The Expansive (and Often Bizarre) History of Indiana Jones Games Part Three

Stop! Before you read this, you should know that this is part three of “The Expansive (and Often Bizarre) History of Indiana Jones Games”. You may want to check out part one and part two before you tackle this entry.

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (2008)

PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, Mac, DS and PSP

After the roaring success of the LEGO Star Wars games, Traveller’s Tales set their sights on George Lucas’ next most beloved Harrison Ford franchise, Indiana Jones. Even in this early stage of the Lego videogame franchise, it was clear that the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality was in full force. If you’ve played any LEGO game released in the last 15 or so years, you know what to expect here. There are things to collect, puzzles to solve and button-mashy combat sequences to partake in, all while running through the events of the first (only?) three Indiana Jones films in an appropriately goofy and dialogue-free style.

While the LEGO games have grown more complex in recent years, this is about as simple as they ever came.

Indiana Jones (2008)

DIDJ

Did you ever wish Indy could have been your professor? Do you feel like your education would have progressed at a much faster pace if a Harrison Ford-shaped figure had been standing at the front of your classroom the entire time? Indiana Jones, the educational title for the DIDJ, might just be the game you’re looking for! That is, if you’re around eight years old or need some serious help with adding, subtracting or multiplying.

Yeah, Indiana Jones for the DIDJ is an educational game aimed at young children. Based on the fourth film in the franchise, the game sought to introduce a sense of fun and adventure to education. It didn’t; it only ended up making Indiana Jones worse, which is no small feat considering that this game released just after Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Just like with the aforementioned mobile game, however, it’s hard to be too critical of this game. It’s an educational tool for children: there are worse things out there that deserve the full weight of our collective anger.

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (2009)

PlayStation 2, Wii, PSP, DS

We’re not at the end of our Indiana Jones game journey just yet, but this is the last stop for traditional 3D action adventure games set in the Indy universe. Staff of Kings features Jones once again fighting Nazis, this time on the trail of the biblical Staff of Moses.

First impressions can often be deceiving, but it seems like mine were spot on in this instance. For a 2009 game, it seemed absolutely unremarkable to me, and by the looks of things, reviews of the game tended to agree. Maybe it’s the after-effects of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, or maybe we were all burnt out on 3D action adventures. All I know is that with this game, it became clear that the world had lost its appetite for Tomb Raider-esque Indiana Jones games.

Indiana Jones and the Lost Puzzles (2009)

Mobile

I’ll be quick here. This is officially my least favourite game bearing the Indiana Jones licence. Why? Well because it isn’t an Indiana Jones game; it’s a sliding tile puzzle game.

Look, I like puzzle games. I’ll happily regard Bubble Bobble as a classic, I’ve owned Tetris on almost every platform in my possession and Picross has an eternal stake in a sizable chunk of my soul. Tile puzzles, though? Tile puzzles can go and take a long walk off a short pier. Even aside from the fact that Indiana Jones and the Lost Puzzles has no connection to the franchise outside of its name and its use of font, it needs to be sent into the fiery pits of hell for being a damn sliding tile puzzle game.

Okay. Rant over.

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (2009)

PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS and PSP

You know that Indiana Jones film everyone hated? The one with Shia LaBeouf and the nuclear blast-proof fridge? Would you like to play a LEGO game based off that film which is three times longer than any LEGO game adaptation before it? No? Well steer well clear of LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues. While every LEGO game which came before it felt secure in the format of five levels per film, this one decided to buck the trend and devote 15 levels to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Granted, the studio couldn’t have known that the film would go on to become so reviled while it was developing the game, but it just feels absurd that films like The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark were pared down to a mere five levels while Kingdom of the Crystal Skull—of all films—was given a luxurious 15 to get its story across.

In terms of gameplay, I refer back to the earlier LEGO game on this list. It’s more or less the same thing with the addition of a level editor. There’s nothing wrong with the gameplay itself. It’s just… 15 levels for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull! 15!

Indiana Jones Adventure World (2011-2013)

PC Browser Game

And here we come to the sad, sad ending of our Indiana Jones gaming adventure. Not with a colossal failure or a glorious masterpiece, but with an insignificant browser game from Zynga which wasn’t even originally created as an Indiana Jones game. Originally titled Adventure World, the game partnered with LucasArts in 2011, rebranding it as Indiana Jones Adventure World in the process.

It was an isometric adventure game with the same cutesy art style of games like Farmville. Also like Farmville, it required players to earn various in-game currencies by pestering people on their Facebook friends list, paying real money or just waiting for an agonisingly long time. The gameplay loop saw players embarking on missions, earning rewards and spending those rewards on upgrades for their base camp. If the sliding tile puzzle was my least favourite Indiana Jones game, this one comes in at a close second. It epitomises that dreadful style of Facebook social game, brimming with microtransactions, energy systems and social engagement features which are bound to make your entire friends list reconsider their association with you.

Summing Up

And with that, we come to the end of our long trek through the backlog of Indiana Jones videogames. There were some high points, and oh boy there were some low points. Now the only thing to discuss is where MachineGames’ contribution will fall on the spectrum? What do you think? It can’t be any worse than Indiana Jones and the Lost Puzzles, can it?