Yep there’s another Lego/Lucasfilm licensed title on the shelves and this time they’ve tried to draw from a different well. This time instead of Star Wars they’ve given the Indiana Jones trilogy the full Lego treatment. Now I’m a lover of the Lego game formula and the Indy movies but this one just didn’t grab me the way the Star Wars games did.
At first I didn’t know if it was just the jaded gamer in me or if the cut and paste gameplay just got to be tedious, but there is definitely something missing. Then it hit me, the Force! There are no Jedi in Indy’s world! The thing about the Lego Star Wars is that there is this huge universe of characters and locations to draw upon to make a deep and engaging game but the IJ universe just isn’t as deep.
The fun gameplay aspects from the previous Lego games are all here in full force. Breakable environments, hidden areas in each level that require multiple playthroughs to reach, secret characters and drop in/out co-op make for a well designed and fun game. But lets face it, the locales in the IJ saga tend to veer towards the BROWN end of the spectrum. Frankly after finishing the first movie I was a bit bored with the visuals.
Indy is a great movie franchise and, in my opinion, one of the best characters ever created for film, but there’s a reason why you haven’t heard about the mega-hit Indy videogame, there isn’t one. The fact that the only successful Indy game is a Lego game should be your first clue. Making a good Lego title requires a LOT of source material and Indiana Jones just doesn’t have it.
The gameplay mechanics of Lego titles hasn’t changed much since the series’ inception, and let’s be honest it’s not a particularly challenging system. The problem with that is that the lack of depth is felt more in this game since the story elements and characters are a bit on the weak side. I know I said Indy’s great in the last paragraph, but Indy’s only one character, and there are sixty unlockable characters in the game! So if you add in each movie’s sidekicks, girlfriends and bad guys we’re still only up to about fifteen characters.
What this means in that unlike Lego SW where you had literally dozens of different characters to choose from this game gives you about fifteen and then dresses them in different outfits to fit the movie. Not that Lego SW didn’t do that but at least there the different costumes had different special abilities. No dice here, just diffierent clothes. Boo.
I know this is starting to sound like a rant but bear with me I’m almost done.
I’ll say this, Indiana Jones fans: buy this game (it’s the ONLY good Indy game out there). Parents with young, impressionable kiddies to entertain: buy this game (you can play with them and not feel like an ass). Hardcore gamers out there: skip it (or rent it and squeeze it for some easy achievement points, you whores). Everyone else? Well if you find yourself in one of gamings’ many dry spells and haven’t tried this one yet, give it a try, at the very least it’ll kill a couple day’s worth of time until the next big game drops.
Gamer Hero Score: 5/10
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The Gamer Hero