Calling Doctor Jones...

Have you seen Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull yet? If not, we’d recommend it – it’s not the greatest in the series, and parts of it are utterly daft, but it’s still a whole lot of family fun. Despite not breaking new ground, it leaves a warm sense of satisfaction for old Indy lovers, and will doubtless create a brand new generation of fans for the fedora-wearing adventurer.

LEGO-film fusion

The same could be said of LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. Traveller’s Tales’ third LEGO-film fusion after the two Star Wars trilogies (both of which you’ll find in the combined Complete Saga) follows the prescribed formula, but adapts to suit the non sci-fi feel of the Spielberg films.

It’s still got that typical LEGO humour and will entertain players of all ages with tons of characters, inventive puzzles and fun platform gameplay, which is all great – though LEGO Indiana Jones does sadly lack a few of the features that made the Star Wars LEGO titles such a long-lived extravaganza of brick-built fun.

Fighting teamwork

But first, the good stuff. There’s lots of it, thankfully. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures’ eighteen levels are spread evenly across the three classic films, with a brief tutorial based around the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark giving way to the halls of Barnett College, which is used as a central hub. From here you can access whichever of the movies you wish, playing them in whatever order takes your fancy.

Whatever you choose, you’ll be in for a treat – and one that plays distinctly differently to LEGO Star Wars. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures focuses less on the individual abilities of the different characters (though the woman characters can jump higher than the men), and more on solving puzzles with items you’ll find dotted around the gameworld, such as finding a shovel to dig up a cog, which you then put in a set of gears.

Co-Op is key

Instead, LEGO Indiana Jones differentiates characters more by what they can’t do than what they can, with the new phobia system; so when Indy for instance sees snakes he’ll freeze, necessitating you to switch to the other character – or get a second player to do what’s needed, which despite some decent computer AI, is far more fun.

It’s worth noting that the characters from the Indiana Jones films aren’t half as memorable as those from Star Wars, however, so there’s less novelty value overall, but LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is still a great co-op game, and perhaps more thought-provoking with its puzzles than the past two LEGO titles.

Sadly, it’s not a great online game. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures lacks the networked co-op and competitive play of its older LEGO brothers, which is a big blow to its features set. Its own original unlockables, a LEGO City, Young Indy bonus level and race track designer, aren’t up to the same level of quality as the bonuses in Star Wars, while the fact that Indy’s characters aren’t as likeable, as mentioned above, makes unlocking all 60 of ‘em in LEGO Indiana Jones less rewarding than it was in the other LEGO games.

Family fun

If anything the LEGO games have been a bit of a victim of their own success – they’ve started at the very top with the perfect franchise in Star Wars, and as fun and irreverent as Indiana Jones is, it was always going to be hard for it to compete with George Lucas’ monster.

That said, taken on its own merits LEGO Indiana Jones is still a bundle of joy, guaranteed to get kids gaming, adults whip-slinging and entire families playing together. There’s even more novelty with the Wii version’s gesture controls, and despite not being visual standard-setters, the next-gen versions have a shiny, angular style that it’s hard not to like. All in all, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is the perfect accompaniment to the new Indy movie, and a great credit to the talented folks at Traveller’s Tales.

GAME's Verdict

• Full of typical LEGO humour, polished platforming and charming cutscenes.
• More inventive item-based puzzling than the LEGO SW games.
• One of the best same-screen co-op games going.

• No online play.
• Not as memorable for setting or characters as LEGO Star Wars.
• Unlockables not as inspired as the past two LEGO titles.

Review by: Mark 'Not Snakes!' Scott
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 06.06.08