Everyone's favourite fedora-wearing, bullwhip-wielding archeologist is the latest character to get the Lego video game treatment in "Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures."
The game compares well with 2005's "Lego Star Wars." All the memorable moments and characters from the first three Indiana Jones movies are done up Lego-style.
"It's really fun and it's like the movies but it's all made out of Lego," says eight-year-old Matthew Stanisz. "It is actually sort of hard but some levels are easy."
"Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures," published by LucasArts and developed by England's Traveller's Tales, is broken into three maps each reflecting the plot of one of the original Indiana Jones movies - "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Temple of Doom," and "The Last Crusade."
There's no real talking - just mumbling, snickers and lots of body language - but the storylines are easy to follow and the characters are surprisingly emotive.
"Lego Indiana Jones" can be played solo, with two characters onscreen and the ability to swap between them, but the real fun is when two players tackle puzzles together.
You wander around various Jones-inspired landscapes done in Lego blocks and the game really nails camera angles. Puzzles in the action-adventure game are well thought out and resolved, using the elements to build, bust or pull various Lego creations.
"Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures" is available for the PSP, PlayStation 2 and 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii - all rated Everyone (10+), except for the Nintendo DS version which is rated Everyone (6+).
Some parents may be concerned with the fighting and gun play. You do bust up enemies - and frequently each other - into small Lego pieces and have access to Lego firearms.
But there is no gore and it's nothing that most kids haven't done by "blowing up" their own Lego creations.
"You walk around and you get to shoot people or whack them or punch them and you can build a lot of stuff and you figure out puzzles," says Matthew.
Death in the game happens often and is treated in the Lego way.
Your character simply busts up into the basic Lego pieces - you essentially fall apart. It's hilariously overdone and akin to a house of cards collapsing.
"My favourite part is when the giant ball made out of Lego is chasing you," Matthew says.
Emily Stanisz, 6, particularly liked it that different characters have different powers. She loved the fact that female characters can jump higher, which is a key to unlocking some puzzles.
"I didn't like the part with spikes," she warns. "It pops up and scares you."
There's no shortage of things to try: boat riding, rope climbing, plane repair, ledge leaping, to name a few. The environment is super-destructible - just about everything is built out of Lego and can be smashed, rebuilt or thrown about and it's fun to just wander around busting things up and digging for loot.
The game will likely keep your attention for a while - there's dozens of different characters that you can unlock and secret locations and treasure to discover.
Matthew thinks "Lego Indiana Jones" is better than "Lego Star Wars" because he says it has more things to do and is more challenging.
'Lego Batman: The Videogame' is due out later this year.
News from �The Canadian Press, 2008
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