The classic Indiana Jones is back, and while Harrison Ford has been showing his age in the newest movie, fans can relive past glories in the newly released Indiana Jones and The Great Circle. Developed by MachineGames, the latest title, promised to return to the developer’s roots, incorporating elements reminiscent of their acclaimed work on “The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay”. The Chronicles of Riddick is also a good example of how MachineGames is a reliable developer when it comes to making games based on movies.
A New Perspective
There are not a lot of 3D Indiana Jones games that have been released in the past, the most notable ones are the Lego Indiana Jones 1 and 2 and often forgotten and underrated Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb. What makes the new title different from the past Indiana Jones games is the first-person perspective that the game adopts for its version.
While it might be seen as a quite questionable choice at first due to the inherent nature of other Indiana Jones-esque titles like Tomb Raider and Uncharted adopting a third-person view to provide visibility to their iconic character, and also make puzzle solving and platforming easier. MachineGames’ choice of showing gamers the world through the eyes of Indy helps provide attention to the scale of the world they have built and makes those grand setpieces even more fascinating.
Get Ready To Rumble
In contrast to previous MachineGames titles, players should not expect Jones to go guns blazing against the nazi regime like BJ Blazkowicz. Indy’s ability lies more in close-quarter combat based on a simple yet efficient fighting system that feels extremely satisfying to play with. The iconic whip plays an essential part in Indy’s arsenal against enemies helping him pull enemies closer, knocking them out and even disarming them.
In terms of using guns, however, it is not as equal to a satisfying experience as close-quarter combat. The guns feel very ineffective, with enemies being somewhat bullet-spongy, and they also are at great risk of alerting the enemies who are more dangerous in a group than alone. Using the guns is the last resort and the developer’s previous experience with creating shooting games might show that it is more of a design choice than a flaw.
A Truly Epic Adventure
Overall, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle has been a great experience, especially for long-time fans. Troy Baker’s performance as Indy also perfectly captures Harrison Ford’s mannerisms making the game much more immersive. The story which branches from the streets of the Vatican City to the dusty paths of Egypt and finally the murky waters of Thailand, all have unique platforming and puzzles that Indy needs to fight and think his way through.
Released on the 8th of December, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle has been received very well by the gaming community, being rated 91% very positive on Steam. The first patch the game received also introduced full ray tracing (path tracing) for supported NVIDIA video cards, enhancing visual quality. Indiana Jones and The Great Circle has got it all, for both new and old fans of the series making it a must-try for all gamers for a price of ₹4,999 ($69.9).
