Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

My son Loves this game as expected. we are on Summer vaca and he plays it non-stop some days. He's 5 and I'de recommend it for his age and up.

In some ways I feel bad about giving this a 3 star since it has lots to be said for it and in fact is a must get for an adult looking to play a co-op game with their child.

I won't talk much about the good things, because lots of other reviews cover those, instead I'll concentrate on the problems.

1. You can only save at the end of a "mission". I understand that in the 1980s there were memory limitations, but in the new millennium, there is no reason not to be allowed to save anywhere in the game. Especially since some of the missions are long, fatigue would set in for my child and sometimes we were running into her bed time.

2. There is no camera control. You have to take what the game gives you and sometimes it is tricky lining things up.

3. Parts are too hard. I know this sounds hard to believe about a game with unlimited lives, but you do get docked points every time you die (at least until later when you gain enough money and complete enough unlocks to buy "extras"). It's frustrating to build up a bunch of points and then see them all drained away because you come to a section where the enemy is throwing grenades every five seconds. Some of the jumps are difficult too, especially with the lack of camera control.

4. They don't really take much advantage of the Wii-motes. You do get to use the remote for whipping, which is good, and you can use it for digging, which is kind of lame, but for a game that involves so much hand to hand fighting, I'm really surprised they did not include the remote for fist fighting, it seems like a natural.

5. The battles are repetitive and do not call for much strategy. This is really more of a puzzle game. I had fun playing this with my daughter, but I think I would have gotten bored quickly playing it on my own.

6. There are some glitches that can prevent you from moving forward. Again, since you cannot save in the middle of a mission, that means replaying the whole mission over again.

Still, in the end, after a bit of a rough start, my daughter and I had a fun time playing this together. This was especially true once we were in free play and had bought the "extras" (some might call them cheats). So I would still recommend it as a good co-op for playing with your child. Yes, it is violent, but in that Lego parts flying way. In fact, one other small problem is that I would now like to show my daughter the actual movies, and she would like to see them, but they are too violent for her age.

I got this for my 7 yr. old grandson for his birthday. He was having a little difficultity with it but he is learning how to play. It's a fun learning experience for him.

Indiana Jones is a fantastic franchise, Harrison Ford is an incredible actor and plays his scenes brilliantly, the action is exciting and directing this franchise is possibly the best director ever Steven Spielberg, but alas I'm a wimp and I can't stand the slightest bit of blood so I've never watched any of those films. So I was very excited when I found out there was going to be a LEGO version of the Indiana Jones franchise. It follows Indy in his first three adventures, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and the Last Crusade. The game play design is very similar to LEGO Star Wars design, and the typical LEGO humor is still there. Also this is a family friendly game, the LEGO villains just break apart after their killed nothing gruesome. Now this is not just a fighting game, you also have to solve puzzles and that's what makes this game terrific. Now for younger children I'd recommend purchasing a guide it can get frustrating at times, or maybe the parents can step in and solve the puzzle the kids stuck on.

There are three things to collect in each level, there is a gold stud meter on the top of your screen which becomes fuller and fuller each time you smash LEGO objects and collect their studs. These coins help you unlock cheats. You also can collect ten hidden treasures in each level. Last of all, in each level you can also collect one parcel and place it in the hidden mail box to be able to buy cheats. And it's not easy; I can tell you that, sometimes you really have to try certain things. I love challenges and this game gives me that element that so many games don't have. There are two play modes, story mode, where you watch LEGO sequences and play with the two selected characters chosen for the episode, and free play, where you can play as whoever you want. But it's not a useless mode, in fact many treasures and parcels can only be found with numerous characters. There's an army soldier with a bazooka gun, he can help you blow up an item that's impossible to break with a pistol. Some women can scream to break glass, Indy's whip can pick up certain items. There over sixty characters to unlock in all! And they all have different abilities. So as you can see, there's great replay value here. Now when you finish a level, you can decide to continue to the next chapter or go to the college, and let me tell you the college is so much fun. There are numerous rooms to choose from, and there's also a room where you can create your own character. There's tons of looks to choose from and it's a lot of fun too.

Now you may think the controls will be difficult but they're not. They're very simple and if you still are confused there is a pamphlet included that features many of the moves you can do throughout the game. And just like LEGO Star Wars there's a two player mode, and it's so much fun. But, your characters have to be close by or the screen will just stay still so younger kids might get frustrated if they want to go seperate ways, I'm just warning you parents. Also, you can join in and drop out any time you want. Did I mention the graphics? They're very impressive for a PlayStation 2 game, there almost as good as the PlayStation 3 version.

After you get 100% LEGO studs start falling all over the college and it's a nice way to show you have completed the game, it's just so much fun so if you haven't purchased LEGO Indiana Jones the Original Adventures yet, I'd recommend purchasing it very soon.

(Oh by the way, there are three secret levels in the college, but I'm not going to tell you how to find them, you'll have to figure out how to unlock them yourself.)

Adios Amigos!

Running this game on a new laptop, Windows 7, 3 gb ram, Pentium dual-core T4200 2ghz.

With an xbox 360 controller, the game was frustrating, without it the game was impossible.

Clumsy camera (can only see the view/angle the game wants you to see which makes many MANY jumps impossible to judge because you can't move around to see where the rope or bridge or rock really is in relation to where your character is. Dumbest, most frustrating gaming flaw EVER.)

Gameplay is like being on rails. Can only go places and do things exactly the way the programmers want you to.

Amazon does not take trade-ins of PC games, and apparently nobody else does either, so once you buy a pc game, you're stuck with it. (did not know this going in)