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.

The Good
There's awfully lot of good memories that tie me to this game, aside from nostalgia, to ever even consider possibility I may like some game more than I like this one from the moment I first played it, back on my Amiga (never did finish it on Amiga, though, was some error in the final scene, rats). Monkey Island had a brilliant artwork and was a classic to consider, with all the elements to attract an average player, Indiana Jones was just a spin-off of a movie. Still, Fate of Atlantis, always considered as Indy IV took a story on its own, and surpassed the movies in almost every possible way. Nazis are still here as Indy's ultimate nemesis, wouldn't be the same without them for our adventurous archaeologist.

This game starts really unique with an opening that is half-gameplay half-cinematic that you may skip with a renowned RMC, but then lose a big portion of fun. Although all the characters beside Indy are new, it was really great to spot Marcus Brody in the opening, if even for a short time (he did look older, though). The hand-drawn graphics is breathtaking and with the most incredible soundtrack will soak you in to the atmosphere so hard you'll start feeling the worlds around you.

The script is well written and with multiple paths and endings that were all so well executed you won't regret a second of replaying the game. Dialogues are witty and on the level of LucasArts' golden era, and voice-acting (assuming you have a CD-ROM version of this game) is superb. LucasArts was/is always the leading game company when it comes to the quality of voice-actors, but this game is simply amazing, not to mention probably one of their first to had a voice-acting in general. The accents were truly amazing.

The Bad
Not one peep.

The Bottom Line
This is a true heart of an adventure game. LucasArts' finest hours, perfect in every aspect. I hardly saw a game that could compete with level of quality and entertainment this one has. Besides, I'm still a die-hard fan of 3rd-person point-and-click graphic adventures, even though they are remnants from the past nowadays. If you consider yourself to be a true gamer, you won't miss this game for anything... though I suppose any true gamer probably already has a copy of this game. The rest of you, go seek perfection in newer games, 'cos to love this game, you gotta have some solid gameplay background to support you.

The Good
Indiana Jones And The Fate Of Atlantis is one of Lucas Arts best adventure games ever. It remains a classic and most players would remember this game instead of the new Indy adventures (Infernal Machine and Emperor's Tomb) if they were asked. Well, this one became really great.

The plot is just amazing. Fate Of Atlantis has a great storyline. It is involving. It is even realistic -- well, don't expect too much of truth, this is Indiana Jones we're talking about. This adventure game could have turned into another Indy movie. In fact, many people really thought Indiana Jones And The Fate Of Atlantis would be released in theaters. Well, Spielberg should have done this one.

This Indy adventure had everything it could have. There are lots of action. There are different scenarios (Indy travels a lot, of course). There are fighting scenes. There is a girl. Indy does amazing things with his whip. It is a typical Indiana Jones story, and it is only on computers. If you want to know it, then you'll have to play. Well, the game couldn't have been more fantastic, as George Lucas himself keeps quality control of his games and he would never let the image of the star of 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' be spoiled.

The great involving story is the best part of the game. Well, the puzzles. The puzzles are part of the story. They follow the storyline (as true adventure games do) and provides lots of challenges and tons of fun. There are also some action parts. The rest is pure irrelevant detail. And this is what great adventure games are made of: first of all, a story and challenge.

Another plus: there is part where you choose your way among three options. You can opt to continue your adventure with Sonia (your mate, the girl I was talking about). She can give you hints and help you through the rest of the adventure. You may also choose to go on alone, following your own brains. Then, you'll have lots of puzzles to solve, some really difficult, and less action sequences. Finally, Indy may opt to go on by himself, following his instincts and filling the game with action. In this choice, puzzles are less frequent and there are more action scenes (such as fighting and racing). Each way has its own end. This choice brings the game an extraordinary replay value, as it can be played three times, without solving all the puzzles.

Gameplay is basically the same as Monkey Island: very good. The player controls almost every movement of the character (this means interaction, which some later games must have forgotten) and the buttons are simple and intuitive. The bar below the screen may take some precious space, but is very useful and was the best thing they had in 1992.

Graphics were very good for the time. They didn't follow the traditional Lucas Arts style of cheerful, colored backgrounds. Indiana Jones had sober graphics, in an effort to make them realistic. Well, one could notice they were as realistic as they could for the time. But they were also grainy, as VGA 320x200 resolution doesn't help in making them very sharp. It also has to be noted here that Lucas Arts always preferred to make accessible games. It is better to have a real good game with modest graphics which runs in every computer then to have an incredible realism which runs very slowly on your computer. This doesn't force the players to upgrade their machines to run the games. So, users should be thankful to Lucas Arts for releasing 320x200 games until 1996. Apart from that, Indy had very well elaborated graphics that look good even if compared to much newer games. Some backgrounds look like real paintings.

The music? Who would you choose to compose the game soundtrack? Is John Williams OK? Well, the music is exactly the same as the movies and it can be easily recognized even when played in PC speaker. Nothing to complain about it. Much on the contrary. Indiana Jones soundtrack is one of the best ever elaborated for movies and stands as one of John Williams favourites, as well as Star Wars and E.T. ones. Besides the main theme, all the other were also very good and provided a great atmosphere. In a few words: music couldn't be better. The CD-ROM version also featured digitised voices.

The Bad
Although the game is filled with the same magic as Monkey Island, it is sometimes too serious. The puzzles may be too logical at times, and may be a little obvious for some players. And some may look too realistic.

And it gets even more serious when you realize Indy can die in this game. Yes. But just in some occasions. Well, Lucas Arts always told the players they couldn't die in its games. In this one, they can, but just in a few situations, which is somewhat contradictory: adopting this possibility, why the danger of Indy dying is not present all the time? Maybe Lucas Arts was reluctant in doing that.

This game is also a little short. It could have been longer. This is probably because of the three versions it contains. But it would be really nice if it contained three long games instead of shorter ones.

Sound effects could have been better. They were just OK and didn't keep up with the great music. Besides it, Harrison Ford didn't play Indiana Jones voice in the CD-ROM version (it would have been just great, but the voice is nice anyway).

There are also some few glitches that could have been fixed. But they are most part of the story, which is great, and I'm not gonna spoil the fun by telling it.

The Bottom Line
TRUE CLASSIC. The best Indiana Jones game yet and maybe the only Lucas Arts adventure game that can keep up with Monkey Island.

The Good
And they loved it. OMG this game is so good! Not like modern games which are all boring and who don't have a soul. Old games were so much better. I remember when I played when I was like 14 years old and it was so amazing and it was summer and I jumped out of my window and went to a walk in the forest with my dogs to eat some berries and everything was just so special.

So I played it again and went for a walk with my dogs like I did back then and it still was amazing.

The Bad
Are you crazy?! This is the best game ever. Like for realsies. Well, that and that this wasn't made into Indy 4. Crystal Skulls like sucked and everything.

The Bottom Line
Played it with my dogs.

Okay, now the real review.

I'm here sitting and looking at the release date of this game – 1992. Wow. 18 years old. And I'm now vaguely sensing and realizing a difference between adventure games of today and adventure games of those days.

Adventure games of those days overshadowed other genres, and this here overshadows games that had yet to come in the world. What I'm talking about is the user-friendliness of the title. It's so easy to play it, and it's so wonderful to play it with it's dynamic atmospheric soundtrack and puzzles that don't bore you.

Today adventure games are a boring, uninspired mess, using Dan Brown as a basis for their stories and characters, and who have really dated puzzles. Writing wise Fate of Atlantis isn't much better. There's hardly any story or characters. It's all just a series of puzzles, sometimes they appear as human characters, sometimes they're just honest objects. For Fate of Atlantis is really a puzzle game. This is not something to be hold as example for how adventure games were about "story" or something.

For there is no proper story. You meet a guy, he says he needs stuff, you travel to the other side of the world, get stuff, come back and then guy tells you where you can get more stuff. And it's all coated in this Indiana Jones exterior. But Indy is not really a wisecracking swashbuckling hero in here, he solely relies on the player to fill in the blanks. Well that's a bit harsh – not solely, but most of the dialogue in this game is just puzzle-talk. Examples:

1) "What should we do now?"
"We should find this thing!"

2) "Hello, I'm Indiana Jones."
"Hello doctor Jones, answer me these questions and then you can get this stuff you want to solve your next puzzle."

There's not really any decoration to these lines and characters in these game. It's very pure puzzle-talk with no extra. Very barren of juice, if you know what I mean. It's quite different from Monkey Island 2 for example, which had loads of different dialogue not at all relevant to puzzles or the game at all. But in MI2 they helped to flesh out the world and the characters.

Though, most adventure games were very puzzle-oriented in those days and can hardly be called story games. There were largely two different kinds. There were the Sierra type where the extra was given through the narrator and descriptions, which were all full of craziness and/or world-building. Lucasarts type of games it was the main character himself who made all sorts of jokes to enhance the basic puzzle-game. None of these games really told stories, though around this time adventure games were starting to do things that later culminated into games like Pandora Directive, Gabriel Knight and Grim Fandango. You know, story-telling games.

But Fate is before that. And unlike others of it's era, it doesn't really have any extra.

Fate of Atlantis is a pure puzzle-oriented adventure game. In fact it's so pure that it boasts three different paths with three different kinds of puzzles. And it's not bad. It's great and fun.

For what it is lacking in dialogue and characters, it makes up for with atmosphere visuals and music. And this game is atmospheric! You know, that bit about playing with my dogs wasn't made up at all. There's this very unique atmosphere or vibe or feeling to the game that stays with you for a while.

Now this atmosphere or vibe is not perhaps the most Indy. I mean, remember when people hoped that Fate of Atlantis would be Indy 4? But it's not. It stars Indiana Jones, but for some reason this whole supernatural Atlantis a la Helena Blavatsky, carries a whole different kind of vibe than the 30's pulp of the film series. And Hal Barwood actually researched Blavatsky for this game.

You know, this special feeling that I talked about before? I'm gonna go crazy and say that this feeling was actually the spirit of Helena Blavatsky, who found my essence and locked on to this, while I was playing the game and then followed me when I was walking in the forest with my dogs. Did I mention I was seeing dead atlantean gods in that forest?

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I don't find the game and it's atmosphere most Indy-like. But then again, most of non-trilogy Indy-stuff is un-Indy like. And unlike some un-Indy like Indy-stuff, this one here is quite an enjoyable experience.

So time to talk about why these puzzles are not depressing. Well, they're not crazy non-logical puzzles. They're seamless. They feel natural. And they depend on which kind of game are you playing - the wits path, the fist path or the team path. The game chooses it for you on how you solve the first puzzle of the game, though you can reject that choice and choose your own.

The team path should be sort of like Indy and the snarky girl out on an adventure, having funny unresolved sexual tension. But since most of the dialogue is so puzzle-oriented and no extra, very few moments actually create that effect. Not the most exciting path for me.

The wits path is like the team path, in that it's puzzles require thinking, but it's all solo. There's no Sophia. And except for a fun Monte Carlo segment, I think this is inferior to other paths.

The fist path is sort of like an action adventure game in the form of early 90's Lucasarts adventure game and is my favorite. Mostly because you get to fight and kill people here. And most of the puzzles are sort of physical – should I fight Arnold over there or should I roll this giant boulder over him? And it's not all solo, there are times when you and Sophia are together. So it's best of both worlds.

But of course it's fun to experience all these different paths. Unfortunately the paths are only the middle part of the game. The ending chapter is still the same, and can become boring and tiresome on your third path.

But there were not many games in 1992 with this sort of seamless natural puzzles and multiple paths. Not to mention these production values. There was an other brilliant game in 1992 and that was King's Quest 6, and largely for the same reasons that Fate of Atlantis is. Most adventure games tended to have idiotic torturous puzzles and no replayability; though very recommended as retro experiences.

But Fate of Atlantis has a touch of genius to it that makes it unique and I hope I managed to describe what this touch was, while honestly describing the faults too.

So, a tl;dr version too.

• lifeless dialogue
  
• world locations just a collection of decorated puzzles
  
• no interesting comments from the main characters
  
• characters not really characters, but obstacles
  
• multiple paths
  
• seamless natural puzzles
  
• marvelous atmosphere getting me possessed by Blavatsky
  
• IMUSE dynamic soundtrack
  
• very easy to play
  

It's a great piece of work. Played it with my dogs and they loved it. It's funny that a game by a veteran Hollywood screenwriter that hanged out with Spielberg in 70's, is greatly designed in gameplay but lacking in dialogue. But there it is. Unfortunately the same approach fails Hal Barwood in his recent adventure game – Mata Hari.

The Good
Boy, if only every licensed cash-in was made by LucasArts, right? I mean, here they go, making what's essentially a spin-off from an in-house gaming classic, sort of like Westwood churning in a brand new C&C, but guess what? Where others fail by blatantly trying to squeeze the last penny of a series, Lucas gives a masterpiece by simply putting effort and dedication in it. Indy's latest adventure game is without a doubt one of the finest adventures ever made, it has a great plot that mimics the fast-passed action and adventuring you see in the movies while offering a completely new storyline involving an ancient and powerful force long lost to the seas. The game also sports some of the most devious puzzles that have ever graced a computer game, and manage to be challenging yet rewarding (and that also make sense, not the "use-the-pinnaple-with-screwdriver-to-get-grenade" kind of puzzles). And the ending sequence alone is one of the coolest ones I've ever had the pleasure of playing in an adventure game.

To top it off you also get wonderful graphics and sounds courtesy of LucasArt's always impressive production values. But the real icing on the cake was something that really blew me away when I first played: different game modes!! That's right, after a brief introductory sequence you are given the chance to play the game with the aid of your brand new love interest, go at it solo (which gives you COMPLETELY different puzzles) or play in the "action mode" which has simplyfied puzzles and is instead filled with one-on-one classic Indy fistfights. Save for the beginning and the final act, the entire game plays differently depending on what choice you make, a refreshing and much more lasting experience than what you get on most adventure games.

The Bad
It always sounds extremely cheesy and fanboyish, but at the risk of sounding like a Lucas-loving whore, I got to admit that Indy & the fate of Atlantis has nothing wrong with it. The only thing you could throw at it is the faults and shortcomings of the adventure genre, but that only works if you don't like adventures. If you do, then you'll find that this is as good as it gets. Yeah, I'm dead serious.

The Bottom Line
Incredibly good no matter where you look at it. Indy 4 stands the test of time as one of the best adventure games ever made, sell your soul if you have to, but GET IT. They just don't make games like this with so much attention to detail and fantastic gameplay.

The Good
(the Bad)

Due to conceptual reasons revealed later on in the review, I have decided to discuss the bad things about the game first.

1) the graphics aren't that good; if you consider that Sierra remade Quest for Glory this same year (and Kyrandia 1 was released as well), the backgrounds in this game just seem grey and dull and unimaginatively photo-realistic (though without such advantages of photo-realism as high resolutions and lots of colors) in comparison. The color palette in this game makes me want to ask a question: why hasn't there ever been a b/w adventure game released, ever? Also, the backgrounds aren't very detailed either, and the characters are pretty small, and mostly with no close-ups either.

2) you could die in this game, and quite easily; what happened to the LucasArts philosophy?

3) upon replaying it recently, I found it kinda short; sure, it has that advantage of having the middle-section in three different versions (you bet I was thrilled when after finishing the game for the first time I suddenly found out that there were practically two more somewhat smaller games there yet remaining) but if you play the whole story through, you get to play only one of those versions, and then you're smack into the last third (more like last half) which is always the same. And the middle-section isn't that long either - only a half-dozen locations (2 very small in Atlantic, 2 not-so-large in the Mediterranian, the large but not-so-exciting dungeons of Crete, optionally a mining site in Africa or a small island near Crete (both virtually unpopulated) and the sub, and that's it) and only a half-dozen characters with more than a couple of sentences to say or a fruit-on-a-stick to give you. I think that if they would've concentrated their efforts on one single definitive middle-section, they would've made a much more fulfilling game - but then again, that is what is always think regarding "non-linearity" in plot-led games.

4) the last section (Atlantis) is extremely questionable. First of all, the graphics go totally down the drain here - it's all a big muddy dungeon. Second, no characters to talk to (which is a big drawback because some comic relief would be very welcome here). Third, most of it takes place in a sort of a maze-like contraption, which thankfully doesn't involve any actual labyrinth-navigating (in fact, the top-down view makes it more like that handheld-game where you have to navigate this little ball through this little maze), but there are soldiers chasing you and it takes a pretty long time to get from anywhere to anywhere. Fourth, the actual gameplay in this section is kinda, er, I think "anal" is the word that describes it best: the thing is that some of the rooms in this maze just HAPPEN to be blocked off in some way (cave-ins, that sort of thing), yet there also just HAPPEN to be some chutes through which you can stick something into that room and knock something over, which just HAPPENS to have the effect of cracking open some door or starting some machine (which just HAPPENED to be standing there) which just HAPPENS to kill the two guards standing in that room. But why did I have to get into those rooms in the first place, I can't help asking (excepting the one which had Sophia jailed in it)? What, is it the ONLY room in the whole world to contain a stick, or a ladder, or some cogwheels I don't even yet know why I need? Have you ever seen an Indiana Jones film where he spends most of his time running back and forth from one room to the next, and to the next, and the next and then back again to the first one to see if the pile of crap he pulled out of the ancient Atlantidian garbage cans in those three "next" rooms just MIGHT switch/break something in the first one? WHY, tell me, why is it that if a robot breaks down in ONE room, his insides end up splattered across the whole goddamn underwater city? Or again, did the ancient super-advanced Atlantidian race have no conception of a "spare parts" shop/"room"/whatever and when something broke down they usually stole replacement parts from the robots/machines in the next room? When a computer at your workplace breaks down, do you usually sneak into the next room and break down your collegue's PC and steal parts from it? Don't answer that question.

And anyway - of course I'm not in any way suggesting that making the maze section even bigger would be a nice design idea (exactly the opposite), but it does occur to me that barely a hundred Atlantidians could fit in that "city", and even then they'd be very uncomfortable, there being no beds/toilet facilities anywhere to be found. And what did they eat anyway? Did they just open the window and fish? I just bet they did, because Indy certainly doesn't have any problem just barging in with his sub and then opening some door and getting inside (no diving gear/contact with water involved at any point). But then again, he doesn't have any problems being fired out of a sub's torpedo launch, so I guess he's just of a hardier stock than most people.

And what's worse (getting back to the mazes), once you get past the first biggest maze-circle and into the second one (smaller), the gameplay suddenly turns into "stand on the back of a mechanic swimming turtle (how aptly chosen!), and wait like 5 minutes until he transports you across the 3 desolate screens to the one which contains, again, a stick or a cogwheel". Then take the express back (I'm speaking ironically here), run across the whole of the bigger outer maze to some room where you can get some freaking beads you need to operate the machine which needs the cogwheel you just found. Look adventure game designers - having makeable/gatherable objects in a game which take a load of repetitive actions to make/gather, and the quantity of which is unlimited and the REQUIRED quantity is unknown (unless you're reading up on the walkthrough as you go along) = WRONG WRONG WRONG! What happened to the Monkey Island rope which you could never burn to the end? If LucasArts wanted to make Indiana Jones and the Legend of Kyrandia, maybe they should've included the option to EAT the goddamn beads by clicking them on yourself as well!

5) the Crete dungeon isn't that hot either; the puzzles are a bit funner here (particularly in the solo brawn version) but the top-down view has been removed and replaced with a regular multiple-screens maze. And the mineral-seeking fish-on-a-string is sure no match for the navigator's head! (Though the cool graphic effect of Indy climbing down a waterfall made up for it. In 1992, that is.)

6) character interaction generally left a lot to be desired: there clearly wasn't much effort put into branching out the dialogues, and aside from very flatly asking for the information that you need ("Have you seen any suspicious people digging around in the desert anywhere around here?"), the only thing Indy does is make some occasional off-hand one-liners ("I'm selling these fine leather jackets") or make some passably funny off-hand "I'm a big oaf" comments about the story ("uh, then they all died?" kinda stuff). There's little or no non-essential (to the plot) speaking going on - esp since Indy's witticisms usually end up with him either boxing with somebody or just plain being killed - which leaves the game world kind of bare, not fleshed out with little details like Sam and Max or Day of the Tentacle.

The Bad
(the Good)

Well. Those there were the drawbacks. The good thing is - this is the best single example of the "traditional", classic graphic adventure game. This is what adventure games where about until their surviving members sought refuge in cartoons (Tentancle, Sam and Max), or (intentional) self-parody (Monkey Island), or horror (Alone in the Dark) or film noir (Grim Fandango) or just simply much much more involved, "serious" stories, dialogues and plots (Gabriel Knight). The conceptual reason I put "the bad" first is this - though I KNOW this game is great, a classic, furthermore a classic I knew to be a classic way before anybody told me it was a classic (because I simply loved it so much when I played it), yet upon replaying this game a couple of months ago, I was unable to pinpoint the reason why I thought it was so great. Therefore I simply am unable to put anything constructive in the "good" section. Suffice to say that the drawbacks I have listed, and the rest is simply a defining chapter in the history of computer games.

But in the way of personal recomendation I CAN say this - when I first played this game, sometime around 1993 and 1994 (I was 12 at the time), I wrote it down as "my favorite game of all time". I hadn't played that many games at the time, but the game Fate of Atlantis stole the crown from was Dune 2, so it does say something. It held the title for about a year, until Gabriel Knight took over (and another year later, Ultima 7, pt 1). And about 7-8 years after I played it originally, I replayed it, and found it to be a mere shell of its former glory - the locations, the puzzles were all there but the magic wasn't. Why? Is it simply because I have come to expect much much more from a game, to expect film or cartoon-quality graphics (and original graphic design), top-class voice acting and witty, involved, surprise-filled dialogues? I guess you could say that I, like most gamers, have become lazy and don't use my imagination anymore (since there is much less need) - to which I would respond, true, but I would also rather prefer to have a modern car/computer/TV/whatever rather than have an old one and "use my imagination to make it come alive". Wouldn't you? And games are no different. If my imagination made the game "come alive", then I should sing praises to my imagination, not to the game. I certainly don't think it's true that games like Fate of Atlantis just gave an inferiour presentation of their content and therefore are now obsolete - I think that they weren't just pieces of mud your imagination made something out of, I think that the games of that time WORKED the imagination, were specifically made FOR the imagination, thus as to excite the imagination, to guide it and so on. Much like games today are made for 3d graphic cards and suchlike - games of that day were made for the imagination, some used it better, more efficiently, some worse. Obviously, Fate of Atlantis used it best of all - but. It doesn't work anymore. The naivette is gone, the belief that this game can "take me places" is gone. I can take the game apart like I couldn't before, I can note all the mechanisms that were supposed to drive the imagination, but they don't actually reach their target. It's as if I could print out some program's source code, read it and imagine how it was supposed to function but couldn't actually run it since it was written for some specific piece of hardware that nobody produces anymore.

There. I've exhausted THAT metaphore.

The Bottom Line
Play this game if you want to find out what was so great about the "classic" adventure game. Play this game if you want to find out why the classic adventure game became extinct.

The Good
What is good about this game? Everything comes to mind. The sounds are authentic and realistic. The graphics aren't good when it comes to raw power, but it has a certain style that endears you to the feel of the game. The controls are simple and too the point and the puzzles are all logical. The voices are also excellent, even Doug Lee who does Indiana Jones. You can really believe who these people are and their dialogue will bring you into the Indiana Jones world.

The Bad
Not much except that occasionally there is a lot of walking back and forth between areas.

The Bottom Line
Some games have a near mystical quality. Like X-Wing, Jedi Knight, Star Trek 20th Anniversary and Star Trek : Judgment Rites. This game is right up there with them. Buy it.

The Good
I like the whole idea of Indiana Jones in a game. Every since watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom I thought it was very exciting to live as Dr. Jones. So I would give a definite thumbs up to the story line which has Dr. Jones research the Lost City of Atlantis. The graphics at the time were quite fabulous. The game had voice acting that sounded pretty good at the time.

The Bad
There was not anything I really disliked about the game. Even though the game is pretty old in computer years I still play it occasionally.

The Bottom Line
The Fate of Atlantis puts you in the shoes of Dr. Indiana Jones as he investigates the Fate of Atlantis. This adventure sends you all over the globe investigating a variety of clues that you acquire. In the tradition of all LucasArts games the goal of the game is to tell a story and do it in such a way as the player has fun. If you get a chance to play a real adventure game then this is your chance.

The Good
Indiana Jones is a very suitable character for an adventure game, but only one adventure was produced by LucasArts (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) since the company didn't exist when the first two movies were screened. So, one day the good guys in LucasArts came up with the idea of INDY IV, and we had the chance to experience another Indiana Jones adventure (and a movie to some extent).

The game features a new story combing the best elements of the movies. There are three possible endings, and you have the chance to play the role of Sophia, your partner too. There are plenty of exciting places to explore and authentic characters to meet, both of which bring the game to life.

All the graphics are beautiful examples of pixel art, and the soundtrack simply fits the game very well.

The Bad
The city of Atlantis is kind of disappointing. It should have been more impressive.

The Bottom Line
A wonderful adventure game based on the best elements of the Indiana Jones movies.

The Good
Fate of Atlantis is unique in the Graphic Adventure category. As others have said on this site, it has 3 different endings, and 3 different paths to get to those endings. Most Graphic Adventures up until that time had one ending that you strived towards.

The Graphics are classic 16-bit graphics, but they conveyed the fact that you were guiding Indy through the different locales in the game.

The Sound and Music used LucasArts' proprietary iMuse system which changed the music as you made decision, and the music change was Seamless. No stuttering of the sound card, no OBVIOUS change in music styles.

The gameplay itself was highly intuitive. The S.C.U.M.M. interface (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion... no kidding that's what it means!) was used for the basis of talking to people in the game. And if you are lucky enough to own the CD-ROM version of the game, you could hear the spoken text (instead of reading it), and... get this... it was also available in 5 languages. Inventory is easy to manipulate, and the puzzles were on the hard side, but not to difficult. A few leaps in logic were needed, but not that many.

The Bad
There really isn't a lot to dislike about this one. Aside of LOOM and Secret of Monkey Island, Fate of Atlantis is probably LucasArts greatest Graphical Adventure to date.

The Bottom Line
If you can't run Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, your tapes of the movies are worn out, and you can't wait for INDY 4 to be relased in theaters, then Fate of Atlantis is right up your alley.

The Good
I like Indiana Jones, for starters!-)
Then, the puzzles are logical and good, the storyline is pretty good, the graphics are fine, the musics quite fitting (Can't get the Kerner theme out of my mind :) and there's LucasArts' IMuse engine to fit the musics in nicely. Then there are the three alternate routes to play the game through.. and two different endings! And did I mention that I love Indy?-)

The Bad
Not many things to complain about.. well, LucasArts decided not to use digitized effects in this game although the tech was available.. and the voice acting of the CD-ROM version is dreadfully pathetic.. don't listen to it.. trust me, it'll be better for you.

The Bottom Line
Forget any multimedia 'adventures', this game is a TRUE adventure!

The Good
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a superior point n' click, graphic adventure game from the folks at LucasArts. This game offers nice graphics, music, sound effects and an original storyline, with nice plot twists and the option to have more or fewer arcade sequences. The SCUMM interface is user friendly and there are more than enough interesting people, puzzles and locations to keep die hard adventure gamers busy for awhile. The CD-ROM "talkie", edition features excellent voice talents, albeit not from the film franchise.

The Bad
Some of the puzzles are a bit on the hard side, particularly when you get inside the ancient civilization. Locations of certain rooms and or items tends to change, which increases the replay value but also can provide a high level of frustration. Fans of the franchise might find themselves wondering why this game was not made into an Indiana Jones film. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull storyline pales in comparison to the game.

The Bottom Line
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a classic graphic adventure game from LucasArts that utilizes the SCUMM interface system and offers, especially with the voice talents, an engaging, creative and funny storyline involving Nazi Germany, spies, mythology, old romances and the fabled lost city of Atlantis. A few of the game's later puzzles may stump less seasoned gamers, but all fans of LucasArts adventure games should give this one a try.

The Good
Well, it uses the SCUMM engine adventure game system. That's a GOOD thing. You know how sometimes companies have an engine and make a ton of repetitive games that are almost the same? Well, now that the adventure genre is (almost) dead, I wish they've made more. Beautiful system, practically flawless ease of gameplay.

You're Indiana Jones and you have to find Atlantis. On the way, you visit Crete, Egypt, Monaco, Iceland, Atlantis itself, and more locations. You can play as both Indiana Jones and his archaeologist female companion. You can play an adventure or action mode. Thus, it seems like you have more options available than in the usual adventure game.

The game is a tad more serious than most LucasArts adventures, but not as dark as its predecessor, Indy 3. While there is a sense of urgency and drama (the cutscenes whenever the evil Nazis do something, etc.), there's also the usual witty Indy humor. Also, Indiana Jones looks remarkably like Harrison Ford in this game.

The storyline is EXCELLENT. As a matter of fact - you know how they often make computer games after books, movies, etc.? They made ANOTHER computer game (the Indy 4 action game) and a 4-book comic book series (by Dark Horse Comics) after this game, THAT'S how good it was. Sure, nowadays when Warcraft has its own Paperback series, that's no big deal, but for ten years ago it was.

On a side note, this was the first game that I owned that actively supported Windows (it actually had a little .jpeg picture for the Windows desktop shortcut, something that games only slowly adopted).

The Bad
I hated all those dumb dial-a-wheel copy protections, but thankfully if you buy the game today (CD version on a compilation, or so) you won't have to do it.

The Bottom Line
Get it. Graphics and sound are not too outdated, and the storyline's worth it. I WISH the following Indiana Jones games (Infernal Machine, etc.) had still been SCUMM adventures and not Tomb Raider clones.

The Good
What can I say? This game is the epitome of the classic Adventure game genre. Great story, great graphics, great sound, great puzzles there is hardly a misstep in sight here. From New York to Iceland to Crete you'll find yourself swept along by the fast passed story and skillfully integrated puzzles. It seems LucasArts here has found the perfect balance, even by their standards, between the difficulty of the puzzles and the momentum of the storyline. This is quite an achievement as any adventure player can attest to having played many other otherwise good games marred by either impossibly difficult puzzles or childishly easy ones, on an uneven mix of the two.

Oh did I mention it has 3 endings?

The Bad
There isn't much to dislike about this game so I'll have to resort to nit picking :-).

Some may find the story line a bit melodramatic at times, but hay that's to be expected from a game based on Indy. Despite what I said about the puzzles being very nicely balanced with the story line they do fall on the hard side at times, an example being the three pivotal puzzles involving the stone discs. Sophia, Indy's companion, can get on your nerves at times.

The Bottom Line
Another must play LucasArts adventure.

The Good
The game opens in a grand way that is a true cross between Indiana Jones and Lucasarts games, with a witty intro that intertwines the credits with actually playing the game, I loved this and wish more games were creative this way.

The plot of the game is very in the Indy vein, taking the much over-used idea of Atlantis and putting the Nazi spin on it. True to Jones form the game doesn't dwell in ancient scriptures and instead constructs an almost plausible story involving a lost dialogue of Plato as a cue for sending our hero across the world. Being an adventure game it gets pretty close to the feel of the film, given the constraints of being played out across static screens and being unable to use proper cinematography. The SCUMM game engine has clearly been used well, performing admirably and enhanced by great voice acting and an excellent score (helped along by the famous Indy motif).

The famous thing everyone says about the game is the different paths through depending on you playing style, which add a replayability to it, though I suppose were it a real Jones film, the muscles path would have to be taken.

The Bad
Being an adventure game the game has to have challenging elements I suppose, but sometimes these challenges are ramped beyond what you'd get in at the cinema. I felt that these detracted from the romping across the globe feel, as you were left sometimes doing a fairly ridiculous travel back and forth across the globe to attempt a different puzzle whilst figuring another out.

This kind of criticism may seem unjust given it does the best it can do as a game, but then it is trying to follow in the steps of a film series. I would write that the plot and ending is a little too overblown for an Indy story, but then I've now seen the Crystal Skull, so even the Infernal Machines plot devices could seem reasonable now. The staging of the story doesn't quite work so well, as the tone of the game is more light-hearted than the films, following more on LucasArts other games such as Monkey Island, though I suppose it might help relieve the pressure of 'using item a on object b' to solve a puzzle.

The Bottom Line
In term of where the genre was at when the game was released, it's a milestone, playing other games from the same era allows you to realise how smoothly this game plays and how well the 'never die' (at least giving you a fair warning otherwise) device works well and helps the game continue.

There are lessons to be learnt from this game on how to write and design a good adventure game, though also improvements that could come forth too such as injecting more a free-flowing film dynamism to the game, making the action sequences less stifled (long-winded boxing matches, anyone?).

Definitely worth playing for all adventure buffs and Indiana Jones fans who felt that maybe the latest movie installment didn't deliver.

The Good
Indiana Jones is a legend of its own. Raiders were the first and because of that the movie became legendary. Temple was a mediocre filler and Crusade was a great hit because of a new character portrayed by fabulous Sean Connery. So LucasArts had great material at their disposal to base game upon. But no. It would not be LucasArts if they would not go the other way.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis presents a completely new, original story. And it would not be LucasArts if they would not elaborate it. So the story not only is on par with any of the three movies that preceded the game (Crystal Skull was 15 years after this game) but the player's sheer involvement in a brand new Indy story makes this stand above any of the movies. It's pretty hard to explain if you didn't play the game. It's not like a game based on movie which follows the plot and you loose much of the surprise because you know what is supposed to happen. Not when you have a well known character in a brand new story. The game starts with a really great interactive intro with Indy making some funny remarks about Barnett College artifacts. It's this intro that captures you and sucks you into the game which then keeps you in till the very last image and the last tone of the music. Most of people don't like intros but this one is worth spending 10 minutes on, also because it explains the basic setting of the plot.

When I first played the game in 1997 it was already a bit dated. But since I am an oldskool player (and I know the internals of PC) I found the VGA graphics amazing (more so when I learned it was hand painted, every single background, character, movement and animation) and the music (especially Adlib) really captivating despite it was pretty primitive compared to other systems.

But what was really the most thrilling element of the game was the storyline. Starting of with the intro and an action sequence that set the game in motion the game story progressively builds up, Indy reveals more and more about the Atlantis. Nazis are a constant threat in the game (as in every Indy movie) but there is also something more in the air. This doesn't reveal itself till the very last stages of the game (and I will not reveal it either) but the game pacing, settings and music build up this tension as the player approaches the goal. The atmospheric highpoint for me was the Outer ring with its maze, gloomy music and Nazis walking all around where player had to take long distance trips through the maze. It really brought in the frustration and sense of threat that a real human in this setting would experience.

The puzzles are another highpoint of the game. You've got these, let's say eccentric puzzles in Day of the Tentacle or Monkey Island. Not so with Indy. If you want to make a balloon you have to use a real balloon bag, a real basket and something to tie it with. Puzzles like these contribute to the involvement of the player because the player doesn't feel like he's doing something outrageous. One big plus is many of the puzzles (almost all of the important ones) change with each replay - the things needed are hidden in different places, the player is required to use a different approach or a different object, search at different locations or take different steps to complete the objective. A great example of this is a search for Lost Dialogue in the first part of the game where the dialogue can be hidden in several places (I think it's more that five!) and to retrieve the Dialogue from each place takes a completely different set of steps to take.

If changing puzzles are not enough for you then there's something bigger in store for you - three different ways to complete the game. After the first part you make a decision and until the final parts the game progresses totally differently in each mode converging the three paths seamlessly after you reach Atlantis. What is so great about the three modes is that although Indy roughly follows the same locations in each mode (with a host of locations unique to each path) the storyline in each path is distinctively different and locations have different puzzles in each mode that serve different purposes. A topping on the cake of this is that even some characters change from path to path - while they are helpful in one they are evil in another and you never know what to expect or will stand surprised if you try to treat the character the same in different paths. Take the variation in puzzles AND three distinctive paths and you have myriads of possible gameplay combinations that will make you replay the game again and again.

Technically there's not much to say. Controls are so easy you won't be needing manual even in the fighting mode. This is the probably the cleanest most intuitive adventure game interface I've seen. The graphics is a 320x200 256 color VGA mode which was the best you could have on PC those days. Artists at Lucas took some big efforts to make the scenarios look good in this resolution and also make the important elements stand out so that the player doesn't have to do pixel-by-pixel search (except for some two or three occasions).

The music can play either through the PC speaker (no comments needed, you know the bleeps) or using Yamaha's OPL3 music chip found on Soundblaster cards (and clones). For the luckier who had Roland cards the MTU-41 interface was also available. The OPL3 music, although pretty simple stands in its own right and does the job right. First notes you'll hear is of course the obligatory theme (which of course is a positive thing) but the in house musicians created original soundtrack that has his own themes that fit the game and yet is bonded together with the well known Indy theme. Also the ending credits are incredibly well done (I won't spoil what's there) and with the music based on Indy theme rearranged and extended by different original melodies that transition to a grand finale based again on Indy theme with some nice arrangement touches from game musicians finishing with a final crescendo accompanied by a tiny bell sound that will make you smile.

Noteworthy is the iMUSE music system that pretty seamlessly mixes the music according to scenario or situation so that the player experiences a continuous movie-like sound scape that really adds to the game. The voiced version is also a very nice touch since reading silent letters on top of nonsilent music is not really natural, having voices AND music WITHOUT the letters is much more a cinematic experience and takes the player involvement a step further.

Summed up - if you are able to switch your brain to year 1993 play this game if you haven't. The story, atmosphere, technical quality and huge replay value are so attractive you will find enjoying this game more than you would find healthy to. For me the game stands in the adventure genre as a highpoint, as the best adventure game ever.

The Bad
There's not too much bad to say - it IS a best adventure game after all (for me at least). Maybe some parts were too long and frustrating (e.g. the outer ring). Maybe some animations and movements could be better (especially in final scenes where Indy and Sophia are expect to run from Atlantis yet the animations shows them Sunday walking). Also there is this quirk - some sound effects are presented as text (or sampled sound in talkie version) while others are played back through MIDI/OPL3 chip. This might be distracting to some (it was to me) since you never know what you're going to hear/read and it makes some scenes unnatural (like Indy pushing a stuck door, first the text reads "ouch, oof" but nothing is heard and then the doors move and suddenly you can hear the door squeak). This is probably my biggest criticism of this game, apart from that there is really hard to find something bad in this game.

The Bottom Line
A legend in adventure gaming, a must have for anyone who is able to appreciate a game in the context of its age.

The Good
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (CD-ROM edition) is arguably the best video game based on the exploits of Doctor Jones, if not also one of the best point and click, adventure games made by LucasArts. I would go as far as to say that the plot for this video game should have been the plot for the 4th Indiana Jones film (instead of the Kingdom Skull mess we got).

The year is 1939, the world is on the brink of a war. Doctor Indiana Jones goes on another international quest that involves an ex-girlfriend, Nazis and untold secrets lurking within ancient civilizations. It is not based on any of the films, but, as I said, the game's storyline could easily have been made into a great film.

The 1992-era graphics are impressive, the game mechanics are very user-friendly (especially if you have played games such as Monkey Island) and the story really feels like a big screen Indiana Jones movie adventure.

While the game does have some action sequences, much of the game is a point and click adventure game using LucasArts' trademark SCUMM system. The CD-ROM edition is a "talkie" featuring some very nice voice acting.

The Bad
It is hard to find fault with with game. If you do not like point and click adventure games, then this game is probably not for you. Sometimes the action sequences are a bit cumbersome and sometimes you may be tempted to solve a puzzle by cheating.

The Bottom Line
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is an amazing point and click, SCUMM adventure game from the folks at LucasArts. The CD-ROM edition features some great voice acting to read the game's dialogue. Let us hope and pray that more of these LucasArts adventure games are released on the newer game systems.