Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine

aka: Indiana Jones V, Indiana Jones e a Máquina Infernal, Indiana Jones e la Macchina Infernale, Indiana Jones et la machine infernale, Indiana Jones und der Turm von Babel, Indiana Jones y la Máquina Infernal
Moby ID: 1442
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Description official descriptions

The year is 1947. Dr. Jones Jr is on a retirement from adventuring, living the life of a scholar and an archaeologist. But soon he meets his old flame ...and new enemies. Soviets are tracking parts of a mysterious, powerful machine from ancient Babylon, hoping to use it as a weapon. They must be stopped from unleashing unspeakable danger from another world.

Are you ready to lead Indy into adventures in lost temples, under mountains and through unexplored mines, for tales of missing artifacts, snake encounters and other things?

Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine combined action and adventure in a way the older Indy games did not do. The gameplay is inspired by Tomb Raider, as Indy moves through 3D representations of 17 locations around the world. The game engine is modified from Jedi Knight.

Puzzles based around switches & items; precise jumping must be negotiated on regular basis. You must use ladders, ropes and dinghies as well as moving on foot. You will also find yourself aboard a jeep and a mine cart. Replacements for your standard whip can be collected en route (from Soviet army arsenal), including grenades, sub-machine guns and bazookas. The valuable treasures you find can be used to buy extra ammo (between the levels). After each level you get your score (Indy Quotient) - you must reach all the treasure items cleverly hidden in secret places to get all the points.

Spellings

  • 印笫安那瓊斯之末日危機 - Traditional Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

175 People (158 developers, 17 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 74% (based on 42 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 48 ratings with 4 reviews)

Fantastic Adventure -- and then came the conclusion

The Good
The Infernal Machine is an enjoyable Tomb Raider rip-off. The location designs are detailed and varied. The numerous levels make for hours of engaging gaming. River-rafting, minecart riding, Jeep Killing (not kidding), etc... there is more to this game than running around on foot and shooting the baddies.

The Bad
The final level is so completely non-Indiana Jones. The game starts to drift into an absurd world of sci-fiction that really detracted from the experience. This isn't to say it was entirely bad. In fact, it only stands out as a problem because it's so incongruous with the rest of the game.

There are moderate clipping issues with the graphics.

The Bottom Line
An enjoyable, and somewhat challenging, action adventure game in the spirit of Tomb Raider.

Windows · by Game22 (35) · 2004

One of the best Lucasarts action games!

The Good
I liked the whole thing! The length of the game (took about 2 weeks to finish, keeps you hooked!), the 3D graphics, the Tomb raider style controls, the music was incredible, the plot was good.

The Bad
The 1 thing I didn't like in this game was that if you got stuck, you couldn't get out. (I know there is a cheat code to get you out sometimes, but it ruins the whole game experience). That's about all that was wrong with this awesome game!

The Bottom Line
EA classics released this as a platinum version for $24.95 AUST. Buy it if you see it. You will get your value for money! If you are not the action adventure type, try Grim Fandango, also in the EA budget range.

Windows · by James1 (240) · 2001

Doctor Jones!?! - I presume

The Good
After the release of 'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' it's difficult to rate any Indiana Jones spin-off on the grounds of believability, but still The Infernal Machine is the most absurd I've played so far.

It's easy to see why the game is the way it is. Point and click adventures were on the wane, coupled with 3D becoming the norm. Maybe The Infernal Machine would have been a much better game if it had followed the path of Grim Fandango, but another blockbuster franchise had appeared since Indy's last outing. Tomb Raider. It borrowed many of Indy's stylistic elements and also appealed to the films action-orientated fan base. Of course it was natural that Indiana Jones should appear in a game to retake the mantle of adventure archaeologist. But why the ridiculous storyline?

It's 1947, the war is over and with it the Nazis. Good thing too, to avoid over-using the same enemies. Naturally they've been replaced with Soviets, so far so good with a chance for interesting developments. Except it's not used, instead it's an almost straight swap with the Soviet interest in supernatural historical artefacts going against Soviet anti-religious doctrine. Instead the Soviets are played the same as the Nazis were. A more interesting story could have had Indy racing to stop the destruction of history, such as when the Soviets smashed the monasteries in Mongolia.

The mystical force being fought over is even more ridiculous and puts the game to shame. It's a stretch too far that a demon from another plane of reality had the Tower of Babel built for him, and it's actually a giant machine with a strangely steam-punk styling. Furthermore this machine needs four key-like elements which are easily hand-held and each have their own amazing powers such as levitation and invisibility. Maybe it's because we know Indiana Jones as a real-life person as seen on screen, so it's difficult to shake off that realism. If Lara Croft had to face off against four different inter-dimensional monsters then I think I'd just write it off as computer game silliness, but I expect more of Doctor Jones.

The reason behind all the plots silliness is really the games strength, the puzzles. Every level features beautifully intricate physical puzzles that will require persistence and care as you gradually tease every nook and cranny out. It really is fascinating when you come to the end of a level and realise hardly any space has been wasted, you've had to use every room and every corridor. It's like film sets where a scene is shot from a different angle it becomes a new location. The game will have you on the look out for any ledge, hole or moveable block to proceed. Whilst it's not very forgiving physically, there are many opportunities to fall and die, it does also make sure that you can never proceed without collecting that all-important item so you'll never be in a dead-end.

The engine, whilst dated, also performs well and is solid. As with many 3D engines clipping occurs but that was common at the time and generally the engine will never allow you to get stuck. Enough key points have been put in to allow you to play pretty smoothly, though a free-look system would have been good. Often it was difficult to find a ledge if it was above Indy.

The Bad
You would have thought all this action would tire out the 48 year old Doctor Jones? Well apparently not. He's more sprightly than he was twelve years earlier in 'The Temple of Doom'!

This shows off the main let down of the game. It's not Indiana Jones. The story is ridiculous, there's little humour, and little drama. The level design is a fantastic example of game level design, but is terrible at creating a realistic environment. Temples have rooms which can only be reached by a series of treacherous leaps or use of special keys. It must have made life hell for the Tibetan monks who originally lived in the Kazakhstan levels. Indy finds himself having to constantly run, jump and move massive lumps of stone to solve ancient puzzles which have all their parts in easy reach. It's all too contrived, as are the puzzles which can only be solved with the aid of machine parts which you've previously found in a set sequence. In Indy's previous outing, 'Fate of Atlantis' often you'd reach a dead end in one area only to return back later once you'd solved a different puzzle. Here the strictly linear progression makes it impossible, also as Indiana only learns the machine part locations one at a time. The levels are just giant jungle runs rather than believable locations.

Played from a 2nd person perspective behind Indy's head all dialogue happens in scripted cut-scenes, which do little but set up the next challenge. It's the only time we see Indy interact with other people, giving no time for wit or comic pacing. The only hint of wit comes from Indy's dry remarks, often no more than hearing “well what do we have here” for the hundredth time as he discovers some 'Medicinal 'erbs' in another unlikely spot. Being an action game it also has to scatter anachronistic power-ups such as the ever flowering herbs and medicinal packs on long dead bodies, to recharge after fighting off waves of angry animals.

Not that the drama increases when you face off against the Russians. Unlike the sneaking around we see Jones doing in the films and other games, here he becomes a walking one man army forced into creating a high body count. No room for the fast-talking Jones, just an ever increasing arsenal. It's such a shame after 'Fate of Atlantis', with it's fists or wits option that here not even a dialogue tree is available. The developers must have been too much in the thrall of Lara Croft.

I think the less mentioned about the games otherworldly finale the better, Suffice to say that by the time I played it I just didn't care and had the end in sight. The game is certainly too long and the middle feels like padding as you negotiate another locale for another treasure. If they could have cut to the end from the Russian freighter section, it would have been improved. I am one for short, concise games.

The Bottom Line
Interestingly the best level of the game is the bonus level. If the whole game had been that level it would be a better game. It's a sequel to the intro of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and does a fine job of setting puzzles that aren't too hard for old Dr Jones' body and takes place in a naturally physical puzzle rich location. Unfortunately to play it you have to complete a substantial portion of the game.

In the process you'll be exposed to a storyline of epic silliness without an air of feasibility. You'll lament the lack of character interaction and comedy in the vast empty locations. You'll be satisfied at getting to the end of a level only to then question why anyone would have built such a place. You'll wonder how Indy can survive five bullets without a limp, and where he keeps an AK-47, machete, pump-action shotgun, rifle and bazooka at the same time.

I can't think of a way of improving the story, short of just starting from scratch, which is a shame. Still if you forget any thought of story and treat it as an action puzzle game, it can prove some fun.

Windows · by RussS (807) · 2011

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Trivia

Distribution

Due to declining sales of the Nintendo 64 at the end of its life cycle, the only way gamers could get ahold of this title were through two exclusives: Blockbuster Video had an exclusive for rental of the title, and for those who wished to purchase the game, this could only be done through ordering it from the LucasArts website.

References

  • During the game, if you type "makemeapirate," you'll become a 3-dimensional Guybrush Threepwood. Using the bazooka weapon while "dressed" as Guybrush will produce, instead of a rocketing bazooka shell, the explosive propulsion of a rubber chicken, as Monkey Island-ish Caribbean tropical steel drum music plays on.
  • In the final level, if you wander around through the weightless passages, you'll eventually find the barbershop from The Curse of Monkey Island, with pictures on the walls of people ranging from Steven Spielberg to Max to Jar-Jar Binks.
  • On the overhead map indicating Indy's approach to Teotihuacán, Mexico, one can view among other Central American and Caribbean countries designations for El Marrow, near the base of the Yucatan Peninsula, and Melee Island™, just south from the western edge of Cuba. These fictional locations figure prominently in earlier LucasArts games Grim Fandango and The Secret of Monkey Island, respectively.
  • The jeep Indy finds in the game has the number 1899 on it - his birth year. (So he's 48 here - and still in shape).

Voice acting

While the US version does not feature the original voice of Harrison Ford, the German and Italian versions have his respective official dub voice.

Information also contributed by Daniel Albu, Ghost Pirate, Guy Champan, lechuck13 and Pseudo_Intellectual Rola

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

Nintendo 64 added by Grant McLellan.

Additional contributors: Terok Nor, -Chris, Jeanne, Apogee IV, tbuteler, Sciere, Ghost Pirate, DarkDante, DreinIX, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger.

Game added May 16, 2000. Last modified March 14, 2024.