KMGR of "LEGO Indiana Jones"

Image by ....Tim via FlickrThe entire Indiana Jones trilogy was shrunken into one LEGO adventure! Is it any fun? Only if you're into this genre.

As those who have played LEGO adventure series on the mobile knows, the game is a pretty basic platformer, and this is no exception. You'll have Indy swinging from bullwhip or vines/ropes, jumping, climbing, wall-sliding, and more as he searches out treasures and artifacts before the bad guys can get to them. Plenty of enemies on the way too... snakes, Nazi soldiers, sword-swinging guards, and more.

Each of the movies comprises one "episode", each of which is comprised of many levels. All of the levels are timed, but most timers are quite generous, as least on easy mode. And death can occur in many ways. Jump wrong and you jump into a wall of spikes... or the platform can collapse from under you... or a deadly snake can bite you... and so on and so forth. Your weapon is the whip, of course, usable against almost anything, from snakes to human opponents. And it has a great reach as well.

Jumping, exploring, and finding your way out is the usual, such as finding switches to open door to other parts of the map, and so on. Hop from one side of wall to the other to "climb" up vertical ledges... The problem is, the tilesets look about the same across all three episodes, even though it's supposed to be South American (Mayan) vs. Egyptian vs. "Ancient". And the mechanics stayed the same.

You're also encouraged to collect every last treasure on the map, and some are hidden in barrels / flower boxes, and such. Use your whip to open them. Collecting all treasures on a level will net you a bonus.

The problem with LEGO Indiana Jones is the levels are quite short. At least the variety is entertaining... Every once in a while you get a "treasure hunt" level where you need to find 3 objects throughout the level within time limit and make your way back to the beginning. However, when all three "episodes" do the same, it's no longer fresh.

All in all, LEGO Indiana Jones doesn't really bring anything new to the table. You can find better platform games, or better Indiana Jones games. However, it IS kid-friendly, but would you let your kids play games on your phone? I think not.

Overall rating: 6.5 out of 10
Pros: Looks cute, simple controls, special "bonuses" at end you can buy with your points
Cons: Looks plain, doesn't really follow the plot of the movies, nothing new