Traveller's Tales

I’ve always thought that George Lucas’s archeology professor turned whip-smackin’ adventurer would be an excellent videogame hero. Unfortunately, most makers of movie-based games that I’ve played assume that I want to “relive” the movie in the most literal way. Running from one cut-scene to another—all of which I’ve seen already in the theater—doesn’t appeal to me, especially when all I’m doing is hacking monsters up and pushing boxes. What I want is to play Indiana Jones the man, not Indiana Jones the franchise.  Thankfully, Lego Indiana Jones The Original Adventures lets me do just that.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Cartoon Violence

Game Description: LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures takes the fun and creative construction of LEGO and combines it with the wits, daring and non-stop action from the original cinematic adventures that enthralled audiences everywhere (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). With a unique tongue-in-cheek take on the original adventures, LEGO Indiana Jones follows Dr. Jones escapades through the jungles of South America to the mountaintops of India. Fans can build, battle and brawl their way through their favorite cinematic moments, from Indy’s entanglements with snakes to his dashing boulder run.

What's happened to Traveler's Tales? Coming out of the relative obscurity of developing licensed games and children's entertainments, they produced Lego Star Wars, pulling off the dual miracle of making the best Star Wars and Lego game ever, all at the same time. So my hopes were pretty high when I found out that they were responsible for Bionicle Heroes. After all, it was Travelers' Tales back with Lego, what could possibly go wrong? Everything, it turns out.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Fantasy Violence

Game Description: Bionicle Heroes brings the characters and world of LEGO's Bionicle universe to life. This brand-new action/adventure title for kids allows players to control the entire of Bionicle figures, from the heroic Toa Inika to the villainous Piraka. Battle and explore your way through the jungles, volcanoes, and deserts of the mysterious island of Voya Nui in this epic quest. In order to survive, players will need to master the powerful weapons and elemental powers of each Bionicle character. Solve the challenges and puzzles of this uniquely interactive LEGO universe, spanning over 25 different levels and 6 elemental zones. Unlock special playable characters, such as the Piraka Experience the simple controls and accessible gameplay design created just for kids and families.

Game Description: Control the outcome in the battle for Earth this summer with Transformers, the official game of the blockbuster film. Protect the earth with Autobots or destroy it as Decepticons as you lead the Transformers in the epic battle for control of planet Earth! Make a choice: Protect Earth as Autobots or destroy it as Decepticons. With dual campaigns, the fate of the world is in your hands.

The Transformers name promises giant robots hitting one another, and the developer, Traveler's Tales, is responsible for the single greatest licensed game in recent memory, Lego Star Wars. With expectations running that high, there's only one way way to approach the title—try to figure out just what the heck went wrong.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

In late 2004, Microsoft spent so much money marketing the upcoming release of Halo 2 that national press outlets started doing reports about it as if it were actually news. Unsurprisingly, these were generally awkward and horribly researched, as mainstream coverage about niche subjects tends to be.