Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
I didn't bring this title up during my Adventure Games Week back in the spring because I ran out of week. I'd been meaning to return to it ever since. Like a lot of people, Indiana Jones was one of my favorite films growing up. I had seen Raiders when I was really young, a VHS copy my Dad had taped off of the movie network, and then Last Crusade shortly after it was released. We also eventually watched Temple of Doom, but it didn't get the attention that the other two did, even though I can't say that one particular movie is better than any of the three. They each have their charm.
Eventually, in high school, I inherited an old tv and a VCR. I grabbed the odd movie on tape when Blockbuster Video had sales on used items, but went out of my way to purchase a couple brand new. Namely the Star Wars trilogy, Aliens and the Indiana Jones trilogy. My small library eventually consisted of those movies plus Independence Day, Die Hard 3 and a blank tape I filled with Looney Toons episodes I taped off of Bravo. My high-school after-school program consisted of me hanging out in my room, tossing on one of those movies and either drawing or modeling in 3D on my computer. There was a time when I could have probably recited the entire Raiders and Empire script.
Like Star Wars, I was itching to spend more time in the worlds Lucasfilm had created. With Indy though, it was more of a case of wanting to spend more time with Indy and his adventures. Traveling to exotic locations, getting into trouble and uncovering ancient wonders, Indiana Jones personified adventure. Really, what makes more sense than a point-and-click-adventure about adventure personified?
I was pretty happy with the story behind Fate of Atlantis and I was surprised when they didn't take it any further. There was an earlier Indy title which covered the Last Crusade, but wasn't nearly as advanced a game. When Fate of Atlantis was released, but no talk of a fourth Indy film I couldn't quite grasp why they didn't adapt this onto the big-screen.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was one of the very few serious point-and-click adventures I'd ever played. LucasArts had really built a fantastic system for this game. Offering three different ways to play through the game, 'wits', 'fists' or 'team', you could cater to the want for a more puzzle heavy game or a more combat heavy game. This is also one of the only games of this type I'd ever played that contained a scoring system which tracks all the puzzles solved and items found providing you with a total sense of completion, story aside, once you finished the game.
Aside from getting stuck at a certain point and being unable to continue, I really did love this game. For a while I really wanted to see a more visually advanced Indy title and even planned on making one based on 3D prerendered backgrounds, which felt advanced at the time. Then, in 1999 a Tomb Raider style Indy game launched. I bought it right away and sadly, never played it. I'm not sure why. I should see if I still have a copy and go back to it, though I'd imagine it's very dated. In the end, I'd really rather see another Indy game like this. The focus on pacing and story and locations. And dialog of course. Truth is, like the movie Aliens, Indiana Jones has influenced so many games now that the original almost has no place. We've already got our Tomb Raider and our Uncharted.
I think I'm going to go back and try to beat this game soon. It's going on a serious 'short list' alongside replaying Mass Effect and Shadow of the Colossus.
I didn't bring this title up during my Adventure Games Week back in the spring because I ran out of week. I'd been meaning to return to it ever since. Like a lot of people, Indiana Jones was one of my favorite films growing up. I had seen Raiders when I was really young, a VHS copy my Dad had taped off of the movie network, and then Last Crusade shortly after it was released. We also eventually watched Temple of Doom, but it didn't get the attention that the other two did, even though I can't say that one particular movie is better than any of the three. They each have their charm.Eventually, in high school, I inherited an old tv and a VCR. I grabbed the odd movie on tape when Blockbuster Video had sales on used items, but went out of my way to purchase a couple brand new. Namely the Star Wars trilogy, Aliens and the Indiana Jones trilogy. My small library eventually consisted of those movies plus Independence Day, Die Hard 3 and a blank tape I filled with Looney Toons episodes I taped off of Bravo. My high-school after-school program consisted of me hanging out in my room, tossing on one of those movies and either drawing or modeling in 3D on my computer. There was a time when I could have probably recited the entire Raiders and Empire script.
Like Star Wars, I was itching to spend more time in the worlds Lucasfilm had created. With Indy though, it was more of a case of wanting to spend more time with Indy and his adventures. Traveling to exotic locations, getting into trouble and uncovering ancient wonders, Indiana Jones personified adventure. Really, what makes more sense than a point-and-click-adventure about adventure personified? I was pretty happy with the story behind Fate of Atlantis and I was surprised when they didn't take it any further. There was an earlier Indy title which covered the Last Crusade, but wasn't nearly as advanced a game. When Fate of Atlantis was released, but no talk of a fourth Indy film I couldn't quite grasp why they didn't adapt this onto the big-screen.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was one of the very few serious point-and-click adventures I'd ever played. LucasArts had really built a fantastic system for this game. Offering three different ways to play through the game, 'wits', 'fists' or 'team', you could cater to the want for a more puzzle heavy game or a more combat heavy game. This is also one of the only games of this type I'd ever played that contained a scoring system which tracks all the puzzles solved and items found providing you with a total sense of completion, story aside, once you finished the game.
Aside from getting stuck at a certain point and being unable to continue, I really did love this game. For a while I really wanted to see a more visually advanced Indy title and even planned on making one based on 3D prerendered backgrounds, which felt advanced at the time. Then, in 1999 a Tomb Raider style Indy game launched. I bought it right away and sadly, never played it. I'm not sure why. I should see if I still have a copy and go back to it, though I'd imagine it's very dated. In the end, I'd really rather see another Indy game like this. The focus on pacing and story and locations. And dialog of course. Truth is, like the movie Aliens, Indiana Jones has influenced so many games now that the original almost has no place. We've already got our Tomb Raider and our Uncharted.
I think I'm going to go back and try to beat this game soon. It's going on a serious 'short list' alongside replaying Mass Effect and Shadow of the Colossus.
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