Previous Next

Last month we have a review of Indiana Jones III The Action Game - this month sees the release of Indy III The Adventure Game, which was programmed by Lucasfilm Games Division in the US.

If the idea of an adventure sounds a bit boring to you, don't turn the page. This game is in fact a highly enjoyable arcade adventure that's very much in the mould of Labyrinth, Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken And The Alien Mindbenders.

The player takes control of Indy, of course, and the idea is to get the Holy Grail, which involves more scrapes and escapades than you can shake a bullwhip at. The game follows the plot of the film, and it certainly helps if you've seen it.

The proceedings are controlled by a mouse, keyboard or joystick-driven cursor which is used to select commands such as pull, walk to, etc, from a box at the bottom of the screen. When you pick one and then click on an object, say a door, switch or whatever, in the main display Indy follows the instructions to the letter, often with humorous results. The variety and combinations of moves and objects is tremendous, and, best of all, this system doesn't suffer from the irritating "I don't understand that word" problem that can dog adventure games.

As well as just choosing commands, there are times when you get direct control over the hero, such as early on in the game when you have the chance to spar with the University's champion boxer!

There are many puzzles encountered throughout the game, and I'm glad to say that they're the lateral thinking type, rather than the obscure adventure type clues that often create frustration and annoyance. That's not to say they aren't tough, but the difficulty is nicely balanced so you don't get stuck on one particular problem for too long. And because of that, progression is both rewarding and enjoyable.

What I particularly like about the Indy III Adventure is its amazing presentation. The control method, as I've already said, is superb, but the visual presentation is even better. Many scenes are presented just like ones from the film, with scrolling "camera pans", long shots and many subtle details and neat visual gags to give the game an incredible movie-like quality. Sound is also put to great use, with some excellent spot effects to enhance the atmosphere.

The entire game is massive, and it'll take weeks of solid play to go all the way through - fortunately, there's a load and save option!

The game comes packaged with a big instruction manual and also a Greek symbol translation table which is used both as piracy protection and to decipher parts of the Holy Grail within the game. A neat touch is that if you fail to crack the code when you first start playing (if you don't have a book), you're allowed to continue until you're shown half of the Grail tablet. When you try and translate that, you automatically get it laughingly wrong and are told to go back to the University because you're not the man for the job!

Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade is a brilliant film tie-in, and a superlative game in its own right. It looks good, plays better and will have you playing for many a long night. Don't miss it.

A highly enjoyable and addictive arcade adventure in the mould of Zak McKracken which combines great graphics and sound with superb playability. Indy fans shouldn't miss it.