Since you don't actually lose when your character dies (you simply loose studs - lego 'coins' - used to purchase characters, ships and game changing extras.

This is because you get coins when you break stuff, then you go and buy or unlock new characters.

It will subtract coins, but lets him keep playing and feeling like he is succeeding.

Maybe it was just me but spending most of the level running around in circles trying to collect the stupid coins that drop from every object you touch simply wasnt an injoyable time