Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Score: 85% ESRB: Teen Publisher: LucasArts Developer: The Collective Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Adventure
Graphics & Sound: The Collective is quickly becoming one of my favorite development houses. Long time readers will no doubt remember my gushing review of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer a few months ago. In the review I stated that it was one of the best games available on the Xbox and praised the developers for doing such a great job. Well, it looks like The Collective is back at it again with Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. Graphically, Emperor's Tomb flexes the Xbox's muscle, but doesn't quite blow any other games away. As a whole, the game's environments are good, but come off as stale and lifeless. Although it's clear that a lot of attention went into building these levels, special effects are underused and end up taking away from the game's immersion level. For example, the game's opening episode takes place in what is supposed to be an ancient temple. The problem is that except for a few unconvincing looking spider webs and some overgrowth - most of the temple is very clean. You never see dust kicked up when rolling around and jumping through catacombs or the remains of unwary adventurers. I also thought that a majority of the levels were a little too bright. Lighting effects are kept to a minimum, and color palettes are composed mostly of bright colors. Despite my complaints, Emperor's Tomb isn't a bad looking game, but after playing through Buffy's spooky, effects filled levels - I found myself wanting more. Character models, on the other hand, are very good. I was particularly impressed with Emperor's Tomb model, which does a good job and portraying a believable likeness of Harrison Ford. Unlike other games that have objects just appear out of thin air, every object in Indy's inventory can be seen on him at all times, right down to the his canteen. In an even more impressive feat, each of these items also reacts to Indy's movements, such as the whip flapping at his side. Each of the enemies look just as good, especially the slinky, sexy Chinese assassins. (Hey - the girls get Harrison; the guys get sexy assassins.) Sound is what you would expect - lots and lots of the familiar Indy theme song in every imaginable form. Like Buffy, Emperor's Tomb uses a music system that works with the on-screen action. As you creep through the halls of castles, you'll hear a low, deep melody that conveys a haunting mood. However, once the action picks up, the soundtrack does as well with bright, brassy trumpet fanfares. The voice work is also top notch.
Gameplay: At the risk of sounding redundant, Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb owes a lot to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This, of course, isn't such a bad thing since the latter provided for an excellent beat-'em-up gameplay experience, and proved to be a very solid engine. However, whereas Buffy encouraged more fighting and general violence, Emperor's Tomb is based around exploration and puzzles. As for where this game takes place in the overall Indy storyline, I'm not sure - but I'm willing to guess it was sometime early in our intrepid adventurer's career. The game opens in typical fashion with Indy exploring an ancient temple in search of an artifact. After returning with the artifact, Indy is approached by a member of the Chinese Government about exploring the legendary Emperor's Tomb. As it turns out, the artifact is the first of three keys that unlock the vault deep within the tomb. Although reluctant, Indy is intrigued by the prospect of being the first explorer to step into the newly opened tomb. During your adventure, most of your time will be spent exploring tombs and castles. The layouts of each level are very well done, and offer numerous opportunities the recreate the intense stunts and action found in the movies. I was particularly impressed with how well laid out some of the traps were. For example, while exploring the first tomb in the game, there was a particularly nasty little trap that involved me having to roll around and dodge numerous spinning blades only to fall through a weakened floor at the end of the trial. It's the little things like these that really keep you on your toes during the game. However, it should be noted that you're always given a few chances to dodge traps. Crumbling floors usually give way to another path.
Difficulty: No one ever said finding a lost treasure would be easy. If there's one knock to Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, it's that it may be too hard at times. However, these difficulties can be attributed more to minor technical issues than gameplay issues. One of the stickier problems comes with jumps, which feel a little loose at times. It should also be noted that Indy has a tendency to slip a bit when landing, something that can prove fatal. There were also times when I would jump for a vine or chain, only to slip and fall because of camera issues. A majority of the game's puzzles are doable, but require not only a quick mind, but also quick controller skills. Instead of the typical puzzles found in games, most of the puzzles require dodging blades or navigating complicated rooms. I could go into more detail, but then again, I wouldn't want to spoil them for you.
Game Mechanics: Combat is an another departure Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb takes from Buffy. The overall combat engine is run in the same way, only not as deep or complex. I see comparing the different combat systems the same way you would compare the fighting styles in the old Star Trek episodes and the Next Generation episodes. The game's combat system is very bare bones and features more straight-forward bar brawling, whereas Buffy's is all about flash and acrobatics. Fighting is very easy, and involves simply pressing different one, two, or three button combinations. Weapons also play a big part in combat, adding some much-needed depth to the system. Most objects in Indy's environments can be picked up and used as weapons such as chairs, shovels and candlesticks. In addition, Indy can also pick up weapons dropped by enemies - such as guns. This is where the 'unreal' feeling sets in. Guns don't do nearly as much damage as they should since it's not uncommon to unload a gun full of bullets into a guy, only to have them stand up as if nothing happened. At first glance, it may now seem like a big deal making a good game based around Indiana Jones. When you look at the source material, it's tailor made for a good adventure. But, except for Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indy's video game adventures haven't worked. Emperor's Tomb is a departure from the usual mix and proves itself to be what Indy's adventure's should have been all along.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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