 ome time ago, a crazy ‘ideas guy’ came up with the concept of taking some popular movie franchises and turning them into LEGO. He was probably laughed at and ridiculed for some time before they did some market research and realised that people would probably be stupid enough to pay money for that crap. A couple of Star Wars themed LEGO releases later (which actually weren’t crap – Ed) and we now find ourselves with LEGO Indiana Jones. The three original movies have been chopped up, melted down and reformed into little plastic blocks for our adventuring pleasure.
Starting at the hub world, Barnett College, you are able to choose which adventure you wish to play at your leisure. Levels are based on various settings from the films and as expected contain massive amounts of LEGO objects just waiting to be demolished. In each level there is a strong emphasis on solving puzzles by pulling levers, repairing equipment and building bits and pieces in order to open pathways to the next section. It’s all very creative, yet slightly repetitive once you realise that you can solve most puzzles by smashing up one object, rebuilding it into another and then shifting it to wherever the handy arrow is pointing.
All of your favorite Indy trilogy characters have returned, with some – such as Sallah and Marcus Brody – having a larger presence in the game than they did in the films. Extra characters (and their costume variations) are unlocked along the way, while others still can be purchased with the LEGO studs collected throughout each level. Most characters can use the many items lying around in the levels; shovels dig things up,
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wrenches fix broken machinery and so on, but some characters have special uses. Shorty, for example, has the ability to fit into small tunnels. These unique skills are required to complete each level 100%. Luckily, once you complete each level you can return in Free Play mode with whichever characters you have previously unlocked, making it easy to find all the secrets
and collectibles.
During play, the fixed camera will sometimes mess you around, causing you to unintentionally drive vehicles off of cliff edges or miss a vine you were precariously leaping towards, all because you weren’t lined up with it properly. Thankfully, level design is mostly straightforward and there are only a few occasions when the camera is a major problem. Graphically, the game looks very clean and sharp; LEGO blocks have never been
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the most complicated objects in the universe (except for that Technic junk), but they are faithfully reproduced in all their shiny, polygonal glory. The non-LEGO environments generally look more realistic, setting them apart from the plastic blocks, making it easy to differentiate between what’s smashable and what’s not.
LEGO Indy is a whole lot of fun, especially if you’re a fan of the films. A lot of the enjoyment comes from seeing recognisable elements all ‘LEGO-fied’ (Is that a word? It is now!). The cut-scenes are quite humorous, especially when the female characters try to act all sexy. Yep, sexy LEGO. The game certainly has its share of flaws but if you can get past them you’ll have an enjoyable experience.
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