Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

The Good
What an amazing gaming experience and how sad that games like this are few and far between. Indiana Jones is a classic game. Although its graphics are quaint, its story and gameplay are equal to any current adventure game.

This was one of the few games where the puzzles seemed integrated into the story. While adventure games require puzzles, most involve outrageous leaps of logic or cycling through inventory to see what works.

It was refreshing to have conversation options affect the outcome of a situation, even so far as resulting in talking your way past someone or ending in a fist fight. This game also has built in replayability, in that you can chose to work with a partner, fight your way through the game, or think your way through.

The story was very good and the only time I was bothered by the aged graphics was when I could tell the designers weren't able to show how grand locations actually were. Voice acting was good and even though Indy didn't sound like Indy, the lack of a cheap impression and honest delivery was nice.

The demos on this disk included Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, and one of the Monkey Island games. When was the last time you played a game that had demos of that quality?

The Bad
Hmmm... I didn't like that this game failed to kick off an Indy series. Also it could have been a bit longer.

The Bottom Line
Most classic games make modern gamers shake their heads. This game doesn't have to be appreciated within the confines of its time. It is equally as enjoyable now as it was when first published. Before LucasArts became obsessed with the Star Wars franchise, they had quality adventure games like this.