Anthony's Film Review - Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Video Game, 1992)

LucasArts presents an immersive Indiana Jones adventure game that rivals the Indy movies...

The 1980s were a great decade for movies. I'm not going to talk about most of the cinema released in those years, but I'll briefly mention one film series. I'm talking, of course, about the Indiana Jones films, a set of action movies centering on an archaeologist who, unlike ordinary folks in the field, regularly gets into dangerous situations and comes across foes from around the world who seek power stemming from legendary artifacts. Audiences were treated to a trilogy of thrilling adventures: Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. Fans of Indiana Jones would certainly want more after that, not just another Indiana Jones movie but perhaps Indiana Jones in other media as well, like video games.

Even though I have not played every Indiana Jones video game as of this writing, there is still one I would surely recommend: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis in 1992. This one features a whole new storyline, not based on any of the prior Indy movies, in which Indiana Jones is tasked with seeking the lost underwater civilization of Atlantis. What's really cool is the amount of research that went into the creation of Atlantis here. While there have been many fictional representations of the legendary underwater city, this one feels kind of realistic and authentic. You can tell because of references to the Greek philosopher Plato, the precious metal called orichalcum, and the Greek islands of Thera and Crete. Even the game's instruction manual provides a list of references for further reading if anyone is interested.

This game was developed by LucasArts, the same company behind other adventure games like The Secret of Monkey Island, and involves the same gameplay interface. The player controls a cursor that selects verb commands, such as "Look at," "Open," "Push," and "Talk to," and then applies them to people or objects in the game environment. There is also an inventory of items that the player-controlled character picks up along the way and uses with other inventory items or with things in the game environment. As with any adventure game, it's all about exploring places, gathering information, picking up items that aren't nailed down, solving cognitive and situational puzzles, and following a story. Now, because it features Indiana Jones, there is a little combat here and there, which simply involves clicking on Indy or his opponent to self-defend or attack with punches, respectively.

The story of The Fate of Atlantis begins when a man visits Indiana Jones in his office at Barnett College, seeking a specific historical artifact. The visitor is, in fact, a Nazi agent named Klaus Kerner. Indy now has to find out what Kerner is scheming, as well as send a warning to Sophia Hapgood, a former student who is now a psychic. The two agree that the Nazis, including Kerner and a scientist named Hans Ubermann, must be seeking the lost city of Atlantis, presumably to exploit its resources for militaristic purposes. Their journey takes them from New York City to various places across the Atlantic. They must find Atlantis before Kerner and Ubermann do.

Speaking more about the story, there isn't actually one storyline. Rather, there are three. Actually, I should clarify by saying that there are three middle story sections. At a certain point in the game, Sophia asks Indy what he would like to do. He has three choices for what path to take: work together with Sophia (Team Path), work alone while thinking his way through (Wits Path), or work alone while fighting his way through (Fists Path). The three paths determine the events that occur in the middle section of the story, where they occur, and the puzzles associated with them. They will all converge upon arrival at Atlantis, the last major location in the game. The fact that the beginning and end are the same but the middle can occur in three different ways provides incentive for players to replay the game, at least starting from the moment of the three choices.

No matter which path Indy takes, there are people and places he will no doubt encounter. His quest will surely involve traversing a North African desert, seeking a Frenchman who has knowledge of Atlantis, finding special stones that are the keys to Atlantis, and navigating a labyrinth. The situations unique to each path are things that are best left for players to discover, which is what makes this game so fun. It's also worth noting that a few puzzles may have more than one possible solution. Then there are the variations in puzzle solution clues and locations, which are selected at random whenever the player starts a new game. All of this results in a game that has plenty of replay value.

Without spoiling anything, let me tell you what it's like to play the last part of the game set in Atlantis. While the game from the beginning is great, this last part is even better. There are plenty of puzzles sprinkled throughout this place. While they're not terribly difficult, they still require enough observation and thought to figure them out. There is also gradually more intrigue as one gets closer to the final spot. That's where the climax gets tense, because the choices that the player makes will decide how things will ultimately turn out. One wrong move and it's all over.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis could have been a movie if George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and company really wanted to. Imagine if this was the fourth Indy movie, released in 1992, just three years after The Last Crusade. I'd say that it would be pretty good. But then again, you'd only have one story, not three versions of it like you have in the video game. Basically, this is a video game that I would certainly consider to be a classic in the genre of adventure games. It has an intriguing story, the right balance of puzzle difficulty and forward plot progression, a soundtrack that captures the mood of the entire adventure, and other things to create a fun immersive experience for players. Overall, if you're an Indiana Jones fan who wants to step into his shoes, go ahead and get out your whip and fedora, cue the Indy theme music by John Williams, and step into this adventure to discover the fate of Atlantis.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, visit the Internet Movie Database and Moby Games.