<![CDATA[Kotaku: lego indiana jones]]> http://tags.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: lego indiana jones]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/legoindianajones http://kotaku.com/tag/legoindianajones <![CDATA[Lego Indy Trailer Discreetly Avoids Dr. Jones' Creepy Past]]> Here's the Nepal bar shootout scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, for Lego Indiana Jones 2. I guess the Lego-talk gibberish can't get across the sequence's subtle implication that Dr. Jones was boinking Marion when she 16.

Then again, it's rated E10+, so maybe we should just let Marion's fist do all the talking. Snark aside, LucasArts' use of the game's cinematics and the film's footage makes for a very, very charming trailer here.

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<![CDATA[The Next LEGO Games Are Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Maybe Hobbit As Well]]> Whoops! According to the curriculum vitae of an animator currently employed at LEGO developers Traveller's Tales, the team is currently working on two games. One a Harry Potter title, the other a second Indiana Jones.

LEGO Harry Potter, eh? Pardon us if we're less than surprised. Still, surprise isn't the point. The point is, it's LEGO, it's Harry Potter, it will, in all likelihood, conjure money.

The Indiana Jones game, meanwhile, sounds like one giant, crushing disappointment. The right thing to do would be to take the rich "universe" of Indiana Jones and pit him against some kind of nefarious Nazi scientist and/or plot. Maybe a LEGO Fate of Atlantis. But no.

We're getting LEGO Indiana Jones: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

So, so sad. Anyway, let's move on. Onwards and upwards, as the resume leaks a third possible LEGO project: a demo pitch (remember, it's not a done deal, just a pitch!) put together by Traveller's Tales for the upcoming Hobbit films, the first of which is due in 2012. LEGO Lord of the Rings? With that many characters and that much combat, it could - like Star Wars did - actually work.

Charlotte Parker [CV, via GamesIndustry.biz]

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<![CDATA[New Lego Batman Character Announced, Batgirl!]]>
It's an exciting day for everyone in Lego Gotham City. A new hero err heroine has been announced, Batgirl! She will be joining forces with Lego Batman's great cast of characters. Batgirl will also be able to sport Batman's gadgets such as the Glide Suit and Sonic Suit. Expect the game out in September.

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<![CDATA[Zero Punctuation on Lego Indy, With Bonus!]]>
Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, it's pretty fun, try it out. This pretty much sums up Yahtzee's latest Zero Punctuation, in which he takes on Lego Indiana Jones, a game far too cute and nostalgia-packed to really trash. Don't let the quick summary keep you from watching, however, as not only are there some truly laugh-out-loud moments in the main review, the bonus review afterwards is just dead on.

How do you guys like the new music? ZP was getting a bit too big to continue using commercial music without drawing attention, so now it opens and closes with generic heavy metal. Call it his Guilty Gear period.

Zero Punctuation: LEGO Indy [The Escapist]

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<![CDATA[Lego Indiana Jones Demo On Xbox Live]]> Despite my excitement over the whole melding Lego with Indiana Jones business, I've somehow managed to hold off picking up Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. I've had the game in my hands several times for several systems, but for some reason I've always balked before getting to the register. Not even Crecente's review could help me decide. Now I get a chance to find out if I was right or wrong to hold off as a demo for the game hits Xbox Live. Presumably the same demo that was released for the PC in early May, the Xbox version weighs in at 619MB, so be sure to measure that sack of sand correctly before swapping it out.

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<![CDATA[Frankenreview, Lego Indiana Jones (Xbox 360)]]> Who knew that combining little plastic blocks with blockbuster movie trilogies could prove so charming? LucasArts and Traveller's Tales captured lighting in a bottle with the Lego Star Wars series of games, with the lighthearted take on some of the most icon characters and stories in science fiction history capturing the hearts of fans both young and old alike. So charmed were both gamers and the gaming press that they almost - almost forgave Lucas for Jar Jar.

Now the two companies have teamed up again to give the classic Indiana Jones trilogy the tiny toy treatment in the hopes of recapturing the magic and wonder of the first two outings. Have they unearthed yet another treasure, or are they up to their waist in a pit full of snakes? Throw me the whip, and I'll throw you the review roundup.

G4 X-Play
The LEGO games have never been lookers, per se, but they’ve always had solid graphics and, most importantly, a great style accenting the notion of an evilly possessed LEGO play set. Original Adventures definitely continues the trend, delivering the same sort of clean and goofy looking graphics seen in the Star Wars games. Each character’s simple animations deliver a ton of personality, and while the environments are a bit flat, they set the scene well.

GameSpot
Though the puzzle aspects alone are enough to make Lego Indy worthwhile, the humor makes it enjoyable even for people just watching the action. The silent cutscenes take you through the journey in a much sillier manner than Steven Spielberg originally envisioned. No, you won't see the Lost Ark melt some unfortunate Lego person's face, but you will see Indy's father fall asleep (because he's old!) and even the Harrison Ford look-alike donning a blonde wig to deceive a foolish guard.

Eurogamer
Where the game unfortunately suffers is in what's been taken out. It's not entirely fair to compare Indy to the feast of content that was LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga since that was a compilation of sorts, but even compared to the single Star Wars editions this feels disappointingly light on the features that matter once the story mode has been exhausted.

TeamXbox
Lego Indy doesn’t vary much in scope and content from the previous titles that the pair (LucasArts and Traveller's Tales) have worked on, but it’s still a fun game to play and a smart take on the game-from-a-movie process, which more times than not turns out to be lacking in the “game” portion. Most of all, it makes me wonder what they’ll team up on next.

Perhaps they didn't capture all of the magic of the Lego Star Wars series, but a great deal of it made it into Lego Indy.

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<![CDATA[The History of Indiana Jones Video Games]]> So, if seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull left you a little disappointed, and you're twiddling your thumbs until Friday's Tuesday's release of Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, fire up your emulators, British Gaming Blog has a chronology of every video game tied to the high-adventure series.

The list details the 10 and upcoming 11th (Lego Indiana Jones on June 6) and 12th (a TBA action title later) games featuring Dr. Jones. Ahhhhh but they left one out!!! Neener-neener this is why I posted it, to make myself look smart! Midscape released "Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom" for Commodore 64 in 1984 — and it deliberately did not include an instruction manual. "No one told Indiana Jones the rules. And no one will tell you."

It was a puzzle game, and definitely not rendered with the kind of appeal the Lego games have. Death consisted largely of being hit by a bird or falling from a great height, then running off the screen in a panic as a funeral dirge played. It was hard and stupid. But because it was Indiana Jones, I felt compelled to play it.

That hooks back into my feeling about Crystal Skull. I was gonna see it no matter how badly it was reviewed, and pretty much everyone except Roger Ebert put a butt-hurting on it. I felt very much like I did during the Star Wars Prequels. After coming out of Attack of the Clones, I told a friend: "George Lucas has created a new moviegoing experience. The Joyless Obligation." And now it's infiltrated the Indiana Jones franchise.

Hey, we're not the only ones. Sex and the City fans probably know what I'm talking about after this weekend, too.

Indiana Jones and the History of his Video Games [British Gaming Blog]

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<![CDATA[Indiana Jones and the Giant Lego Boulder]]> Reader cashius22 spotted this and I can't resist. It's Lego, and it's Indiana Jones and therefore, it is on-topic.

And it's quite possible that this is viral marketing for the upcoming title (out in June), if not the movie (this week). They roll this sucker in San Francisco, and LucasArts is around the block in the Presidio. Five million Legos is not something you buy or assemble that quick — if it is a solid 5 mil Legos. I don't really see them flaking off as it tumbles, so it may be a bunch of big pieces- parts made by Lego and assembled by this team. Also, it's S.F. in the middle of the day, no moving cars in the shot, very few parked, so they probably got a filming permit. And the big flatbed truck too ... good bet this is marketing.

But it's clever, and I admire any creative impulse that gets you to roll a Lego boulder down a big hill into a parked van. Plus it has a guy dressed as Sallah, and fezzes are awesome. But if this was Boston, they'd all be arrested for terrorism.

LEGO Boulder [YouTube, thanks cashius22]

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<![CDATA[Lego Indiana Jones PC Demo Released]]> PC gamers eager to get an early taste of Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures now have their chance! LucasArts has released the playable demo for the title, which spans Indy's first three movie adventures and features what seems like more characters than actually appeared in all three films combined. The demo is now available on the Games For Windows website, weighing in at a modest 464 megs, which means that at my current crappy internet speeds I shall be able to tell you how it is sometime next week. Switching to cable was such a brilliant idea.

Lego Indiana Jones Demo {Games For Windows]

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<![CDATA[Sexy New LEGO Indiana Jones Gameplay]]> I can't friggin wait for this game to come out. Seriously. Tristan and I have actually been watching through the trilogy to prepare for the game, not the movie. LEGO Star Wars is one of the only games that the two of us played through all the way (three times, including once on the DS). I sure hope they don't tinker with the formula... and they add more multiplayer options.

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<![CDATA[Lego Indiana Jones Site Unearthed]]> LucasArts has gone all out for the official website of Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. The flash heavy site is chock full of news, game info, screenshots, concept art, and even a nifty trailer for your enjoyment. The site also contains a nifty little treasure hunt, where you can click on treasures hidden throughout the pages for points to use in the downloads section towards stickers, wallpapers, coloring pages, avatars, and eventually ringtones...though I must admit that I already have the theme saved to my phone. PC Gamers might also want to take note of the Games For Windows hosted demo for the game, due out May 13th. Follow the link below to check out the Indy gaming scene.

Lego Indiana Jones Website [LucasArts.com]

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<![CDATA[Hold Onto Your Potatoes, Lego Indy Has 60 Playable Characters]]> A new fact sheet for the upcoming Lego Indiana Jones has been released today. Anything of note? Let's see here..."Tongue-in-cheek humor presents The Original Adventures in a manner only LEGO can whip up"....no. "Explore the globe and solve puzzles that encourage creative thinking through the use of teamwork and unique building situations only possible in a LEGO world". No, no no. "Cooperative gameplay encourages parents to share the legacy of Indiana Jones with their children in a fun and humorous way". Boring. AH. Here we are! "Unlock more than 60 playable characters, including villains and supporting characters (Marion Ravenwood, Short Round, Rene Belloq, Willie Scott, Marcus Brody, Jones Senior and Mola Ram)". Sixty characters, eh? Not super-surprising, since the Star Wars games had a big playable cast as well, but then Short Round was never in Star Wars, either, so this is much more exciting.
Lego Indiana Jones: more than 60 playable characters [VG247]

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<![CDATA[Indiana Jones And The Screenshots Of Lego]]> Back in 1981 when my mother took me to see the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, I sat rapt for nearly two hours - no small feat for a hyperactive 8 year old - entranced by the action, tickled by the wit, and just completely absorbed by the story. The reason I bring that up now is that these screens from Lego Indiana Jones look like the original movie as seen through the eyes of a hyperactive 8 year old. Just a thought that struck me. Game is looking pretty good, isn't it?

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<![CDATA[No Nazis For Lego Indiana Jones]]> The upcoming Lego Indiana Jones will, of course, feature cute, adorable little Indiana Jones. And - fingers crossed - a cute, adorable little Sallah, with a clicky little red fez. What won't be featured in the game are Nazis. While the characters themselves will still feature (yes, Toht is still in it, and yes, he's still going to melt), all references to Nazism have been scrubbed, Traveller's Tales telling Edge:

Lego [have] already replaced them with an anonymous genocidal, occultist, trenchcoat-wearing master-race.
On the one hand, understandable. Lego's for kids. But on the other...how many five year-olds know who the fuck Indiana Jones is? Surely the target demographic for this game is the 20+ market.
Lego Indy: First concrete details [Edge, via CVG]]]>
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<![CDATA[The Top Five LEGO Video Games]]> 50 years ago today the Lego brick as we know it was born, allowing generation after generation of parents to stand in the toy aisle at their favorite retail establishment exclaiming, "How the hell do these cost so much? They're just Legos for chrissakes!" Seriously, I'd be ass-deep in Star Wars Lego crap if the price point weren't so insane. Still, 50 years of Lego history has given us countless Lego video games (if you can't count to 33), so I figured I would take a moment to check out the top five Lego video games of all time, in honor of this special day.

5. Lego Digital Designer

Not so much a game as it was the updating of Lego to the digital age, allowing you to use your Mac or PC online to create your own Lego design and then order the blocks online, bringing your virtual creation to life. For those of us who can't afford the millions of Lego bricks it would take to build their own Lego home, this is as good as it gets.

4. Lego Racers (PC)

Number four would have to be sublime mixture of racing and building that was Lego Racers. While some reviewers thought it rather average, for me it was a lovely combination of two of my favorite pastimes, allowing me to build my own car and driver and then run them through a rather impressive series of tracks. Simple, sure, but I was pretty simple back in 1999 too.

3. Lego Chess (PC)

Oh sure, it's pretty much just Battlechess with Legos, but I'm a big fan of any game that mixes my deep love of strategic thinking with the torturing of tiny Lego beings.

2. Lego Island (PC)

The closest you're ever likely to get to my dream game, Grand Theft Lego, Lego Island was an open-ended PC game that allowed you to customize an entire island to your liking and explore using any number of vehicles you found or created to explore what your inventive mind had wrought. While it didn't let you stab prostitutes, you could always imagine it...Lego is all about using your imagination.

1. Lego Star Wars: The Video Game

You knew this was coming, didn't you? I wouldn't be the geek I am today if not for both Lego and Star Wars, so the combination of the two is almost like merging my parents together into one amazing, half-dead parental unit, which while creepy really is the essence of the Lego brand. Putting things together using your imagination. I choose the first game because it was the success of it that led not only to the sequel and repack, but Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, and - if I had my way - Grand Theft Lego.

A short list you might not all agree with, but that's the beauty of lists now, isn't it? Honestly the franchise has had a rather rocky start in the video games industry, but with Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, and the upcoming MMO Lego Universe on the way, things are looking brighter every day for those little clickable building blocks. Happy 50th, Lego!

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<![CDATA[Indy Pops Up in LEGO Star Wars]]> I'm just as excited about LEGO Indiana Jones as the next guy (the next guy being my son), so it's nice to know we can play with the good doctor in the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Now, when can we play with Jones in his own game?

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<![CDATA[Force Unleashed, LEGO Indiana Jones at E3?]]> indieLEGO.jpg A tipster sends word on some Lucas Arts announcements they say will be hitting during E3. First, the tipster says that a trailer for Force Unleashed will be released on Thursday about halfway through E3. The trailer will also be showing up on Entertainment Tonight, the tipster goes on to say.

There will also be a LEGO Indiana Jones game announced during the show and finally, Fracture, Lucas Arts earth warping video game, will get a July 2008 release date. The game, the tipster says, will take place in the middle of a second civil war, West Coast mutants against the East Coast cybers. The game will feature maps based in San Francisco (where global warming has dried up the bay), a desert in middle America, and Washington D.C. The gameplay will have defined mission objectives, and not sandbox play. The terrain deformation will affect buildings, which will be powered by the Havok physics engine.

Keep in mind these are only rumors. I'd say they sound likely, because of the rumblings of a new Star Wars game and the upcoming Indie film, but I'm still 50/50 on them.

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