LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Impressions
February 25,2008 - LucasArts has had some great success with the Star Wars license. We’ve seen great games like Knights of the Old Republic, but the one that truly gets everybody giddy like a child is the LEGO Star Wars series. But their other, bull-whipping IP is brawling its way to systems later this year. Yes folks, Indiana Jones and his crew of Nazi-battling friends are making their way into the video game realm of Legos. Taking the successful formula of the Star Wars games, Traveller’s Tales seems to be setting up another great Lego game.

As the scruffy-faced hero, you’ll tromp your way through all three films—Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade. All of everybody’s favorite characters will make appearances, not just folks like Short Round and Sallah (he is the monarch of the sea, the ruler of the Queen’s navee…). Even Indy’s Nazi pals will show up, but not in their typical garb. Nazis aren’t exactly cute, and remember, this is a family oriented game. So, instead of seeing swastikas all over the place, you’ll see generic German enemies, but you’ll be able to recognize the big enemies.

Obviously, you won’t be swiping your lightsaber through the chests of Stormtroopers or shooting your way into a base. Not only is that not Indy’s world, but it’s also not his style. Rather, most of your fighting will be based on brawling and using the elements to your advantage. Besides, wouldn’t it be more fun to knock the big Nazi fighter into the blades of the plane instead of just shooting him down? Exactly. Your adventure will also be more physical with the universe. You’ll do plenty of climbing and shimmying around cave ledges and whatnot.

The Wii and DS versions have some noteworthy features built into their versions. Wii owners will take advantage of the motion sensing and use it to control the whip. That’s no surprise, but the DS really puts the microphone to use. You’ll be using it to blow out torches or even inflate rafts. Not too shabby. On all platforms, your whip will be an essential tool, as you will use it not only to fight, but to swing around, disarm enemies, and so on. The overall combat will remain faithful to the simplistic controls that made the Star Wars game so accessible.

But what about the ever-present secondary character? Star Wars was easy, as there were vast amounts of characters to put to use. Indy will put them to use in new ways, and the story will draw a lot from phobias. Since Indy absolutely hates snakes, you’ll use the second character to shoo them away. But Henry Jones, Sr. hates rats, so Indy will have to rid the area of those dirty little rodents. However, you’ll be able to use Henry to read certain phrases Indy can’t, and other characters will have similar features to advance your adventure.

There is a lot of time between now and when the game releases, and there’s even another game in the works, but fans will have one hell of an Indy year between this and the upcoming film (due out Memorial Day weekend). Pay attention to the GameHub for any new media on the game. LEGO Indiana Jones will be available for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Nintendo DS, Wii, and PC this summer.

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