Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

"True, I solved the game in mere days, so it's not like a slew of 'instant deaths' kept me from the finale, nor did they deter me from completing the game at all. It also deserves mentioning that I had FUN getting there. However, how silly is it to have a game with no real save game feature, and instant deaths? Answer: VERY silly."

---from the review

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Strategy Guide Also Available!:

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb: Prima's Official Strategy Guide

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Indiana Jones and the

 Emperor's Tomb 

Click picture to order this game (PC/windows version)

A Techtite Review

While console gamers a few weeks back were tickled pink at the debut of an Indiana Jones game on their X-boxes and Playstation-2s, PC gamers are more judgmental. Two of the best games ever made by Lucasarts were Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (based on the movie) and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (as good as a movie). With such memory of better games comes higher expectations. Add to this the fact that this is a "video game port" --not a game made directly for the computer-- and reviews for the PC "port" of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb are likely to be quite jaded. However, I still liked it. If I could've saved my game within a level, I would've liked it even more.

The story is wisely a prequel to the other films/games. The date is 1935, and Nazis are as annoying as ever. A Chinese collector of sorts arrives to Indiana's college office, to ask for his help to keep a priceless jewel, "The Eye of the Dragon," away from Nazi hands. Assisting Indy are two newfound Asian friends: Wei Ying (Indy's love interest in this story) and Wu Han (remember him from the opening of the second movie...?). They'll accompany Indy during various segments of a journey that includes stops at Istanbul, Prague, and of course China itself, to obtain the jewel before the bad guys do. However, are Nazis the only villains you need to be afraid of...?

If you're wondering what makes this "Tomb Raider clone" (sorry, Indy) unique from all the rest, grab a chair...literally! In addition to all the jumping, running, shooting, and punching, Indy can use just about anything not nailed down in a fight, including table legs (!), chairs, wine bottles, and more. While some objects can only be used once, they often make your opponent drop his gun...which you can take! If you're fighting close to a ledge, Indy can even attempt to throw a Nazi opponent off that ledge, ending the fight quite quickly (take that, evil Nazi!). Complex moves include using Indy's whip to grab an opponent's neck from afar, pull them close, then give a knockout punch. When it comes to classic barroom brawls, these are as good as they come.

The "bad news"? Enemy AI is exceptional...so they run for the same weapons! Punch an enemy onto a wooden table and they'll often be knocked out cold...though their nearby friend will quickly grab a table leg against you. These are some of the best adversaries I ever fought in a game of this type. Rarely are they powerful just because of an unrealistically high "health meter"; they're a challenge because they are programmed that way. It makes the game more difficult, in a good way.

Not that everything is a bed of roses, in this video game "port." It is clear this is a game made initially for video game systems, not directly for the PC. Why is this such a big deal...? Because it instigates into this otherwise pretty flawless game, one of the worst possible flaws in any PC game: No save game feature. While your progress is saved, it is done so "automatically," and only at the end of a level. Yes, kids, this is another video game "port" which expects all of us with 80 GB hard drives to live like the video game simpletons with 8MB "save game cards," and only save games at the end of a level. The good news is that some game maps are divided so that the most difficult areas are within their own "level" of sorts. However, there's no denying that a PC game's core value is to be able to save at any time.

This lack of game saving is made all the more troublesome by the possibility of "instant deaths." In one gauntlet, you must jump over 15 bottomless pits and if you miss as little as one of them, it's back to square one. D'oh! I've said it time and time again; you can have "instant deaths" in games, or a lackluster save game option, but not both. True, I solved the game in mere days, so it's not like a slew of "instant deaths" kept me from the finale, nor did they deter me from completing the game at all. It also deserves mentioning that I had FUN getting there. However, how silly is it to have a game with no real save game feature, and instant deaths? Answer: VERY silly.

Regardless of the save game snafu, is this still a fun game? Yes. People who want an interactive Indiana Jones adventure should certainly give it a look. It helps that Indy looks (and sounds) as close to Harrison Ford as the law could allow. The fist-fights --complete with chairs hit over heads and thrown wine bottles-- are an animation-FX-savvy thrill. The enemies you fight are magnificent pieces of AI. Later enemies are even quite inspired, like the zombies whose spirits escape to possess the bodies of another corpse unless you destroy the spirit in transit. Then there are the statues you must break piece by piece, which much like a Monty Python joke, will attack you even if only their legs remain. Top all this off with a classy, hero-gets-the-girl finale, and you have a really great game. Too bad about the lack of a decent save game, though. It's little game design mistakes like this that topple even the finest of games.

So, what we have here is one whale of an excruciatingly fun game, whose sole flaw is its lackluster game save options. Is such a flaw worth a thumbs-down? Hardly. Just because we PC gamers are spoiled rotten by mega-sized hard drives and "quick save" options, doesn't mean we need such luxuries all the time. The only real thing we need are good games. This includes exceptional graphics, fun gameplay, and if possible an amusing story. This game qualifies on all fronts. It may have won awards with a decent game save feature, but that's more a problem for the game's designers than us. As for Indy --and us gamers-- we'll live.

---Techtite