Lego Indiana Jones: Simply Astounding

Legos and Indiana Jones. Those are two of the best things ever. So when I learned that a Lego Indiana Jones game was soon to hit the store shelves, I just went nuts. Now, I'm a gamer who just likes to play fun games. LucasArts gave us Lego Star Wars (2 of them, actually) and showed us that their classic movies, which have made many video games in the past, can give us hours of enjoyment in a rather unique medium.

Lego Indiana Jones is much like the Star Wars predecessor. Instead of starships, hyperdrives, and Ewoks, we get the Ark, the Grail, and the Temple of Doom. Nazis, Nazis, and. . .a violent Hindu cult. But the gameplay is mostly the same. It's the characters realized in a small, blockish representation (literally Lego figures), scenery built from Lego blocks, vehicles constructed from Lego blocks, guns and knives. You get the picture. The block format gives the game unique look, just like with Star Wars.

The film franchise features a good deal of cinematic violence. Lots of guns, whips, and bullets. The game captures this, but encapsulates in a family-friendly package. Instead of blood and gore, the injured character simply explodes in a pile of Lego blocks. It's quite funny. The game also allows a player to continue playing indefititely, simply respawning when "killed." This makes the story mode quite simple, so simple that children should be able to play with minimal difficulty.

The Wii and DS versions offer certain class advantages, like the scholar who deciphers hieroglyphs, the women who can jump higher, Thuggee characters who can use Hindu statues. Each of these are used to solve various puzzles and unlock extra game items. The Wii's motion-sensitive control gives the player the chance to swing Indy's whip by literally swinging the remote. A player can dig by thrusting the remote downward, then pulling up again. Unfortunately, on the Wii, these actions can also be accomplished by pressing buttons, too. So it almost defeats the purpose. An exclusive control for these actions would better justify the Wii release.

The story mode play is simple, as I mentioned before. I actually find it a bit too simple. I finished the game in three days, and I believe it can be done one easily. After finishing, I almost felt that I had wasted my money. But the game features a free play mode, where the player can re-enter the levels already completed, taking certain characters not available during story play. This enables the player to access heretofore unreachable items and puzzles, thus finishing with a complete score, thus unlocking certain bonuses.

The game features almost every location and situation used in the films. Raiders starts off in the Amazon jungle, Temple of Doom starts in Shanghai, and Last Crusade begins in Venice. What? Yeah, I was surprised myself. Doesn't Last Crusade begin with Young Indy in the Southwest, the Cross of Coronado, a train, and all that? Well, this is a bonus mission, only available after completing so many levels at 100%. It's a nice touch to suddenly go back in time after you've finished the game. The last mission of Crusade features the Grail chamber, just like in the movie, repleat with more than a couple dozen Grail wannabes. It took me a few minutes to find the real Grail. Fortunately, my skin didn't rot away.

LucasArts even included five guest characters. You'll see them when playing through free play and hunting down all those items. All of it leads to unlocking a hidden character to be used in free play. That character? Who else but Han Solo. That's right. A Star Wars character in Indiana Jones. Why? Well, Star Wars and Indy are both Lucas projects, and don't forget who played Han Solo.

I give this game a near perfect score. It's just good, clean fun, a title the whole family can enjoy.