Lego Indiana Jones The Original Adventures Review

Is This Game a Treasure Or A Trap?

By Guest Contributor: Jamie-Lee Flett

(A ‘Girl-Gamer’ in Year 11 who still loves her N64 and Gameboy Color, which makes her newer consoles a tad jealous)

©2008 Jamie-Lee Flett

“`Indiana Jones was everyone’s favourite archaeologist of the 80s; you could always rely on him to use his sweet skills to escape from his latest life-or-death situation to save the day. Upon the release of the latest Indiana Jones film the brilliant duo, Lucas Arts and Traveller’s Tales have now turned the adventures of Indy and his friends into a great game which reinvents the trilogy so that children of this generation can connect with the classic hero.

However, the unique Lego stylized gameplay makes it accessible to all audiences. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is an excellent movie style game, and it is evident that a lot of thought has gone into it and clearly surpasses the slapped together junk that you see in most movie-turned-video game disasters.

Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures revolves around the three original Indiana Jones movies. Each movie contains six puzzling and exciting levels which bring the story to life. This game mirrors the movies effectively and really helps you relive your favourite moments of the original trilogy. However it does gloss over the darker elements which run through the films, which I believe keeps it light hearted and doesn’t present unwanted opinions.

Filled with humour throughout, playing this game is not a chore at all. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is full of unexpected perks such as characters with phobias, renegade monkeys and the chance to be a mechanic. Over 60 of your favourite characters from the films are able to be played in all their Lego glory. Also the addition of bonus characters such as Han Solo and Santa add humour and variety to the game.

Of course the fact that this game is in the Lego format leaves it open for comparison between it and Lego Star Wars. As the Lego game series has progressed, more and more improvements have been made such as the addition of more complex puzzles, the ability to customize characters and more jokes. One of the great improvements in Indiana Jones is the use of maps to display all the levels of a single movie, rather than you having to run around in circles trying to find the right door.

However the spreading out of extra rooms across the Barnett College campus makes trying to purchase and adjust things a bit of a chore.  Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures has done well in providing an effective portrayal of the original films and holds up well against the other Lego Xbox 360 games.

This game has certainly evolved beyond the Lego Star Wars trilogies in terms of complexity. I shamefully admit I got stuck on a couple of levels and had to come back and attempt them a second time.  It is filled with many puzzles which require you to constantly switch characters, locate hidden items and rebuild and repair broken machinery. For this reason the co-operative nature of the game is where the most fun can be had.

The game’s AI is a bit illogical at times and it is therefore much better to play with a friend and work together. Sometimes you really need to get your brain into gear to be able to work out what comes next and what you’re going to do about it. This required level of thinking may discourage younger audiences and at times the young at heart. Also the hard to find artifacts adds an additional level of complexity, which results in the inability to complete the game without the assistance of an artifact finder. Nonetheless the game’s challenge is what makes it fun, interesting, and not a complete walk in the park like the previous Lego games.

The music is fantastic and always serves to keep you in the Indiana Jones universe.  Graphically the game looks clear and colourful, as a Lego title should, but it doesn’t stress the 360 hardware at all.  The controls can be a bit hit and miss as the direction you need to jump is not always clear from your camera angle, but at least when you die you restart from where you were last.

Overall I’d recommend this game to anyone who enjoys something fun and light-hearted, or fans of the original Indiana Jones trilogies. The Lego style games have been ingenious inventions which have been able to bring together people of all ages and supply them with a good time.

“8.5/10

©2008 Jamie-Lee Flett

Filed under: Console gaming, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 3rd Party Games, Xbox 360 Game Reviews, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | Indiana Jones, lego indiana jones, Lego Indiana Jones Original Adventures