I am a teenager from the 80's and one of my first great movie experiences was Raiders of the Lost Ark, so I looked forward to a 'Tomb Raider'esque 3D adventure into the world of Indiana Jones. After reading critical reviews of the game, I figured I would pass on it due to many other games screaming for my attention at the time. Luckily enough it fell into my lap about 2 weeks ago and I have been playing the role of Indiana Jones since. I am not finished with the game, Call of Duty, Max Payne 2, KOTR and Crimson Skies are also vying for my time, but I still have a good feel for what I can expect the rest of the way and impressions that I would like to share.
Graphics/Sound - I will start with sound, rock solid sound and backround music, I especially enjoy the out of breath sound that Indy has after running for a while or if he is significantly damaged during a battle. The music rises and falls based on the screen happenings as well as most games and is generally very in tune to the movie series music. The grpahics on the otherhand are servicable at best. The first thing someone said when they saw me playing it was how bad the graphics were... they are that bad they definitely would have looked more in tune with the times in 2001 than 2003. Many of the animations that accompanies Indy and his combatants are excellently done but the textures and general look is squared off and bland in comparison to what I have seen from many X Box games. Probably the biggest 'ick' in the graphics is the fact that virtually everyone clips thru things, walls chairs, desks other characters you name it and you can get half or more of Indy's body thru it. I actually had one case where I was almost finished with a level and was in the water and got stuck from head to waist in a wall and ran out of air. I don't think I can think of one game that doesn't have some clipping issues but for this to be a finished product in 2003 from LucasArts I find it completely unacceptable. Overall 17/25.
Gameplay - Why did Tomb Raider succeed? Yes, it helped that legions of teenage males loved watching Lara bounce around, heck look around I am positive you can find nude mods to really get the teenage blood pumping, but in the end it was the fact it was Indiana Jones made female that was the biggest draw. There is something inherently cool in being able to play as Indiana Jones and the gameplay is mostly enjoyable. I did/do have serious issues with the camera angles because way too often as the game has progressed it is much too difficult to dispatch of enemies not because of the difficulty but because the camera goes every which way and you are all too often left staring at Indy's face while the enemy approaches you from off screen. This deters from a pretty good combat system that is really much better at hand to hand than weapons, another minor gripe, and impacts virtually every aspect of the gameplay. As mentioned the weapons are a mixed bag, sure they are better at stopping enemies but they can be mindnumbingly hard to understand. I mean I can target a guy one time with a revolver and shoot him from a distance but when he gets up I miss over and over, or better yet get a point blank shotgun blast off and miss the target completely. Due to this I use as much hand to hand as possible, including chairs and table legs (nice touch) and only use weapons when I recognize that a battle will be unwinable hand to hand. The puzzles are fine, indeed mostly better than fine but also on the simple side. I have enjoyed the story so far and feel it is worthy of being part of the Indiana Jones tale. In the end what it boils down to is whether or not you enjoy some simple puzzles with lever and gears or if you want to go a guns ablazing. Me? I have enjoyed the puzzles and the fist fights so far, despite the camera angles that have made me scream more than once. Overall 28/35.
Bang for $ - Much longer game experience than the last 3rd person adventure/action game I played, Blood Omen 2. I expect that I will clock in at about 15-18 hours of play, it would be less if the save system was different. Speaking of the save system, I like it, most of the areas are small enough and can be done in one or 2 go thrus if you are careful and methodical. There isn't any replay valve that I can foresee because I do not think it even has any skill levels and the artifacts you can find for the collection don't seem to do anything except sit on a shelf. Overall - 20/25.
Personal View - If you haven't noticed by now, I am a big fan of the Indiana Jones movies and this game allowed me to play out a bit of fantasy as Indy. This game could have been stunning and a must have but camera angles, sub XBox standard graphics, some can't ignore graphical glitches and gameplay that is taken straight from Tomb Raider, which in turn was copied from Indiana Jones, don't allow it to reach the maximum potential. Look at it this way if this was realeased in place of the original Tomb Raider this would have gone on to be a multi million selling franchise on multiple platforms that in 2003 critics had tired of and promptly blackballed Indiana Jones V: Dismantling the Nazi Empire. This game is about 6 years late, I think this action/adventure genre is dying slowly like the adventure genre before it, and the gamers of this world have come to expect more. I expect that I will enjoy this game to its end even with the problems. Overall 12/15
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