Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

Whipping your bricks into shape.

Posted 4 years ago By LuxDraconis - William Bobola

I know what you’re thinking (I‘m thinking the same thing)….”This is just another Lego Star Wars game with a Indiana Jones skin”… Well, it’s not. It may have the same look at first, but the game play is NOT Star Wars….It’s all Indy!

As you would expect from the title, this game allows you to play through Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade as Lego characters. Several bonus levels are also available as you unlock certain levels. You also unlock new characters as you finish stages. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a whole new game. It takes a lot of cues from the beloved Lego Star Wars. The cantina has been replaced with the college. There you can build your own character, basically mixing and match other character parts to form a new one. You, choice your next mission from there also, just like you did In Star Wars.


Gameplay

The game play will be generally familiar to those aficionados of any of the Lego Star Wars games (Traveller’s Tales). With some special abilities specific to the character. Indy has his whip( the “B” button), Willie has her special scream, short round can crawl though small doors, etc. Before warned these characters have some issues, or should I say phobias, Indy is afraid of snakes his dad (Jones Sr.) is afraid of rats.

The two modes that you play are “Story Mode” and “Free Mode”, to unlock characters for free mode you need to complete levels in the story mode first. Puzzles are more prevalent in this one, as you might expect given the archaeology theme.you have lots of digging, pushing, and my personal favorite…DYNAMITING! The game can be played in single player, where you can switch characters by pressing the “y” button in story mode, or the left and right triggers in free mode. But, the game seems to beg you to play it in co-op with a friend to complete some of the games puzzles. I was a little let down that you couldn’t play over Xbox Live with friends, given the globe trotting involved in the game, seemed like it would be a great fit.


Some of the violence that was in the movie has been toned down to make the game more family friendly, but nothing is really lost in translation: the quirky humor of Traveller’s Tales is particularly suited to the action-comedy that has always been a hallmark of Indy’s adventures.

Sound

The sound is definitely recognizable as a Lego game; the clinging sound of stud collecting is still there from Star Wars and is well done… The background music will give you clues to approaching dangers and enemies. The sounds of the movie are all there, mine cars, whip snaps, screeching tires, rolling boulders coming to crush you. All there, and all done to make it feel like a mini movie.


Graphics

Lego’s games have always been blocky (deliberately of course!) When it comes to the characters and the interactive objects ….What? That was funny. The background renders are lovely and definitely a large step up from previous LEGO games, not that the other Star Wars game where bad, they had a great look all their own. The colors are as full and bright as the real life bricks. You can tell thought was put in to give the game depth. Shadows, light, and background textures really help in giving this game life.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a strong addition to the Lego franchise, it’s not the most difficult game in the world, but it is definitely a lot of fun to play! It does have a couple of camera problems now and then, the game could use a better targeting system, and I found it hard to break objects sitting still sometimes with the whip. The last boss fight seemed to be a little tougher than others; it’s not impossible, just tough. It’s also a rare creature: a family friendly multiplayer 360 game that will appeal to adults and kids alike. The Lego tie-in increases the geek factor, and since I’m a Lego fan and a gamer, I had a blast just geeking out playing this.

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