Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Xbox 360)

Since Lego Star Wars was a smash hit, we can now expect every possible franchise to be Lego-ized, starting with this summer’s Lego Indiana Jones (and later on, Lego Batman). Expect Lego Desperate Housewives, Lego Requiem for a Dream, and Lego Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by 2010.

Anyway, this one’s the original trilogy of Indiana Jones films, the ones produced in the 20th century (sorry, no Lego Shia LaBeouf). And they really missed the mark here. The combat has been replaced with an emphasis on puzzle-solving and platforming, and here’s where the wheels come off. Platforming is very frustrating when you have a fixed camera, so your Lego people often go flying off into the abyss when you mean for them not to. The combat has also been messed up – it’s all melee, but since the characters are so small, you’ll often be punching thin air when you mean to be killing faux-Nazis instead.

The graphics are another sticking point. You’d expect a Lego game to be brightly-colored, but nearly every level is an overwhelmingly drab conglomeration of black, grey, brown, and green. It’s all earth tones here, and it is not pretty.

Good points? Well, the silly Lego humor is still there. They’ve mercifully cut out vehicle levels, for the most part. And no game with a Lego Kate Capshaw can be completely bad (I’m looking forward to Lego Space Camp).

I really am disappointed with this game. I’m hoping that Traveler’s Tales doesn’t continue to churn out formulaic, uninspired Lego games like this, and instead realize what made Lego Star Wars good (decent kid-friendly combat and fun co-op, not frustrating platforming!). But with another Lego game in the hopper, and Lego God only knows what next, I’m not too optimistic.

2 out of 5