Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Review

Costas Stephanides’s Review

Is that Richard O'Brien in disguise?

This is Indiana's first outing on mobile but he's already had his copycats. Henry The Archaelogist and Amy's Adventure spring straight to mind and toether blend the humour and action that is inherent within the first three films. Now it's time for Indy to shows these guys how it is done with a bit of help from THQ and his new sidekick Mutt Williams.

The game has two main playing modes where you can play as either Indy or Mutt. The story mode sees you hunting the Crystal Skull and as Indy you must make your way across the platform levels with nothing more than your whip, a few strategic anchor points and some immense upper body strength. The animation and graphics are very good but there is a lack of fluidity in the Indy levels and it has a very stop-start feel. It's a cunning ploy by THQ that doesn't over demand the processing power of the humble phone. The levels are short but tactical. The high difficulty is balanced by the infinite lives and regular check points. There are 4 main chapters where you have to swing and jump around the levels while whipping the enemy into shape. To complete the chapter, you have to get hold of 4 keys which are hidden in various rooms throughout the chapter. You need to get Indy to these rooms and then let the young Mutt take over.

The levels starring Mutt are intended to be more of a free running/parkour experience. The screen is constantly moving horizontally and you have to pick your moves quickly and with good precision. The controls are a little more complicated here and you can chain moves together to get some extra height on your jumps. Meander your way through to the end of the level, pick up the key and leg it back again to give to Indy as you continue on your quest for the crystal (it all sounds remarkably similar to The Crystal Maze).

Four chapters each with 4 keys means that there are 16 of these parkour levels. Once the story has been completed, the parkour levels are available in arcade mode. This mode adds collectible coins and some Indy trivia is unlocked if you collect all the coins in a level.

There is just enough in the game to make it credible and it is one of the better movie games we've played of late. However, the standard for this genre is so low that it doesn't take much to impress these days. It would have been an excellent game if the flow was better and there was a little more variety to the slow Indy levels.