Lego Indiana Jones Review (Wii)
Star Wars and Indiana Jones are integral parts of my childhood and have helped mold me into the person I am today. Despite the strong early years attachment I have to them, they managed to maintain those awe filled memories with sappy nostalgia instead of shattering them into bitter shards of disbelief. (Must be magic!)
Delving into such a precious license can be daunting, as there is a lot of emotional history attached to it.
Lego Indiana Jones masterfully manages to honor the movies and bring some freshness to the story without squashing any nostalgic memory I have.
I was lucky enough to have a buddy for the entire game. Without out a doubt, this added a huge layer of enjoyment that simply can’t be found in a single player experience. He even agreed to play the girl a few times. =D
Along with bonus fun, a partner is a great motivator. I have to admit that I definitely got stuck a few times and had I been sans buddy my quitting threshold would have been reached far sooner.
Thankfully this game was far better tuned then that previous two – if the puzzle required you to jump up to a location, it was actually reachable (that happened a few times in a previous game), there weren’t sections of unlimited bad guys, especially in difficult puzzle sections.
I should add here that I played the games out of order. Lego Batman was released quite a bit after Indiana Jones. It’s possible that troubles with Batman contributed to my finding Indiana Jones more appealing for its simpler game style, brighter atmosphere and less convoluted skills.
Review
Release date: June 3, 2008
Website: http://www.lucasarts.com/games/legoindianajones/
Official Indiana Jones Site
Developer: TT Games
Platform I played on: Wii (but like the others it is available on almost all platforms)
Game Summery
Lego video game at its best, paired with the fabulous Indiana Jones stories, makes for a golden combination.
Game play
One thing is for certain; Lego Indiana Jones is almost identical to Lego Star Wars. Beyond the different storylines, settings and characters, the core of the game is hardly changed. It’s very possible that I appreciated this similarity more after playing Lego Batman. Never the less, it’s a good formula and worth sticking near.
All the major (and most of the minor) characters from the Indiana Jones trilogy are to be found in the game and are playable. Any character that is unlocked (via purchasing them or through traversing levels) is useable in any of the free play levels. Not that I ever really took advantage of this, as I preferred to stick with Indiana (he does get to use the whip after all.)
Thankfully everyone gets a chance to use ranged weapons (guns) making combat much more user friendly. Auto targeting for the win (its not the most reliable as it sometimes targets your buddies instead of the baddies.)
The skills were expanded, meaning that each character has a unique roll. This allows both players to feel useful when playing coop. One of the most amusing skills has to be Willie (the main female lead in Temple of Doom). Her skill is screaming at the top of her lungs.
Phobias were also added to some of the characters, which would make sense, as Indiana’s fear of snakes is integral to the movies. Both skills and phobias are made quite significant in the levels. Thankfully while playing story mode the required characters are always provided.
World and Story
The story is broken up into three sections, representing the first three Indiana Jones movies. No need for me to sum up those stories, just go wiki it. Better yet, watch the movies. They are after all, awesome!
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Temple of Doom
The Last Crusade
Graphics
Same graphics engine they have been using for all the Lego games. Lego Indiana Jones also got the water is not death upgrade, big bonus. Most of the areas are also a lot brighter which really helps with finding ones way through the levels.
And of course I am a sucker for the cute Lego character animations. This game is rife with them. Helps to have a bevy of characters to animate.
Replay ability/Multiplayer
Nothing new here, same as the previous games. Replay centers around going back to find hidden treasures and multiplayer is limited to two player coop, not online.
Things that bothered me
-Cliffs of Doom.
They still exist, and if you get too close you still just slide right off and pludge into the pit of death. So beware the edges.
This became even more apparent while playing with a buddy. One section in particular comes to mind (although it wasn’t limited to this area only). We had to jump over a pit on a motorcycle. Because the pit spanned almost the entire width of the screen, when one of us actually made it to the other side, there wasn’t enough room for the person left behind to make the jump, as the whole screen would shift over. Lots of death ensued trying to get us both over.
-A little more variety
While this is my favorite Lego game yet, I think it would be nice to expand on the possibilities a bit, push the envelope.
Hmm, I think I should add a clarification here, seeing as I didn’t like Lego Batman as much and that game really did try to branch out from the formula. While I applaud their attempt, I believe that they added complexity to the formula instead of adding real new ideas.
Game finished
Finished the entire three movies storyline, which pretty much means I am done with the game. Not really interested in going back and finding all the hidden treasures.
Time played
25 hours of game time. I rushed through some sections. =)
Mood Progression
Last Thoughts
Now I need to figure out how to get them to make a Lego Goonies game. =D
Tags: action, adventure, cooperative, cute, lego, puzzle, skills
