Well, been putting off doing this particular review, mostly because I was feeling lazy, put in part due to job hunting. Since I’m a big fan of the Indiana Jones series (I even own a Fedora, but no bull whip) and because I enjoyed the Lego Star Wars series, I figured that this would be a good one to try out. Without any delay, I’ll give you the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
SYNOPSIS
Think Lego Star Wars done with Indiana Jones movies. I can’t really describe it more than that.
THE GOOD
Controls are solid and game play is quite fun for all ages. There were a few puzzles that gave me some problems, but that came from me over thinking the problem as most solutions can be figured out by your average 9 year old, but probably not your average adult. Unlike the Star Wars series, most combat in this game is melee based, and some of the moves can range from the general “whack” to some funny grapping moves done by Dr. Jones. Firearm play is very subdued, as most ‘guns’ have limited ammo and aren’t really all that useful. More often than not you’ll be pummeling the other Lego enemies fervently as they come apart on screen. After all, who here didn’t make things in Lego’s just to destroy them?
Much of the kid unfriendly things from the movies have been dramatically toned done (:::cough::: Temple of Doom) so as not to scare the younger players, and or those who hide behind the couch when the films first came out. Along those lines, much of the game has a rather parody like tone to it, making fun of the source material but at the same time staying true to it as well.
As with the previous Lego games there are ‘classes’, though in reality so long as you pick up a shovel or a wrench any character can perform those actions. New to this one is that women are the high jumpers, there are now Thugee who open doors sealed by Kali Ma, storm trooper doors are now soldier doors, and there had been added a scholar (blue book, translates glyphs) who can open up the path that wish you to follow.
Also with the previous series, it is most rewarding to play through again in free mode so that you may unlock secret areas and get treasure chests to open up new areas in the museum. Thankfully they removed the vehicle combat sections that were in Star Wars, but of course, being that this is Indy it’s not like he’ll be flying the trench run on the Death Star.
THE BAD
Sometimes the game seems oversimplified, but of course this can be attributed to it being an E10 game, so it has to be fun enough for everyone, but not too tough for the young players.
The AI companions sometimes like to block your way when you take jumps, but thank fully you can now switch between players without actually ‘touching’ them, so it makes it an even trade off, IMHO.
It is also shorter than the Star Wars Complete Saga, but this is due to there only being 3 Indiana Jones movies… no, don’t go there, don’t even think about it…
THE UGLY
Nothing, nada, Zip, Zilch. It’s E10 after all….
CONCLUSION
Good game, lots of fun, lots of humor that’s good for the whole family and the short length can be forgiven considering the limited quantity of the source material.
