Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine

• NA release: 15th December 2000
• JP release: N/A
• EU release: N/A
• Developer: LucasArts, Factor 5
• Publisher: LucasArts
• N64 Magazine Score: 81%

Looking back at N64 Magazine regarding this game is a bit confusing. In Europe, this was due to come out in September 2001. THQ then informed N64 magazine that the release date was pushed forward to June 2001, which is what issue their review was posted in. Yet, despite the PAL version being finished, it never game. I quickly checked the following few issues for a mention of the game not appearing on shelves, but there’s no mention of a delay or cancellation – there was even a guide in their August 2001 issue. It was a game I was interested in, but in, but wasn’t on my list to buy – although it turns out that I wouldn’t have been able to buy it anyway.

Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine was a mixture of a Tomb Raider style platformer and a point and click adventure. It’s a nice idea, but the flaws of each part of the game really work against each other.

The original PC version of Infernal Machine used tank controls, but Indy is given proper analogue control for the N64 port, while the “place camera behind Indy” also allows for strafing to line up shots, which does feel a bit awkward. While general moving around feels much nicer on the N64, you still need to be immensely precise, which can lead to a lot of frustrations – Indy really needed to be able to grab ledges even when he’s slightly to the side. Incidentally, the modern control options in the Tomb Raider remastered also faced the same criticisms, as those games were designed around tank controls.

What makes the platforming even worse is the camera. It’s very, very close to Indy and points straight forward. In a great many rooms and areas, platforms you need to jump up to are just out of view. You can stop moving and use a slow first person camera, but even then ledges can blend in with the ceiling. I had to keep looking up videos as I was constantly missing things that really shouldn’t be part of the challenge.

Infernal Machine also employs point & click puzzle elements, where you have to find objects and work out what to use it on. One reason this mechanic works really well in puzzle games is that it’s easy to identify what objects you can interact with, and it’s easy to test out objects on other objects. But not in Infernal Machine. The “take” button is often a pain to make appear – interacting with objects as a whole requires you to be standing on the exact pixel the game wants you to be on. This isn’t just a faff in picking things up, but using items to interact with objects. You can use the right thing, but because you’re slightly at the wrong angle, it just seems like you used the wrong item.

Take the lagoon level. It’s set in a place that had some WWII conflict, with some boats and planes crashed. After a few lengthy puzzles and an underwater maze, you unlock a secret tunnel to some kind of underwater temple. When you get there, the door is shut. However, there’s no switch. Hopefully you found a rusty hammer in the underwater maze, as you’ll need to use it on a sunken plane to break off a part of the propeller, and then use the propeller on the door. While doing this, I also found another annoyance with items, on top of needing to be in a very precise location, you also need to remember to holster your weapon, as if you use an item while you’re holding something, the game will act in the same way as using an item in the wrong place.Incidentally, I was holding a machete, which seems like a much better instrument to use to pry open doors than a propellor you smashed off a wet, rusty plane with a rusty hammer.

These obscure puzzle things work fine in 2D points & click adventures because you can easily highlight objects that can be interacted with, you’ll be given hints as you interact with the various items and if all else fails, it’s easy to test every object with other objects. In a 3D world like this, it’s just frustrating.

Combat comes across fine, with Indy automatically targeting enemies. Your revolver is your main weapon due to infinite ammo, but you can also find other weapons to use. Your biggest threat isn’t other humans, but small wildlife – particularly spiders. They’re small, hard to see, come out of nowhere and will poison Indy, so make sure you get loads of anti-venom kits. I also found it amusing that the water sections don’t just have mines and sharks, but they had to add piranhas as well.

All of this is a great shame as buried beneath this frustration is a great Indiana Jones adventure. The story is intriguing and fully voice acted (although due to the compression, the lack of subtitles is a hindrance), and you can tell that if some parts were smoothed out, it could be a ton of fun. A few of the later levels add vehicles to the mix, such as using a jeep for a chase and having to hop in and out of a minecart to adjust its route through the level, and it would be nice to see this in a tidied up package.

Fine

Remake or remaster?

This would benefit massively from a remaster, camera control would help massively along with widening the area for grabs and interacting with items – and perhaps add something to highlight what can be interacted with. Perhaps an “intuition” button that highlights objects that can be used.

Official Ways to get the game

The original PC version is on GoG, with some support for higher resolutions, but has no proper upgrades. It also includes the latest official patch, which breaks the game on level 7, so you still need to track down an unofficial patch.

action adventure indianna jones N64