Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine

When one thinks about Indiana Jones, constant nonstop action adventure with little time to rest in between episodes is what usually comes to mind. Indiana Jones serves as a tribute to the old adventure serials from the 1930's and 40's. These serials had its hero getting himself into one hazardous situation after another, which is exactly what the movies did. Unfortunately, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine does not follow this formula.

This PC game takes place in 1947, World War II has ended, the Nazis have been defeated, and Europe is divided by an iron curtain. While this is happening, the Soviet Union is exploring the ruins of Babylon, searching for an ancient machine more powerful than the atom bomb. Recruited by the CIA, famed archaeologist Indiana Jones is sent on a mission to the far corners of the Earth in order to find the missing pieces of the machine before the communists.

That is the premise of a game which largely consists of Indy trying to get from point A to point B, frequently having to gather certain items in order to solve a number of puzzles to complete the level. This is the largest flaw of the game. Instead of fighting enemies and participating in intense fast paced action, the player is stuck pushing block and finding keys. There is an absolute minimal amount of actual fighting and there is a maximum amount of Indy slowly climbing wall and running around trying to figure out what to do next. The lack of excitement is only amplified by the almost complete lack of music throughout the entire game. The music that is present is used after the player has achieved something (usually insignificant) or to cue them of a nearby trap.

The area that the game really fails is in its actual gameplay. The control is extremely stiff and clumsy. It is very difficult to make fast agile maneuvers while in a gun fight and it is equally difficult to make slow precise movements while lining up for a jump or inching you way through booby traps. Indy's whip is completely useless in combat; to do one crack takes almost three seconds, giving enemies ample time to shoot or simply move. You have nine weapons to choose from which include pistols, rifles, a shotgun, and bazooka. Only one of these weapons really standout from the rest, this is the combat rifle whose long range makes it easy to pick off enemies from a distance, but is still useful when enemies are nearby. Since most of the game takes place in close quarters, you rarely ever get in a situation where the bazooka is an effective weapon. Despite the several control problems, the levels are not terribly difficult. The levels are more about platforming and solving puzzles rather than shooting. The puzzles themselves are usually quite easy to solve, although sometimes the solution is not very clear. Searching the internet for a walkthrough will be needed a couple times.

The voice acting in this game is decent enough. Doug Lee does sound a lot like Ford and manages to stay relatively in character despite save some bad dialogue which is really the fault of the writers. The supporting cast is also good, they do not sound like monotone script readers, and they sound more like really people that have emotions, speech pattern, and even some good accents.

The design of the levels is quite bland and repetitive, with very basic platforming and puzzle solving in place of any type of action. The only thing the game excels in is its scenery. At times the game is more fun to look at than it is to play. The scenery of nearly every level has believable surroundings and designs that match the levels time period and geography. The designers had clearly done there homework.

However, this is the only real element that the game does well in. Overall, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is a very slow and clunky adaptation to a fast-paced action series. It is a bland platformer with only pretty scenery and a few interesting contraption to hold the players interest.

I am not usually one to gush over a video game, but Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is a neat bit of work. Much like Tomb Raider in feel, it takes full advantage of the mystique and mythology of the Raiders of the Lost Ark series. The plot involves Indy's globe-spanning quest to beat the Russians to the secrets of an ancient Babylonian device of awesome power. The sixteen levels are interspersed with set pieces that really have the flavor of an Indy movie, with the wit and humor associated with Harrison Ford's portrayal of the character. (Ford did not do the game, though.)

The programmers keep their tongues firmly in cheek, making Indiana in-jokes that show they recognize the mythical stature of Indiana Jones as American hero without taking it all too seriosuly. This is perhaps most conclusively demonstrated by the bonus level "Return to Peru", wherein you, as Indy, get to return to the Peruvian temple at the beginning of Raiders.

For anyone who has enjoyed the Indiana Jones series of movies, and who likes first-person games, this is a must.

Making a bold march, Indy makes his way into the world of 3-D. It worked. An excellent game with great graphics and gameplay. Many will say that the controls were hard, but I found them fine and able to work with. This game takes patience and tolerance. Although Harrison Ford DID NOT provide the voice of Indy, Doug Lee was the next best choice. If you like Tomb Raider, you'll like this just the same.

Is it better than Tomb Raider? Better than 1 & 3, but equal to 2. (I haven't played "The Last Revelation" yet...)

I've been an Indiana Jones fan since I was a kid and playing this game as a kid helped strengthen my love for the franchise.

In the year 1947, Dr. Henry Jones Jr. Aka Indiana Jones (Doug Lee) is visited by CIA Agent Sophia Hapgood (Tasia Valenza), who informs him that a Soviet research group, led by Dr. Gennadi Volodnikov (Victor Raider-Wexler), is pursuing an ancient Babylonian powerful artifact known as the cursed machine, with which they intend to conquer the world.

The game does a great job capturing the adventurous spirit of the Indiana Jones movies. The gameplay was a fascinating and effective hybrid, with its controls, targeting system, and item system is very similar to Ocarina of Time, while it had a third-person camera, exploring, and puzzle solving style much like Tomb Raider. And it worked great.

You'll explore 17 levels spanning from Kazakhstan, to Mexico, to Sudan. Throughout your travels, you'll fight enemies such as Soviet soldiers, supernatural creatures, and wild animals (including snakes) with handguns, submachine guns, and, of course, Indy's trademark whip. Sometimes, you'll even use vehicles, such as rafts, jeeps, and minecarts. Your overall objective is finding the four parts to the infernal machine. To do this, you'll traverse across each level, kill enemies, solve cleverly designed puzzles, and find the exit to advance.

The voice acting was good. Doug Lee pulled off a great Harrison Ford imitation and captured Indy's snark and archaeological brilliance quite well. Valenza and Raider-Wexler did a good job too. The soundtrack was a mixture of John Williams legendary soundtrack and original tunes. The weapon and combat sounds were crisply intense and captured the series action genre.

The level designs were the most impressive part of all. Every level was huge, explorable, and well designed with a wide array of colors, strong textures, and good looking details.

There were still flaws, though. The controls were clunky at times, and Indy wasn'tvery good at jumping. The character models, despite usually having fluid movements, looked very stiff and badly textured, especially during cutscenes.

Overall, this was a fun game and great start for Indy in 3D gaming. Any fan of the franchise would have liked this.

The Infernal Machine game is taken place 9 years after "The Last Crusade". The year's 1947, the Nazis are long gone and the Cold War is still at large.

Indiana Jones was minding his own business in finding priceless artifacts in Utah. Right till a helicopter comes to his camp site which is driven by Sophia. A young women who's a CIA agent and has physic powers.

Sophia offers Jones a job involving the Infernal Machine of Babylon. Which is said to be the source of the un-speakable power that the babylians created. The Red Army is trying to get the Infernal machine for themselves so they can use it to make the Soviet Union invincible.

Jones accepts the job and before you know it he's on a long quest in uncovering the secret of finding the Infernal machine. Indy will be killing off Soviets, sharks, temple guardians, and of course a lot of snakes! This game was made around 1999. The graphics are pretty good from what year it was made in. Voice acting is pretty good. Good thing is they got someone who at least sounds like Harrison Ford for Indy. Plus you're able to inherit several weapons to kill off any danger that gets in your way.

Those who are die hard fan of Indiana Jones or like 3rd person shooter games will like this game.