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13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
From the OXM demoFeb 08, 2003
By James Hebenstreit
"jamesheben"
I've always liked Indiana Jones. Last Crusade was my favorite movie of the trilogy. As such, I have a fairly high bar for any game that is a spin off of such a fine story.
So far, I like what i'm seeing.
The actual game centers around the same theme of the Indy movies; find something before the bad guys do. Of course, Indy has his beautiful local love interest, evil nazis, and supernatual traps and beings to overcome. This game takes place in and around China, circa 1930's.
The demo starts with Indy exploring some ancient ruin. (Does it really matter what/where it is? Not so long as it's packed with death traps!) As demo's go, this is a very good one. It doesn't plop u down on level 2 of the game (I hope) and tell u to have at it. It's a step by step instructional demo walking you through the basic controlls and fell of the game.
Graphically, this game's very good looking. At one point, there are some birds just hanging out until u come along a scare them off. I mention this because it gives hope that the programmers have taken their time and added detail such as this to make the game just that much deeper.
Sound wise, i was very pleased. the bad guys interact with each other, u have the standard "jungle noises" in the backround, Indy sounds gruff but lovable.
The biggest drawbacks are what worry me. Namely, the camera. This is a 3rd person view game, meaning you only see about 170 degrees of what's happening. this would be fine, except the camera is not fond of being behind the charactor. Which goes hand-in-hand with my next problem. Combat, being a very normal occurance, is difficult. The low camera makes it difficult to judge distances, and since you are almost always swinging the angle around anyways, your right thumb is not on any action buttons. U can't see what you're fighting over half the time. One quick side note about what I love in this game is that Indy's hat can get knocked off in combat. It's surprisingly cinematic to take a pounding from a shotgun-weilding ivory hunter, then walk back a pick up your hat after dealing with him.
The last issue I have is the lack of any puzzles. Indy isn't all about fistcuffs, but the demo didn't go there. It was fairly linear, very little thinking except how to get from Point A to Point B, which was actually kinda fun. The demo did a pretty good job designing a ruined city. Nothing really felt like it didn't belong once hundreds of years ago.
Overall, this game has great potential. A solid 3 stars if they fix the camera, not that that means much. A 4 if they get some good puzzles. (Where's the people who made Myst when u need them?)
However, I'm going to have to say that this games is shaping up to be better on a PC then a console, just because the developers want to cram so much into so few buttons. Indy fans will probably be pleased, the rest of u might want to rent it first.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
If adventure has a name...Sep 10, 2004
By Victor R. Perry
Looking a good, awesome Xbox adventure without over-excessive violence? Want to play levels across the globe, from Ceylon, Prauge to Hong Kong? Indinana Jones fan? Or are you looking for a challenge in your games?
You came to the right place.
Starting off in Ceylon, Indy is after another piece of treasure. This is where you start the game. After finally getting this special artifact, you're met by two chinese: one, may ying, gradually becomes your beautiful partner. The other is a man who tells Indy of the legend of the Heart of the Dragon: a black pearl that can bring awesome power to the one who holds it. And naturally, the Nazis are after it.
First, you get to battle a wide varitey of enimies: Ivory Hunters in Ceylon, Nazis everywhere, Chinese guardsmen, supernatural beings, and way more.
Secondly, the graphics are awesome. Ever wanted to see the castle of Prague? God, it's gorgeous. Istanbul? Beautiful. How 'bout a chinese fortress up in the mountains?
Third, this game is worth the money. I'm a "beginner" at video games, but I was still able to beat this one. It can get rough at times, but trust: the sheer number of levels makes this a worthy challenge. There's also varitey: One moment you're beating up more Nazis, the next you're shooting down planes.
Fourth: The sound is great. The plucked the original soundtrack from the movies and incorporated into this game. And Indy really sounds like Harrison Ford! Plus for Indy fans!
There are only a few problems:
-Story is a bit weak. Sometimes the guys can be fun, but others it's a bore. Still, it's more gameplay than cutscenes, so it's a minor problem.
-The "enemies" have stupid voices. There's one Nazi that really looks ugly.
-Like I said, this game gets hard: And frustrating. Often. If you don't have patience, you won't get through this game. The guys get tougher to beat as you go on. It gets especially hard when you reach the last levels.
Closing comments:
Definetly worth it. This is one awesome game that will challenge you and provide you with one great game experience. It's rated teen, but don't be fooled. Sure it has machine guns and Indy's whip...but it dosen't have blood or extreme violence. Anyway, this is one great game.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
All shall be pleased with this gameMar 23, 2003
By Hossmann
"The Mann"
actually a suprise that I rented the game, thanks to Xbox magazine and the demo i played on the disk, I had no doubts when i rented this game.Pros: 1. It's Indiana Jones! AGAIN! 2. a mass array of weapons to choose from 3. fight Chinese, Turks, and, of course, NAZIS! 4. a good problem solving game 5. an Indiana Jones type of plot 6. superb acting 7. Suprisingly addictive 8. and yes, an excellent music score Cons: 1. Save Points poorly placed 2. killing people can be tedious later in the game (dont even think about killing people with the whip.) 3. Challenges can be confusing to younger gamers. Final Verdict: I order you to rent this game! Avid fans, casual fans, or people who dont even know who played Indy Jones in the movies will be entertianed. if an Indy addict or an archaeologist, Buy it Immediately!
21 of 28 found the following review helpful:
 A big, big, big angry disappointment...Apr 09, 2003
By Jim Bettis
Like most of you, I was excited to hear they were making a new Indy game... The Infernal Machine was pretty cool, though Indy was a bit stiff... But, it was still pretty cool and a lot of fun. Well, I hate to rain on your parade... The Graphics in this game are exquisite. Really. Beautiful. What kills this game, is two things that are critical; No saves and terrible controls! If you buy the game, you'll see what I mean. Indy moves incredibly fast, way TOO fast, making you slip over edges and falling to your doom. The camera angles make seeing what he's doing very difficult. I've played the game for over 4 hours tonight and finally quit in a rage... I get so angry because he's so difficult to control and, if you get killed, you have to start all over again and again and again... It's the same feature that ruined Hitman 47 and IGI (the originals)... Sure, it's fun for awhile. But repeating over and over and over again gets real old, real fast. On the positive side, Indy can fight. That's pretty cool, except that he often ends up with his back to the enemy and my neighbors have heard me screaming at him to "TURN AROUND!!!" And he doesn't always jump or punch when you hit the button! Controls are terrible. And just wait till you try to switch weapons in the heat of battle! You literally have to stop what you're doing when he runs out of bullets and you decide to use another weapon! And, sometimes, as the Nazi's are approaching, he fires off at a wall rather than focusing on the enemy! Try moving him or turning him around when he's in a tight spot on a dropoff and you'll see what I mean. You can't see him because of the camera angles and he moves so damned fast that it's way too easy to accidentally slip off the edge! And, in several scenes, he uses a machine gun to fire at planes or enemy troops. The movement is controlled by the mouse and it's very difficult to take aim because at those times, Indy's aim seems to "stick"... The game is easy to love due to graphics, but much easier to hate because of the sloppy contols, camera angles and lack of save game features. Why did they omit the save game feature when it was perfect in Infernal Machine? Had they spent more time fine tuning Indy's moves, camera controls and had saves like in Infernal Machine, this could've been an excellent game... I loved IGI and Hitman when they first came out, but it didn't take long to learn to hate the games because you couldn't save... I'm afraid I have to add this game to that category. Because, as it is, it's a big, big, big disappointment...
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Overall excellent fun!Jun 14, 2003
By Alison Mcnicol
Having read some of the neagtive reviews here, I can completely agree with a lot of the complaints. Firstly the game does freeze at certain points for no reason - although I'm highly relieved that it's not my Xbox, this can be very frustrating when you are nearly finished a level and have to start all over again. The save feature is awful - you are forced to finish the level no matter what - or start again - not tempting.
However, overall I have found the game to be exciting, fun, a bit scarey (lots of real heart pounding moments), with great graphics and a really good story line. I'm not a huge game player, and tend to get bored easily, but this game really holds your interest right through. I would highly recommend to players who love Indy (and what kind of person doesn't???), players who like action games, and those that maybe are not as concerned with the bugs as having a fun time playing their Xbox - no disrespect to the other reviewers - I merely meant people like me who aren't too fussy!
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based on 59 reviews
