Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, released for every major platform in June of 2008, is the follow-up to last year’s Lego Star Wars. While the setting has obviously changed, many of Lego Star Wars’ mechanics – as well as its overall flow – can be seen in Lego Indiana Jones.

Early in the game players are given the choice to play through the chapters of any of the three original Indiana Jones films. Each is split into six distinct chunks, most of which concentrate on memorable action scenes from the films. Players are free to play through the three films in any order they want and can switch between them between chapters by returning to Barnett College (the school Indiana Jones teaches at in the films), which acts as the game’s central hub.

Lego Indiana Jones is a 3D action game, and it has its players exploring each chapter of the game, solving puzzles and fighting various enemies throughout. A unique aspect of the game is that Indiana Jones is almost always accompanied by a sidekick character, which might be any character from the Indiana Jones universe. There are over eighty of these characters in the game, and each of them has a unique ability that the player will use to solve puzzles or traverse certain levels. Eventually players are able to choose any of these characters to use in any of the game’s levels, and players will need to use this option extensively to uncover all of the game’s secrets.

Lego Indiana Jones’ biggest strength is in problem solving. As the game is meant to be kept accessible to younger players, most of the game’s problems are relatively simple, and for the most part they remain logical and intuitive. These challenges range from doing something simple like setting weights onto switches to using Indiana Jones’ sidekick to interact with the environment in a more unique way. In simplest terms, Lego Indiana Jones is kept simple enough to allow children to progress through it while maintaining a certain level of satisfying depth throughout.

Lego Indiana Jones features a small number of classroom facts. Most of the locations in the game share names with real-world locations, and the during loading a screen comes up displaying a map of Earth as a red line representing Indiana Jones’ location travels across it.

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Players eventually unlock the ability to choose any of the over eighty characters in the game, and can also eventually customize these characters to their own liking. While the latter is not necessary to reach any of the game’s content, it does allow players to use a little creativity.

During actual play, the options are slimmer. Players are given a little freedom when it comes to combat, but the system is so simple that there’s really not a lot the player can do with it. Players do have some room to explore each level, but most often the optional sections require players to come back with a specific sidekick to gain access.

Lego Indiana Jones, like Lego Star Wars before it, tackles the interesting task of combining two major pop culture icons – in this case, Lego and Indiana Jones – into an accessible videogame. It does a pretty good job; most all of the memorable scenes from each Indiana Jones film are represented here in enjoyable, bite-size videogame chunks. The whole package is geared more towards younger players, and while there is a surprising amount of depth, there still won’t be enough to keep more hardcore players satisfied. The Lego versions of the various Indiana Jones scenes amuse for the most part, and more graphic events in the films are made more comical by being altered to fit into the Lego theme. In fact, much of the game is made to fit into the Lego style; players will often find piles of Lego bricks that must be assembled into rafts, platforms or other useful items.

Players collect money during play in various ways, and between levels can use it to unlock more sidekicks, many of which will help access new areas.

Lego Indiana Jones can be played by two people cooperatively; the second player will control one of Indiana Jones’ sidekicks. For the most part, a human player will behave much more helpfully than a computer-controlled one, meaning playing with a friend will allow the player to progress much more quickly. It’s also a great way for adults to play with kids, and the ease of begin able to join or leave at any time means experienced players can help through tough sections without committing to hours of play.

Most of the problems presented in Lego Indiana Jones are simple, intuitive puzzles, often revolving around a specific sidekick character or using items found in certain levels. Players might need to hang onto a shovel to dig up an item buried later in a level, or they may have a sidekick with them that keeps a shovel at all times, effectively bypassing the puzzle. Characters have a wide range of abilities; players will learn to recognize the problems they’re faced with and then choose the characters or items that are necessary to solve the problem.

Combat is another element of the game, but it mostly boils down to simply pressing a button to punch enemy characters or use a weapon that Indiana Jones or another character is currently carrying.

Lego Indiana Jones is not a simulation game except it simulates the Indiana Jones’ movies.

Lego Indiana Jones has sold moderately well since its release, and has received somewhat mixed reviews since critics. While many have applauded the successful transition from Star Wars to Indiana Jones, others criticized for being so structurally similar to Lego Star Wars while being an overall less enjoyable experience.

Lego Indiana Jones features a difficulty level that automatically adjusts itself and the game is played. This can be toggled from an in-game menu.

While Lego Indiana Jones is available on most major platforms, this rating is based on the Xbox 360 version of the game, from which the DS version is considerably different.

Lego Indiana Jones received an E10+ from the ESRB, with a descriptor for Cartoon Violence.