Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is a 1999 action-adventure video game developed and published by LucasArts. The first 3D installment in the series, its gameplay focuses on solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and completing various platforming sections. The story is set in 1947, after the events of Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix, and puts the eponymous protagonist, the adventurer Indiana Jones, against the Soviet Union. In a race for a mythological Babylonian power source, he joins forces with the Central Intelligence Agency and collects four pieces of the Infernal Machine, an ancient device that allegedly opens a portal to another dimension.

The title was designed, written, and directed by Hal Barwood, who considered the Indiana Jones franchise a perfect fit for the action-adventure genre. Initially developed for the Microsoft Windows operating systems, the game later received an enhanced Nintendo 64 port jointly developed with Factor 5 and released exclusively in North America, as well as a 2D version for the Game Boy Color developed by HotGen. Infernal Machine received generally favorable reviews, having been praised for its detailed storyline and sophisticated level designs, though widely criticized for its unwieldy control scheme.

Gameplay

thumb|left|A third-person action-adventure, the camera of Infernal Machine is constantly placed behind the playable character. The [[HUD (video gaming)|heads-up display in the bottom left corner is limited to a health indicator.]]

Infernal Machine is an action-adventure and, as such, features a hybrid of various gameplay mechanics. The player sees Indiana Jones from a third-person perspective and controls him through 17 levels of a fully polygonal 3D world. Furthermore, several human, animal and supernatural enemies are encountered during the course of the game, which the player can fight off with numerous firearms, the aforementioned whip, and a machete. In addition to these obstacles, the game largely focuses on solving puzzles and discovering treasures. Some levels include vehicle-themed portions such as rafting, jeep treks, and mine cart chases. The main objective of the game is to collect four machine parts in order to complete the titular Infernal Machine. Sophia Hapgood, an old friend of Jones and a member of the Central Intelligence Agency, visits him at his dig site in the Canyonlands, and informs him that the Soviets are excavating the ruins of Babylon. Led by Dr. Gennadi Volodnikov, a physicist interested in alternate dimensions, the Soviets' objective is to find a weapon more powerful than the nuclear bomb, giving them a decisive advantage in the Cold War. and finds out that Volodnikov is looking for the Babylonian god Marduk who lives on another plane called the Aetherium. Deep in the ruins of the Etemenanki, Jones translates ancient cuneiform tablets revealing the true story behind the Tower of Babel: 2600 years ago, Nebuchadnezzar II was inspired by Marduk to build a great engine, but the frightened Babylonians tore the tower housing it down, leading four of the god's disciples to escape with some parts of this "Infernal Machine".

Jones embarks on a journey to find the four machine parts before the Soviets do, and retrieves them from a monastery in the mountains of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, an active volcano on Palawan in the Philippines, an Olmec valley in Mexico (briefly being captured by the Soviets and taken to a ship in the waters of the Canary Islands at the end of it), and a tomb near Meroë in the deserts of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. He is confronted by Volodnikov and Turner who both demand him to hand over the parts as they think they would not be safe with the other side. Untrusting of his fellow Americans, but opting for the lesser evil, he gives the parts to Sophia and Turner. Volodnikov says that it was probably better this way, as Marduk would have his revenge on those who desecrated the machine.

Alarmed, Jones returns to the Room of the Tablets in Babylon, and finds a now-opened gate leading further into the ruins, to the core of the Infernal Machine. He catches up with Sophia and Turner, the latter of which intends to convince the other dimension to cooperate with the United States, and uses the machine parts to activate the engine. Turner pushes the unwilling Sophia into a mystical cage as a means of sending her to the Aetherium as an ambassador. Jones sees no other way but to kill him to reclaim all parts and rescue her. However, the activated machine goes awry, and Jones and Sophia are sucked into a portal that leads to the other dimension. There, he defeats the malevolent Marduk and frees Sophia from her cage. Having escaped back to Babylon, the team is greeted by Volodnikov, who is curious to find out if they encountered God on the other side, which Jones denies. In the ensuing conversation, the Soviet doctor turns out less extremist than assumed, and the three wander off into the sunrise in search of a good bottle of vodka.

Development

600px|thumb|right|Each version of the game was developed around the same ideas. Indy begins his adventure in all three versions; PC, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color, by sliding down a slope and proceeding to the character's right across the edge of a cliff. His weapons in all three versions also function in the same way.

Infernal Machine project leader, designer and writer Hal Barwood always thought of Indiana Jones as an action hero. Based on this notion, he decided for the game to be an action-adventure, as he was particularly fond of the genre and its use of 3D worlds. Barwood also considered the Nazis to be overused as villains in the series and so instead set the title in the Cold War era with Russians as the antagonists. Originally, UFOs were planned to be used as a plot device, though George Lucas vetoed the idea, still reserving it for a then undeveloped fourth installment. In lieu thereof, Barwood became interested in ancient technology like the Antikythera mechanism, conceived the Infernal Machine as the MacGuffin, and placed it in the biblical Tower of Babel, which is believed to be identical with the Etemenanki, a temple dedicated to the god Marduk.

thumb|165px|[[Hal Barwood, who had previously worked on the LucasArts adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, returned as project leader, designer and writer for Infernal Machine.]]

Developed for Windows 95 and 98, the game uses a modified version of the Sith engine adapted for a third-person view by lead programmer Paul LeFevre. Eventually, lighting, collision, rendering and tools underwent drastic rewrites to the point that the code was renamed the Jones engine. Multiplayer support was planned at the beginning of the development, but ultimately dropped because it turned out to be too complex to adequately test. Apart from John Williams' "Raiders March", the soundtrack was newly composed by Clint Bajakian and consists of about 130 original pieces.

An intended PlayStation version was canceled early after the game's announcement. However, a team of eight Factor 5 employees teamed up with artists, level designers and a programmer from LucasArts to port Infernal Machine to the Nintendo 64. Development of this version commenced in early March 1999 and was finished in October 2000. Electronic Arts planned to release it in Europe, but the title then saw a change of publisher to THQ. Originally scheduled for March 2001, the PAL version became subject to continuous monthly delays and was eventually cancelled in September 2001. A Dreamcast port was announced for a fall 2000 release but this was also cancelled. A 2D version of Infernal Machine with top-down perspective gameplay was developed for the Game Boy Color by HotGen also in early 2001.

In October 2018, GOG.com re-released Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine as a downloadable game for personal computers. In November, the game was released through Steam.

Reception

Reviewing the PC version, although some critics found it to be too similar to Tomb Raider, Tal Blevins of IGN commended the game for its intricate and intriguing storyline. while Hill considered the lack of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones' voice disappointing, though understandable given his high salary. Boba Fatt of GamePro said that the game "may be a direct copy of Tomb Raider, but Indy fans will be pleased with this whip-wielding, idol-grabbing, raft-riding roller coaster adventure that fits perfectly in the vein of the famed archaeologist's cinematic spectacles." Thomas Crymes said of the PC version in another review, "If you find the Tomb Raider games an exercise in frustration, then you might want to skip this one. But fans of those games will have a great time with Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machines addictive game play and interesting puzzles. The man in the hat is back to reclaim the role he never should have lost." Jason Lambert of GameZone said "If you loved playing Tomb Raider and you really loved the Indiana Jones movie series, then you will love this game. With Christmas coming soon, this should be in every gamer's stocking." Eliot Fish of Hyper wrote "The sound in Infernal Machine is great, the graphics are a bit of a mixture of wonderful and horrid, and I'm saddened to say that the gameplay is quite average. Indy fans will still enjoy the experience to some degree (I did have some fun) if you can put up with all the game engine flaws." Neil Harris of The Electric Playground called it "a must-have for any fan of the third person action-adventure game." However, Edge said that the rating "reflects its worth to players who have the patience to brave its inadequacies." Tom Chick of Computer Games Strategy Plus called it "A tedious, frustrating, flat-chested, wisecracking Tomb Raider who's nothing like the Indiana Jones that you know and love."

Despite its enhancements, the Nintendo 64 version fared about as well with critics as the PC original, receiving "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Jes Bickham of N64 Magazine called it "a polished Tomb Raider." Jules Grant of The Electric Playground wrote that it was "better tomb raiding fare than Lara Croft's adventures, and console-wise, it's only available for Nintendo 64--tell your Sony loving friends to sit that in their CD tray and rotate." Uncle Dust of GamePro said, "The controls have received a good overhaul since the PC version's, and they work very smoothly – you'll basically be Lara Croft with a whip. The N64's twitchy analog stick causes some accuracy problems, but, overall, Machine provides perfect Indy-style adventure fun."

Reviewing the Game Boy Color version, Suzi Sez of GameZone wrote "This game is not for the faint-hearted! Fast-paced action will greet you on the very first scene and will follow you throughout the perilous journey to find the Infernal Machine! Don't hesitate or you may find yourself...very dead!" Extreme Ahab of GamePro said of the game, "If you crack your whip for this one, prepare for enjoyable action and a bit of brainwork." On the other hand, Frank Provo of GameSpot panned it for its backtracking, missing puzzle hints, and lack of plot development, but lauded for its clean animations and sound effects. Nintendo Power compared it to the N64 version saying it that it has much depth and far fewer control problems, and described it more as a puzzle game.

Further reading

Notes

References

  • (via Internet Archive)