History: One of the all time greatest games of all time is the 1992 computer classic Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. (FOA) It was a side-view graphic adventure with some really neat things, like the hexagonal block maze and the artifacts. It was mana from heaven for those of us who really wanted another movie starring Harrison Ford. It let us dream and imagine what it would be like to be the real Indiana Jones.

Plot: Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures (HDA) is an adventure game generator which generates an unlimited number of interactive mini-game plots which can be saved. There is no set scripted plot, which really gives you a feel for the difference between the scripted games like FOA have it all over the mission generators as represented by HDA. After a while the missions begin to blur together and they all begin to look like the same plot

Game play: The game play like the low price is not meant to be high powered but casual. Another small game you can keep on your desktop with solitaire, mine sweeper, and Hong Kong Mahjong Pro. Just put the game in and play for a short while and save it with no effort, save that you will need to take to replace the lost mindless hours.

Scenarios and missions: Each mission is a mixture of jungles, deserts, rivers, villages, caves, treasure hunt puzzles, and 15 quests. Scenerios can be saved and your performance is rated with the Indy Quotient (IQ) which you can replay the game to either improve or not.

Interface: Point and click with little conversation balloons for talking.

Graphics: The new product, Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures (HDA) is a top down overhead, oblique perspective with little tiny and overly cute characters that are either malformed midgets or are seen from too high up.

Characterizations and Setting: The decade is the 1930s. The location is Mexico. And, boy, do we have characters, including Nazis, natives, bandits, scorpions, spiders, jaguars, and Indy’s favorites, snakes. The named Nazis are Dr. Vicotr Van Loon and his equally nuts cousin Nazi General Anton Schlossberg.

Voice actors: Human speech is swapped for conversation balloons.

Music score: None during the game. The Indy theme plays while the mission is generated.

Sound effects: Pistol shots, whip cracks, sliding boxes, and various grunts accent play adequately.

Conclusions: This is light fare for easy times when you need mindless activity to retain your sanity. Sadly, this is not the next Indy epic you have been hoping for. Perhaps LucasArts will never do another Indy epic, either in game or cinematic form. For this we all are truly saddened.

Reviews:
Chuck Miller: www.cnet.com/Gamecenter/Reviews/Indyjo
Cindy Yans, Computer Games Strategy Plus, issue 70, September, 1996, pg. 106, 2.5/5, (50%).
Thomas Borovskis, http://w3pca.pcaction.de/PCG0696/review/indy, (50%)

Letters:

1. From: Terry LoMeli TRYING TO PURCHASE INDIANA JONES SERIES (3/11/99) Hi, I have tried to purchase Indiana Jones in my area stores but have unable to. ARe they very old games. When did they come out? They just say they don't have them. They are not in their computer. Can you help me? Thank you. ANS: The Indiana Jones stories are composed of:
   1. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (released in 1993) is for sale at the lucas arts company store (www.lucasarts.com/companystore) for $19.95 with a free clue book.
   2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (released in 1989) is for sale at the Lucas Arts Company Store (www.lucasarts.com/companystore) for $19.95 as part of a set called Classic Adventures.
   3. Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (to be released in 1999) is available for pre sale at the Lucas Arts Company Store (www.lucasarts.com/companystore) for $49.95.
   4. Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures (released in 1997) is an interesting game, but not of the same caliber as the prior three games. I cannot recommend it. It is also available from the Lucas Arts company store for $19.99.
   I recommend buying Atlantis and Crusade from the Company store. I recommend that you wait and pick up Infernal Machine when released from a store like Best Buys who normally discount the product by 20 to 40%, making the price $40 to $30 when released. These games are wonderful, and if you can take the older graphics, you will love the stories. I highly recommend all of the Lucas Arts animated graphic adventures. You will love them unless you are a stickler for great graphics over the story line. Personally, I prefer story line to graphics, so these are a lot of fun for me.

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