lego-indiana-jones posts

People play with Legos and also play Lego-based PC games. A lot. That is the likely reason why the Lego Group has signed a new deal today with game developer Traveller's Tales to continue their previous licensing agreement to make more Lego-based games until the year 2016. Financial terms were not disclosed

Traveller's Tales, owned by Warner Bros. Interactive, had a massive critical and sales hit with their Lego Star Wars game. Since then the developer has sold almost 50 million units of its Lego based games which also include Lego Indiana Jones and Lego Batman. Their next projects are Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars which will be released later in 2010.

This developer video for LEGO Indiana Jones 2 runs through some of the game's many new features. The story covers plots from the Indiana Jones films, including Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but will not have any repeat material from the previous game. The sequel will also include a two-player co-op mode and the ability to literally build a mission using LEGO pieces. The game is expected to release later this fall, but those that want to relive the fun from the first game can download the demo here.

Download LEGO Indiana Jones 2 Developer Walkthrough Video (246 MB)
Check out all LEGO Indiana Jones 2 downloads

Gallery: LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues

Some legends never die. Others are immortalized with interlocking plastic bricks, as demonstrated with this trailer for LEGO Indiana Jones 2. In the upcoming sequel, fans can play through wacky LEGO scenes inspired by the original movie trilogy and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There are also game-only creatures, like the fifty foot statue that chases Indie Indy and his friends. Additionally, players will be able to build their own adventures in the LEGO style. The game is expected to release this fall, and gamers that want to be reminded what LEGO Indiana Jones is all about can download the demo for the first game here.

Download LEGO Indiana Jones 2 Trailer (406 MB)
Download LEGO Indiana Jones Demo (464 MB)

Gallery: LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues

We've reported in the past about various rumors surrounding what Lego-based games will be coming from developer Traveller's Tales. We've heard rumors of a Lego Harry Potter title, a second Indiana Jones game and even the most unlikely rumor of all; a Lego Rock Band game.

Now it appears that at least the Harry Potter and Indiana Jones rumors have gotten more substantial. Numerous online outlets have reported that the web site of a Traveller's Tales animator revealed she was working on both projects for the developer. Not only that but she also posted that a demo pitch for a Hobbit game based on the upcoming movie adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien book. (the site has since removed those references). It's pretty clear that we should learn more about their Lego projects sooner rather than later.

And the wheels keep turning over at Traveller's Tales. Last month the rumor was that the Lego game team was working on a Harry Potter game and a few days ago another rumor hit that they were working on a Lego Rock Band title.

Now comes the latest Lego game rumor from Eurogamer who claims through their own unnamed sources that the Lego Harry Potter game "is off the menu for at least 12 months." They are now saying a second Lego Indiana Jones game is more likely for publisher LucasArts although there's no word on what it would be about. The first game, released in the summer of 2008, got solid reviews and sales.

It's time for the week's "craziest rumor" news post and this one comes from the semi-reliable UK based Videogaming247 who claims they have a source who says that Lego PC game developer Traveller's Tales is working on a Lego Rock Band game for publisher Electronic Arts.

The web site assures its readers that its source claims it is "100 percent correct" but we are very skeptical about this news bit, especially since rumors started a month ago that a Lego Harry Potter game would in fact be the next title from Traveller's Tales. In 2008 Traveller's Tales created two Lego-based games; Lego Indiana Jones for publisher LucasArts and Lego Batman for its owner Warner Bros. Interactive.

UK based Traveller's Tales has had a major cash cow in the past few years with its ownership of the Lego game series. The many Lego Star Wars games have been huge best sellers and the more recent Lego Indiana Jones game was also a sales hit. In 2007, Traveller's Tales was bought by Warner Bros. Interactive for a reported $200 million and the developer's first game for the company, Lego Batman, will be released this fall.

In a new Variety interview, Traveller's Tales president Jon Burton states that we can expect even more Lego games from the developer, stating, "We've gotten started doing some LEGO games on the Warner IP... down the line." It's possible we could see games based of Warner Bros. properties like a Lego Superman, Lego Harry Potter and other titles. Burton also sees the company expanding beyond games, saying I think further in the future we're making a kids' TV show... using some of the tech we've developed for games."

Never underestimate the selling power of Lego and George Lucas. The latest Lego PC game made its debut on the latest NPD Group list of best selling PC games for the week ending June 7. That would be Lego Indiana Jones from developer Traveller's Tales and publisher LucasArts as it comes in the number three spot last week, behind number one selling Age of Conan and number two selling Mass Effect.

The full top 10 list is below and check it out; BioShock has reappeared on the top 10 list after going missing for several months. Looks like Ken Levine just got a new bargaining chip:

• 1. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures - Funcom/Eidos
• 2. Mass Effect - BioWare/EA
• 3. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures - Traveller's Tales/LucasArts
• 4. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe - Electronic Arts
• 5. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest - Blizzard
• 6. The Sims 2 Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff - Electronic Arts
• 7. World Of Warcraft - Blizzard
• 8. BioShock - 2K Games
• 9. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade - Blizzard
• 10. The Sims 2 Freetime - Electronic Arts

Has LucasArts suffered a huge setback in its future plans? That's what Kotaku claims. According to what they are reporting (using several unnamed sources) the publisher laid off as many as 100 people at the end of the day Thursday. As of this posting, LucasArts has yet to confirm the layoffs which are said to include VP of Product Development Peter Hirschmann.

LucasArts recently lost a high profile president in Jim Ward (he was replaced by former Electronic Arts Los Angeles exec Darrell Rodriguez). The company just shipped Lego Indiana Jones and their high profile (and console only) game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is due out in September. Other games that are rumored to be on LucasArts's plate include a new collaboration with developer Bioware, a new Star Wars Battlefront game developed by Free Radical Design and the long awaited Indiana Jones games that was demoed at E3 2006. LucasArts also made the decision to leave the Entertainment Software Association last month although it'sstill scheduled to attend E3 next month.

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours.

	In-Depth: GRID GRID sets up a great mood for racing from the moment you set up your profile and put in an audio name. From that point on, the game greets you by name each time you load it up and refers to you personally with race updates. It seems like a minor addition, but it provides a strong sense of engagement with the game world as you build up your racing reputation, rake in the prize money, and race go on racing tours across the USA, Europe and Japan. The PC version sports great performance and fantastic graphics, but it's worthwhile to purchase a gamepad to play this one in order to get the best experience. More after the jump.
	Big Versus: GRID This week in Big Versus we're tackling Codemasters' latest entry in the Race Driver series, GRID, which hits retail for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 today. Shying away from its more realistic racers like other TOCA racing games and the recently released Dirt, Codemasters hopes to capture some of the underground scene with their latest arcade style racing title.
	Two very different Alone in the Dark trailers emerge We have two new trailers for Eden Games and Atari's upcoming reboot of the Alone in the Dark franchise. The videos couldn't be more different. One features gameplay footage and commentary by producer Nora Paloni about the various enemies, weapons, and combat strategies in the game. It's a continuation of an earlier video that focused on fire.
	LEGO Indiana Jones now available in stores As of today, you can go out, buy LEGO Indiana Jones, and re-experience the original trilogy, thereby pushing Crystal Skull's awfulness out of your mind. According to a LucasArts press release Big Download received earlier today via email, "LEGO Indiana Jones presents a tongue-in-cheek take on the first three cinematic adventures of pop culture's most iconic archaeologist."
	Unreal Tournament III 1.3 patch details The 1.3 patch for Unreal Tournament III hasn't been released quite yet, but that didn't stop PlanetUnreal from digging for concrete details. Among the substantial list of fixes and additions are numerous bot improvements, several mod-specific collision detection issues, increased Aegia support, and cut/copy/paste functionality for the game's console.
	Fallout 3 Collector's Edition finally visualized We have reported in the past on Bethesda Softworks' plans to release a collector's edition of their highly anticipated RPG Fallout 3 but today the developer's official blog site has finally given us a visual of what that special edition of the game will actually look like. As promised the Collector's Edition will be housed in a metal Vault TEC lunch box with some great looking artwork (we would love to see the reaction if a kid took that lunch box to school).