Review: Lego Indiana Jones

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The story
The story follows the plot of the original Indiana Jones trilogy pretty faithfully – in Lego, of course – so we join the archaeologist as he gallivants around the world in search of priceless treasures and adventure. This being Lego, the Nazi content has been toned down somewhat, and there's no face-melting when the Ark of the Covenant is prised open. However, this is more than made up for by bucket-loads of comedy, wit and charm that you can expect from the little plastic Danish guys.

The game
The game is split into eighteen levels, with each "film" made up of six stages. Throughout each stage, there are a number of different objectives. The first is to collect coins, which can be used to buy new characters and unlock extra features upon your return to Bartlett College. There are also artefacts and unlockable features hidden on every level to discover. Challenges require a combination of puzzle-solving, building, jumping, dodging and "teamwork" with your sidekick; this latter aspect of the game is one of it's most successful traits, and one which helps make it so playable.

The journey
Fantastically constructed, there are hours and hours of fun to be had from Lego Indy. You can play through all the levels in Story mode, essentially recreating the films, or play purely for fun in Free Play mode. Thanks to the vast number of unlockable extra features, characters and modes, playing levels over and over again is never a chore. Indeed, it's often essential: only certain characters can unlock vast sections of some levels, so playing them again with a different sidekick presents an entirely new challenge.

The controls
Controlling your characters is fairly straightforward, and you can choose between a combination of controller-flicking or plain-old button pushing to navigate the levels. Fortunately, the two options aren't mutually exclusive, which comes in handy when you need to swing across a ravine and can't for the life of you remember which button does what.

The graphics and music
The music is wonderful, but that's only to be expected as it's the soundtrack from the films. Atmospheric and subtle during the simpler sections of the levels; stirring and dramatic during the fight scenes; and who can resist that theme tune? The graphics are also impressive; the combination of realistic landscapes and things made out of Lego sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it's carried off beautifully.

The verdict
Awesome. There's days of gameplay to be enjoyed just by playing the story; free play levels and extras will keep you coming back. Occasionally dodgy AI control of your sidekick can make completing some challenges frustrating, but the rest of the game is strong enough to patch-over these minor faults. 9/10.

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