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Digital review: ‘Lego Indiana Jones’
Even if you grew weary of the hype that accompanied the recent release of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” you’ll find it hard to resist the new LucasArts game “Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures.”
Like the previous video game series “Lego Star Wars,” LucasArts has taken the three original movies and packed it into an adorable, Lego-based package that is faithful to the feel of the source material, while slyly tweaking the movies with playful asides and jokes.
On the Xbox 360 version I played (the game is also available for every other major game console, including portable systems), the high-definition graphics were superbly rendered. The game’s bright colors pop and the Lego characters and bricks are set against beautiful backgrounds. Although the characters don’t speak, their grunts and mumbles convey a lot. Lego Harrison Ford, with his stubble drawn on with dots, is a joy to behold.
The only flaws that mar the experience are that the gameplay is lifted wholesale from “Lego Star Wars.” Instead of laser blasters, you’ve got whips and wrenches, but you’re still building Lego objects, collecting tiny Lego gears, looking for keys to door locks and taking out bad guys with punches (amusingly, they break into pieces when defeated). The cut-scenes, as cute as they are, can also wear a little bit. The game designers go out of their way to remind you that they designed “Lego Star Wars” (Luke Skywalker and C3PO, among others, make brief cameos) and the universes cross over so much that it the joke wears thin before you’re past the second level.
But there’s enough gameplay here to overlook those minor issues: Early in the game you can unlock all three movies and start playing through whichever one you like.
It’s not quite a must-own, but “Lego Indiana Jones” is charming enough for even the most casual of fans.
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