Joystiq impressions: Lego Indiana Jones

Update: LucasArts contacted us with the game's final title. "The Original Adventures" makes sure leaves sequel potential. There is that fourth movie coming out. Plus Young Indy.

Da-da-da-dum... da-da-duuuuum... I'm coming off a screening of the Raiders shot-for-shot remake, so I'm ready to sing the Indy theme at the drop of a fedora. If you haven't heard of it, a few kids were so inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark that they decided to stage an elaborate remake. It's a scrappy do-it-yourself homage with a persevering group of nerds at its heart; the movie took between 1982 and 1989 to complete.

I also recently saw a demo of Lego Indiana Jones: The Videogame Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures on a 360, and it captures a little bit of this uberfan spirit. The cut-scenes and ways that developer Traveler's Tales re-imagines the Indy stories through non-speaking plastic toys amused me and shared some similarities with the kids standing in for adult actors. (The moment where Indy does the old sandbag-for-idol trick in the movie? Just as pensive in the game, he swaps the idol for a Lego cup.)

Of course the corporate powers behind these two franchises weigh on the game, too. You'll be able to get it for seven different platforms. That's PS3, Wii, 360, PS2, DS, PSP, and PC. (Collect them all!) But the spirited combination of Indy remade in Legos looks fun.

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The Star Wars Lego games gradually won me over -- I was initially cold to the Lego juxtaposition. Maybe Lego Indy benefits because I'm used to the combination. But what I saw of Lego Indy felt a little fresher than the Star Wars games. The humor looked sharp, and the gameplay had been favorably tuned.

Lego Indy is much more similar than different from Lego Star Wars. The three Indy movies are combined into one game. You'll progress through the literal story in the movies, with two characters working together. Many puzzles require teamwork, and like before, the game AI controls the other character if a friend can't help. And over 60 characters from the movies are playable in the 18 levels.

Lego Indy differs initially because of the whip. This critical tool works as a weapon, but also can be frequently used to swing across chasms. Some characters also carry multi-purpose items; a shovel can be a weapon, dig, or even paddle a boat.

Lego Indy also includes temporary-use weapons that can be picked up from the environment. Players can grab spears, chairs, bar bottles, and other objects to swing or toss. Most of these will break immediately or after a few uses.

Characters can swim in this game. When Indy came to a crocodile-infested river, he tried to take a dip, although that was a dangerous option. The Lego-body crocodiles looked great, however, rolling around in the water and almost smiling. They reminded me of a happy dog ready to chase a ball.

Vehicles also play a new role in the game. While the LucasArts publishers who demoed the game wouldn't go into some details -- you'll be able to ride the mine carts but they didn't explain or show the gameplay further -- I saw a few examples. In one scene when Indy was trying to reclaim the Ark, he strode across a truck convoy, fighting goons. The tank scene from Last Crusade is supposed to have similar gameplay.

In the other big difference from the Lego Star Wars games, Lego Indy uses the those building blocks sparingly. With all of the crisp angles and spaceships, Star Wars rendered nearly every object and background from Legos. But LucasArts said that the same didn't work as well for the organic Indy settings. Instead, many backgrounds show clear, but fairly neutral jungles, caves, and other objects. But a bridge might be made out of Legos. Or a vine might have a Lego style. I thought these little details worked to support the Lego characters versus sticking them in an all-organic world.

Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures will be out in early June for seven different platforms. Of particular note, the Wii controls will feature some sort of motion-based whip, and all versions -- including the DS -- are being developed by Traveler's Tales. Lego Indy isn't as inventive or obsessive as a fan-created shot-for-shot movie remake. (And the movie made by kids has more Nazis, not that I really cared.) But the wry combination of these unrelated franchises carries some of the same humor, letting players experience the Indy world with a new skin.