some puzzles, which require cooperation between the two players. The game can also be played alone, with AI taking over the second character.
In addition to on-foot missions, there are vehicle sequences, where players take control of walkers or tanks. The game also introduces a new mission type that utilizes real-time strategy elements. In these missions, players find themselves on a map and have to conquer all enemy bases - but many of them are protected. To destroy those defenses, players need access to special weapons or units, which have to be produced first. Production buildings can be built on already conquered bases to accomplish this. The arcade multiplayer mode is based on this mission type.