rediscovering Atlantis

In preparation for an article I'm writing, I played through Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis again over the weekend. I make a point of replaying this game at least once a year anyway, because I consider it the best game I've ever played and I want to make sure I'm not just deluding myself with foggy memories and nostalgia. There are a few things I picked up on this time around, because I was looking at it from a more critical perspective as opposed to someone setting out to simply enjoy the game. If you've never played Fate of Atlantis but plan on doing so, stop reading. I consider the following list spoiler-heavy.

• There is actually a third distinct pathway through the game. I always thought that you only had the choice of going solo or taking Sophia Hapgood along shortly after finding Plato's Lost Dialogue. However, if you choose to go solo, you can actually take a more action-heavy path where the puzzles are more about kicking people's asses Indy-style as opposed to pure puzzle solving. The puzzles felt a lot easier as a result. You are also exposed to some areas that are never seen in the other two options of playing the game.

• The submarine puzzle is still the most annoying task to complete. After comandeering a Nazi submarine on its way to Atlantis, you must navigate to an air lock at the bottom of the sea. This requires a trial-and-error approach in determining which adjustments (depth in the water and depth in the screen) to succesfully dock. Asking a player to think in three dimensions in a two-dimensional game with extremely restrictive controls and even more limiting graphics is frustratingly bad design.

• As the ever resourceful adventuring archaeologist, I never paid attention to the fact that I was always the one progressively unlocking the secrets on the path to Atlantis. After all, I was the hero of the story, and having the Nazis follow Indy's great discoveries was always the way it happened in the films. However, there is one sequence that creates a kind of paradox. Aboard the submarine you steal back the stone discs from the Nazis, which are needed to open the gates to the underwater city. When you first arrive at Atlantis, you're left holding the stone discs trying to get inside. However the Nazis are already there, and have control of most of the City. How did they get in if you're the one with the discs? It doesn't make any sense.

• Indy can die a lot more than I thought. Traditionally, the classic LucasArts adventure games were pretty family-friendly in the way they allow you to get out of most situations by dialogue trees or devious puzzles, but the main character will never die as a result of failure. In The Fate of Atlantis, there is one scene where Klaus Kerner (the evil Nazi Colonel in charge of locating Atlantis) kidnaps Sophia and you're asked to hand over the stone discs in return for her safety. One of the dialogue options you're given is "Over my dead body". If selected, Kerner takes you up on this offer and shoots you, immediately ending the game. If you lose any fist fight, you will also die. The Lava River sequence before getting to the Atlantean God Machine at the end also can kill you if you linger too long on a tile. And of course, there's the "bad" ending where you can't talk your way out of being the first human to use the God Machine.

• Though the game itself is probably my favorite of all time, I'd say the ending is one of the best I've ever played as well. It brings true closure to the events, and stays close to what you would expect from an Indiana Jones movie. It's equally amazing that it doesn't involve some arbitrary boss fight, and simply relies on the wits of the player to navigate a very delicate dialogue tree. After winning the game, you feel like you've really outsmarted the bad guys, which gives a substantial feeling of accomplishment.

• I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark after I finished the game. Call it subliminal. I realized that Fate of Atlantis has quite a bit in common with this Indiana Jones adventure in particular. Both feature a plucky female lead with hints of past romance. Sophia Hapgood is an archaeologist turned psychic; Marion Ravenwood is an archaeologist's daughter turned surly barmaid. Both get kidnapped - twice. Each of the leading ladies have necklaces that are important to the plot: Marion's headpiece to the Staff of Ra and Sophia's Atlantean artifact are both used to find the archaeological wonder at the centre of each story. Both Raiders and Atlantis have Indy visiting a maproom before arriving at the final goal, though Atlantis' map room doesn't really serve much purpose and seems more like they were simply slipping in an homage. Both feature submarine rides to the final destination: the Nazis' private island where the Ark ritual is performed, and of course a journey to the bottom of the sea to get to Atlantis. It's really quite interesting the parallels that can be drawn. I can only assume it was intentional.
  

The game was still as engrossing as the first time I played it. I had fun digging deep to remember the solutions to some of the game's multi-layered puzzles. The story hasn't changed, but I was nevertheless transfixed by Hal Barwood's superb storytelling. Indeed, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a genuine treasure.