Anyone who has ever owned a video game system will easily remember the Lego Star Wars series and its success? Lego Star Wars was released about two years ago, and now we have the privilege to play another Lego game by Traveller’s Tales. If Indiana is as much fun as the Star Wars series it’s guaranteed not to disappoint. So let’s take a look at a new Lego adventure and see how it racks up.

LEGO Indiana Jones is exactly as it sounds. If you’ve seen any of the "Indie" movies you will know exactly what this game is about storyline wise. If you haven’t seen any of the movies I suggest going out and renting them, nonetheless you’ll still have a good time going through this game movie fan or not. The game is based upon two modes, single and multiplayer, both follow the same storyline. When in single player mode you play as one character at a time with the ability to warp to another player helping you. The great thing about this and any Lego game, you’re friend can jump in at anytime during the mission just by pressing the start button and assume the role as the other character in the level.

Let’s start taking a look at the game itself... After you complete the first adventure you find yourself at Barnett College and this is where all the after game excitement takes place. There is a lot to explore in the grounds of the college, but most importantly this is where you select your next mission from either of the three movies; The Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade. Each of these three adventures includes six missions which take enough time to complete that you should be busy for a while. Once each mission is completed you have the choice to go back and do free play. This is where you can select any players and go through an already completed level to get to those hard to reach places containing artifacts. Also found in the college is an Art Room, where you can create a custom character and have some fun; the library where you can unlock more free play characters (for a price of course); the mailroom where any “extras” during game play are found can be purchased and the classroom where you can input codes found during the game. Aside from that don’t be afraid to explore, there are many more secrets to be discovered.

As for the characters, each character has a special ability although most have the same abilities. One common ability is that all the characters can build. Building is when you create something useful to help you in your quest by holding the B button down. All characters can also fight, either with fists or weapons; they can carry items, climb ropes, excavate items, or fix broken mechanical devices. A neat addition to Lego Indie is the ability to pick up items such as spears, bottles or chairs and throw them at enemies like a weapon. Other abilities are only available to certain types of characters. For example Indie is the only character that has a whip. His whip is used for many puzzle solving problems, but can also be used to disarm enemies or break boxes. Also some characters have the ability to access small spaces, basically meaning the character is smaller that most. There are also academic characters who can decipher pictures on a wall that make no sense to open doors and passages. And if you’re ever stuck with no where to go try putting on a different hat and knocking on a special door, the enemies aren’t as smart as they look and will usually accept you with proper head gear.

There are many items found throughout the Lego maps. The most common are any items like tables, barrels, trees, anything really can be melee attacked and will reveal such things as coins, hearts or Lego blocks that can be built up. There are also silver objects which have a distinctive glow to them and can only be destroyed by shooting them with a rocket launcher and blowing them up with TNT. Another neat feature about Lego Indie is that some characters have phobias, for example, Indie won’t be able to perform any actions if he’s around snakes, but don’t worry find a torch a clear your path of these horrible creatures.

While you’re in a mission you’ll find yourself solving puzzles, driving vehicles, killing bad guys and bugs and collecting coins and artifacts. There are many puzzles that have to be solved with the help of the other characters in the level or your friend controlling them. It’s always fun to run through story mode and then go through the missions again in free play to try and collect all the coins, artifacts and anything you might have missed before.

As mentioned before, if you’ve played Star Wars Lego and know anything about the graphics and sound in that series you’re going to love everything about Lego Indie. Although the game incorporates cartoon style graphics and sound effects everything is done perfectly. From Indie cracking his whip to the Lego building everything in game is wonderful. Also the cut scenes are so well done from the movement of Indie and the other characters to the surroundings. Everything in the game is so visually pleasing. There’s nothing really to complain about graphic wise except for the occasional glitch which I’ve only seen once so far.

As for the sound it’s wonderful! Everything matches exactly what happens. The soundtrack offers suspenseful music when needed, action music and of course the traditional Indiana Jones theme which, makes you want to continue playing the game. The explosions, building Lego blocks and moving large objects may not sound like real life but they have a wonderful tone to them, and this keeps the game’s motif going exactly how it should be.

Lego Indiana Jones has met if not surpassed what Lego Start Wars achieved. The story is wonderful, the cut scenes are funny while still keeping to the story, and the gameplay makes you play nonstop. As mentioned, the graphics and sound are perfect with next to no flaws at all. The ability to play the story alone and switch between characters, or have a friend join in and drop out at anytime without stopping the story is what most arcade games are missing now. The controls are easy and switching characters seamlessly makes the gameplay fast paced and fun. There’s a perfect mix between puzzle solving, adventure and action that a fan of any game type will enjoy. There are fun unlockables and with free play mode you can go back and try to collect everything and complete the game 100%.

The only real complaint about this game is that the friendly AI if not being controlled by a friend can be frustrating at times and do some pretty interesting things. Also when you’re surrounded by several bad guys with guns death is almost inevitable, so make sure to collect those hearts non stop. Other than that this is an excellent addition to any library and a great tie over until Lego Batman is released in early September. Lego Indiana Jones is a lot of fun, lengthy and family friendly, so the $ 80 price tag is most certainly worth it. If you haven't tried Lego Star Wars or wasn't a big fan of the game, it's still worth it to give Lego Indie a rent and see where it goes.