LEGO Indiana Jones: The Video Game

In 2005, straight out of the ‘so crazy it might just work’ file, came Lego Star Wars: The Video Game. From an industry rife with bad games based on movies and toys, it was the exception. Lego Star Wars was fun and funny. It was a multiplayer, family friendly game full of familiar scenes and settings, but also packed with a ton of unlockable content and playability.

This time, game developer Traveler’s Tales, the same team that bought us the original game and the equally good sequel Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, have turned their attention towards the 1980s Indiana Jones movies. Beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark, then Temple of Doom and finally The Last Crusade, the Indiana Jones films, created by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, dominated the decade with their old fashioned (in a good way) sense of fun and adventure.

Lego Indiana Jones: The Video Game, slated for a 2008 release, will hope to hit the same successful notes as the original movies, as well as maintaining the successful formula of the Star Wars games. We can expect a faithful recreation of all the classic scenes, beginning with Indy’s escape from a booby trap-filled cave, all wrapped in irreverent humour. If there is one thing we can be sure of it is that gameplay will take center stage. One of the best things about the Lego games was how smoothly all the parts fitted together. Fighting, puzzles, platforms and switching between characters were essential to the gameplay, but all of these elements were easily learned and nicely integrated.

However, the latest Lego release will see some unavoidable differences. This time the focus will be on one central character. Unlike the Star Wars games there is not an entire universe filled with dozens of characters to pick and choose from. So it will be interesting to see how skills and attributes are developed throughout the game. But Lego games give those who remember the films a fresh new take on some of their favourite cinematic memories, as well as introducing new fans to the classic stories. If Lego Indiana Jones manages this then late 2008 will be a fun time for the whole family.