Just because it’s easy as pie, it doesn’t mean that long-time gamers won’t be rewarded. Spattered across the levels are hundreds of secrets to unlock and discover, and many of these will often evade the eyes of those not seasoned with years of videogaming lore, who generally speaking will know exactly where to look, and exactly what to do. Admittedly experienced gamers will also be the first to spot the faults in the formula, an issue which became quite the annoyance early on in the game was the switch from cold, clean, metallic objects and surfaces in Star Wars to the more organic and photorealistic locales seen in Indy: precision platforming often becomes nightmarish at points, as it becomes difficult to determine a strong sense of depth perception and – even worse – sometimes areas which appear to look like usable ledges turn out to be purely aesthetic, leading to a few unnecessary deaths, with it the loss of some precious Lego pips. Moments like this can easily bring out the cynic in any gamer as it’s easy to assume that not including ‘lives’ to lose has given the developers an excuse to leave the game feeling unpolished and unbalanced; luckily however these moments of frustration are few and far between, and generally speaking forgivable. An unusual cause of frustration can also be caused because of some of the glitches and bugs within the game, particularly for players who aren’t familiar with the concept. Whilst none appear virulent enough to spoil the game, Lego Indiana Jones does appear rather rife with little bugs and glitches, in one instance I found my non-gaming housemate determined to explore the secret area she thought she’d found after the game had let her jump through the roof of a building temporarily. It’s not the end of the world admittedly, but for players still getting to grips with the ‘rules’ of what secret areas look like, glitches like this don’t half cause confusion.
The classic Indy switcheroo. Nostalgialicious.
In terms of the cheeky cinematic clips, somehow I found the game to be a little lacking in charm when compared to Lego Star Wars games. They’re not bad at all, and sometimes merit the odd chuckle, but somehow it fails to translate the feel of the original Indy humour in the way you might hope, which sometimes feels a little disappointing. Sometimes the puzzles within the game actually require players to use their knowledge of the events from the films themselves, which is frustrating at times, but also a little bit brilliant. There are plenty of minor annoyances and imperfections in Lego Indiana Jones, but before too long you’ll be having far too much fun collecting shiny things to really care about anything else. The lure of replaying levels in order to track down all the hidden treasures is fairly magnificent, and feels reminiscent of a time when collecting items in games was actually fun, rather than an arbitrary exercise seemingly put in place to flesh games out a bit.
Check it out, it’s the bit with the boulder.
Essentially that’s what Lego Indiana Jones really comes down to: Hunting down treasures and smashing up things to collect shiny bits really is entertaining enough on its own. It’s a total relic from the past in this respect; a game in which you’re expected to explore and collect stuff, before being rewarded for your efforts with more stuff to collect and more places to explore. With these classic gaming mechanics in place and any sense of difficulty removed, the Lego series is fast on its way towards creating a new hybrid of game which plays up to some of the expectations of long-term gamers whilst also pandering to the needs of more casual players. Retaining a classic gaming formula whilst removing the barriers which have kept so many away, Lego Indiana Jones celebrates the heritage of game design rather than reinventing it, and at the same time still manages to welcome in a new generation of gamers.
If you’re looking for a game to play with friends or young children who simply haven’t the patience for difficulty curves, Lego Indiana Jones won’t disappoint. It’s not a concoction that’ll suit everyone, but it’s such a simple and effective formula that for many it’s hard to resist.
