Lego Indiana Jones
SCORE: 63
LEGO Indiana Jones is the fourth LEGO inspired title to come from Traveler Tales, and the first one that is not based on the Star Wars property. However, the family fun that was in all previous LEGO titles swings back onto the screen with this latest Wii game.
If you are unfamiliar with the LEGO Star Wars games, you may find a pleasant surprise here in LEGO Indiana Jones. You take the role of Professor Jones, or one of his many assistants, as you play your way through each of the three original movies. (Sorry, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is not included in this game.) You face meanies who want to stop your heroic attempts to protect the treasures of history. But beyond actual fighting and gun play, a majority of the challenges are actually puzzles you must solve to escape an area or gain access to a device or whatnot.
It’s this fun puzzle play that has families and friends engaged more than the shooting and body slams. And for every level you complete, there are tons of unlockables that you can only go back and access with different characters. (You can pick which characters you play as when in free play mode.) However, due to the nature of the plot line from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, some of the unlockable characters are cult worshipers with elaborate headdresses. Part of the puzzles require you to play as a cult worshiper (called Thugees) and bow to an occasional metal statue. When you do this, a secret area is revealed.
The graphics are very kid friendly and even the guns look harmless. Nice bright colors and interesting level designs kept the visual interest high. When you kill an enemy, the LEGO character falls apart into the separate bricks and quickly disappears... leaving a plastic heart which you collect to gain a health bonus.
The sound was spot on. Very soft toy-like sounds with an occasional grunt or squeal from the characters when fighting each other or getting injured from nearby animals or danger spots.
Much like past LEGO titles, there is no dialog whatsoever. All the cut scenes involve video of characters acting out scenes from the movies in very overly dramatic fashion which clearly illustrates the plot.
The plot lines of two of the movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) actually deal with recovering Christian artifacts and protecting them from the evil Nazis. This alone reinforces the truth of historical religious stories for my boys and we have fun connecting the movies to the appearances of the items in the Bible.
LEGO Indiana Jones is a
great game for families or gamers looking for some innocent fun and
challenges without a lot of mindless shooting and fighting... although
there is some involved.
- Rich Garner
Graphics: 60%
Sound: 69%
Replay/Extras: 62%
Gameplay: 70%
Family Friendly Factor: 55%
System: Wii/Xbox 360/PS3/PS2/PC
Publisher: LucasArts
Rating: 'E10+' for Everyone 10+
{Cartoon Violence}
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