Preview

Due Fall 2002 for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox.

It’s official: There will be a forth Indiana Jones movie with all of the principles returning; however, shooting probably won’t start on the movie for another couple of years. That’ll have everyone’s favorite archeologist pushing retirement. To whet fans’ appetites, LucasArts is planning a new Indy game for this coming fall. I have to admit that there’s part of me that would love to see an Indiana Jones game that incorporates an "aching-joint" or "out-of-breath" factor that limits you abilities to deal with those pesky Nazis. Alas, the new Indy game has Dr. Jones in his ‘Raiders’ prime with nary a weakness to be seen.

It seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve have an Indiana Jones game (even though it’s only been a couple of years, the last title was such a thoroughly forgettable Tomb Raider clone that, well, I forgot about it) and with the processing power now on the market, it was time to resurrect one of Hollywood’s most beloved characters. I only had a brief time with the game, but what I saw looked promising. Indiana Jones isn’t looking to forge any new ground, instead it seems to be excavating classic platform adventures for all of the best elements. Indiana Jones is part action, part puzzle solving game. As I said about RTX, it’s nice to see LucasArts developing some non-Star Wars games again.

The Emperor’s Tomb is set in 1935, and has him racing to beat an evil coalition to find one of the most powerful artifacts of all time. The game is filled with exotic and diverse locales and, of course, features a host of Nazis, along with some Chinese mobsters for good measure. Not only will gamers be able to use Jones’ trademark whip and pistol, there will also be brawling elements incorporated into the game which allows for hand to hand combat as well as using items like chairs and table legs for weapons. This looks like the Indiana Jones game that we’ve all been waiting for. I only hope that it can fulfill its promise. Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb will be available this fall for the PS2, X-Box and PC.

Jason Frank (06/23/2002)