Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure is the first classic point-and- click adventure game by Lucasfilm Games (now LucasArts ) with the archaeologist Indiana Jones as the title character. The story of the game is based on the same time published, eponymous third film in the Indiana Jones series, which is why it is often referred to as Indiana Jones or 3 short Indy 3, although no adventure games exist for the first two parts.
A likewise parallel to the film published action game Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game, never reached the sales and awareness of Adventures.
Contents and action
The player assumes the role of the archaeologist Indiana Jones. At the beginning of the game, he learns that his father, also an archaeologist and famous Gralforscher, has been kidnapped. The search for the father evolves into a search for the Holy Grail and, increasingly, in a race against the Third Reich, which wants to use the skills of the Grail for the upgrade.
The plot of the game is based roughly on the underlying film. The places we are visiting (Venice, a castle in Austria, Berlin and Iskenderun ) and there objectives to be achieved are identical. However, since time and again by the film result from different courses of action and the actions of the known locations are also significantly different, the game emancipated from the template and instead exploits the familiarity effect to his advantage. By knowing the film, the player has to solve the game would also only a superficial advantage.
At various points in the game, the possible storylines branch out slightly before they open again in a common path. There are various approaches possible. For example, the section to go to Berlin does not apply if Colonel Vogel has not received the real Grail Diary.
Systems and versions
The game was released in 1989 for MS- DOS with EGA graphics, Amiga, Atari ST and Mac to 5.25 " - and 3.5" floppy disks. Only in the Japanese market was published in 1990 a version for Fujitsu FM Towns. This CD -ROM version contains revised, 256 - color graphics and an improved soundtrack in audio CD quality. Based on the FM-Towns version of a DOS version with VGA graphics was later released, but still contained the original soundtrack for reasons of space, since it was also sold on floppy disks. In 1992 a version for Amiga CDTV.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is the first LucasArts adventure from which there is no C64 version.
Technology and control
Technically, the title is based on version 3 of the LucasArts SCUMM own language. The screen is divided into three parts in an area for action verbs, including one arranged, consisting of words inventory of the character and the game screen, which occupies the largest part of the image.
Compared to the previous tracks Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken the user interface was only slightly modified. Although some action verbs have been added and the cursor has been significantly reduced, the look and feel has not changed significantly. New, however, is a dialogue system based on predefined sets of options enables conversations of character and opens up an additional mystery source. Also new are small action sequences in the form of boxing matches and a flight in a biplane.
LucasArts has for the game a rating system, the Indy Quotient (IQ), is introduced. The maximum possible score of 800 can be achieved only if in several games all sorts of puzzles and solutions have been developed. The highest achievable in an episode of the game score is 532
Developer
- Design: Noah Falstein, Ron Gilbert, David Fox
- Programming: David Fox, Ron Gilbert, Noah Falstein, Kalani Streicher
- Graphics / Animation: Steve Purcell, Mike Ebert, Martin Cameron
- Music: David Hayes, David Warhol (PC ), Steve Hales, David Warhol (Amiga), Dan Filner, David Hayes, David Warhol (ST )
Press
Reviews in game magazines
- Power Play 10/89 90 %
- Amiga Joker 12/89 81 %
Awards from gaming magazines
- Voted, Power Play 10/89
Trivia
The running gag of the game is possible in many dialogs saying " Hello, I'm selling these fashionable leather jackets! " What is to be understood as a jab at the end of the 1980s increasingly incipient merchandising for movies. Also the name of Indiana Jones typical clothing in the game as Indy -Wear TM moves in this direction. Although the leather jackets statement usually appears completely senseless and incoherent, it is even but the right choice.
The ticket collector at the Zeppelin reached a high level of awareness to be very difficult to besiegender opponents. This way, claimed before the fight, to have Anno 1934 won at the Olympic Games gold medal in lightweight. But in fact took place in 1934 no Olympics.
Other running gags are allusions to older LucasArts games. Thus we find, for example, in the office of Indy a crystal shard, which gives evidence that they would like to have someone in San Francisco. This crystal shard is one of the crystals that were needed in Zak McKracken. For more located in the office allusions are the mask of a medicine man ( Zak McKracken ), the piece of a comet with purple slime ( Maniac Mansion) and with the totem pole of a South American tribe, "the dog and rabbit worshiped " an allusion to the comic Sam ' s 'Max to the LucasArts few years later also published a game of the same name. Likewise, the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat and a sculpture both in the home of Dr. Fred ( Maniac Mansion) as well as lock Brunwald use as decoration. Another allusion is the music selection at the pianist on board the airship, against, among others, this can be expressed the desire to play the overture from Star Wars.
As a contradiction, both in this and in the following games and in the movies, the fact that Indy has always solve puzzles in order to reach the next place holds and his opponent this obviously does not have. Thus, they are always one step ahead of him, to take him at any place in reception.
The German version had to be adjusted for all anti-constitutional symbols ( swastikas ). However, the swastikas were forgotten that appear when a German guard from Indiana Jones gets knocked out. Further, the word Nazi was largely removed from all screens of the game.
The VGA version still contains EGA artifacts, such as the librarian in Venice. Therefore, the FM-Towns version is completely unique in VGA.
Successor
After the great success of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade LucasArts planned soon a successor title. First, it was working on a written by Chris Columbus title Indiana Jones and the Garden of Life. However, the plot was so bizarre that quickly doubts about the feasibility were loud, which eventually led to the discontinuation of the project. Instead, followed in 1992, the Adventure Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Later published nor action-adventure Indiana Jones and the Tower of Babel and Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb.