Old School Gaming

Back in June, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (a video game) was released. Part of me really wanted it, because I'd heard such rave testimonials about LEGO Star Wars. As I posted before, I bought a copy of LEGO Star Wars II for my computer, and I really enjoyed it.

My brother-in-law bought me a copy of the Indiana Jones game for my birthday, but it was a Playstation 2 version - I did not own that console (or any gaming console) at the time.

Well, after some deliberating and some begging (I guess), Angela bought me a used Playstation 2 for a graduation present, and I've been playing Indiana Jones a little bit each day.

The Playstation 2 is not a current-generation console, as it was released in 2000 in its original form (I have the redesigned version). While not an 8-bit NES system, the Playstation 2 has been around long enough that it's the best-selling video game console ever in America (43 million units, though Nintendo's Wii is closing fast). It also has the largest library of games of any system. So I'm happy with the purchase, even if I don't play many games on it (A copy of Indy with a new Xbox 360 controller for my PC would have cost $60, the used PS2 was $70).

As for LEGO Indiana Jones, I must say it is awesome. Just like in LEGO Star Wars, the controls are easy to figure out, but you can do so many fun things. Indy swings across platforms with his whip, some characters use shovels to dig up needed pieces and artifacts, Willie (from ToD) can shatter glass with her screams, and Short Round can crawl through small openings. Much of this mirrors the Star Wars games, with obvious abilities changing (no Force in Indy).

Much of the tedium associated with Star Wars is gone as well. The bonus threshold for treasure collection is lowered so that you can acutally acheive "True Adventurer" on a level even if your character dies a couple of times (or more). Also, there are no vehicle-only levels in Indiana Jones, which were the ones that annoyed me most in Star Wars.

Many of the levels made me feel like I was right in the movie, most notably the first level of The Last Crusade. There were a couple of times that I got stuck, and turned to a walkthrough, but these only confirmed what I was trying to execute (after reading, I'd discover the one little thing I was forgetting, but wasn't actually in the walkthrough). The only truly frustrating boss fight was with Mola Ram, and the walkthrough I used actually made me more confused (it wasn't altogether accurate). The game was fun, quite challenging in parts (for me), and probably has just enough replay value to keep me busy over Christmas, but not waste countless weekends. I give it five antelopes.