From this point forward I’ll be contributing there every two weeks or so, covering topics related to PC games both old and new.

Ask anyone which chapter of the Indiana Jones trilogy is their favorite and they will name Raiders of the Lost Ark (mine) or The Last Crusade. I have not met a single person who told me that they felt The Temple of Doom was the best, as it is largely considered the weakest of the trilogy by both fans and critics. Why? While it may suffer from being the middle movie in the trilogy, the film stands solidly on its own as a typical Indiana Jones adventure. Part of the problem is that you can’t help but compare it to the other two chapters in the Trilogy, and as a result seems terribly out of place due to its unfamiliar cultural backdrop. After watching it recently I’ve collected some of the reasons how this movie dissociates itself from the Indiana Jones oeuvre, and likely influences its standing in the minds of viewers.

• The story behind the adventure is not familiar. While I can’t verify the accuracy of the story behind the Shankara stones, most critics seem satisfied that it adapts enough Hindu legend to be based in reality (well, as much as retrieving the Ark of the Covenant or Holy Grail might). Part of the Hindi pantheon (Shiva, Kali) were also represented in the film, and it may have been tough for Western audiences to associate with. Furthermore, the story itself actually takes place in 1935, a full year before the events in Raiders of the Lost Ark. In hindsight I see no real purpose behind doing this, and in that sense the entire film can be easily detached from the rest of the Indiana Jones mythos, much like the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles that nobody remembers.
• The introduction sequence ties in perfectly with the main story. Unlike Raiders which has Indy acquiring an idol that has nothing to do with the rest of the plot except to introduce Belloq, and The Last Crusade which followed a similar approach by giving us a glimpse of Indiana Jones as a teenager and how he got his whip, his hat, and the scar on his chin. The Temple of Doom starts with an exciting escape from Chinese gangsters, which leads to India where the adventure begins. Spielberg is confident that we are familiar enough with the character that we can get right into the adventure. I never had a problem with this approach, but perhaps some viewers expected a little more background. We’re introduced to a lot of new characters in a very short period: Lao Che, Wu Han, Willie Scott and Short Round.
• The gross-out factor. The beginning of Raiders had a great scene between Indy and Satipo (Alfred Molina) where they are completely covered in tarantulas. Of course, there’s the famous snake pit where Indy and Sallah retrieve the ark, and Indy and Marion are ultimately trapped. The Temple of Doom is famous for going completely over the top with things to make audiences squirm. There’s the royal feast scene where delicacies such as “snake surprise” and “chilled monkey brain” are eaten, a room full of insects, a man removing someone’s beating heart with his bare hand, and the blood drinking ritual. It certainly upped the ante, but was it necessary? If I remember correctly The Temple of Doom was part of the reason the Film Ratings Board introduced the PG-13 rating.
• The adventure itself was a selfless act of heroism. This is one of the reasons why I think The Temple of Doom is as great an adventure as the other two, because not only does Indiana save the village itself, he helps the slave children escape and return to their families. While it falls in with the typical “dashing Westerner saves poor foreign village” plot contrivance, it shows that Indiana Jones is human, and is not always obsessed with placing his archaeological finds in a museum. Whether he believed in the power of the Shankara stones or not, he saw how much it meant to the residents of the village to have their stone returned.
• The leading lady is overly feminine. Kate Capshaw’s Willie Scott provides a sharp contrast to Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood, in the way she reacts to being dirty, covered in bugs, threat of death, etc. The incessant whining and screaming is annoying, but I think the intent was to provide comic relief in what would typically be a dangerous situation. I consider this to be one of the movie’s weak points, as it basically undoes whatever progress was made with Marion’s strong leading lady in the first film.
• The single-serving sidekick. I will always remember Jonathan Ke Quan as Data from The Goonies, but we first saw him in the role of Short Round in The Temple of Doom. It’s made clear throughout this film that Indy and Short Round have a father-son type bond, but if they are so close, where is he in The Last Crusade? Better yet, where was he in Raiders? Short Round wasn’t ever really in distress (Marion, though she could take care of herself, was Indiana’s prime motivator for his actions in the latter half of Raiders), and he provided valuable assistance in the escape from the mines in the last part of The Temple of Doom. The producers probably liked this dynamic, because it was used again in the relationship between Henry Jones Sr. and Jr. in The Last Crusade, where Indy’s father unwittingly aided their escape on many occasions and provided some comic relief throughout the film, just like Short Round. In the case of The Last Crusade, the relationship was probably easier to accept because it was actually Indy’s father, instead of some kid he found on the streets of Shanghai. Besides, back then it probably seemed innocent; now I’m sure there would be some special interest group with something to say about their relationship in the film.
• There are no Nazis. One of the most despicable (and recognizable) groups in history was well-represented in the first and last films in the Trilogy. As such, it’s easy to dislike them in the context of the films and the period of history that the story takes place in – there is no question they are the “bad guys”. It is made obvious in The Temple of Doom that the worshippers of Kali and the Thuggee Murder Cult are evil people through example: the scene where Mola Ram removes a man’s beating heart from his chest only to burn him alive is meant to be proof of that. The audience is meant to assume this is why they are so reviled in Hindu culture, but their motivations are not made entirely clear in the film itself. Instead, we are led to believe that their goal is to recollect the five Shankara stones and plunge the world into eternal darkness. It’s too simple and made to play out like an isolated event where the world around them returns to normal, not being any wiser. This is further to my first point about providing a recognizable setting.
• X Doesn’t Mark the Spot. Both Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade follow a treasure hunt approach to finding the lost artifact at the end. The Last Crusade even moreso, because of the number of clues that have to be followed and the climactic braving of the four challenges to reach the Grail itself. In both films, the audience participates in Indiana Jones’s quest, following each step that leads to the relic in question. In The Temple of Doom, it is known almost immediately who is holding the Shankara stones, and where they are being kept. However, this is just a small part of Indiana’s quest. Ultimately he is doing this for the village: to return its prosperity and its children. It’s a very noble – and human – objective.

When taken as a stand-alone film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom does its best to culture its audience. Indiana Jones is an archaeologist – he’s well traveled and not exclusively interested in the relics of Western religion. Indeed, even the remains of Nurhaci that make an appearance at the beginning of the film hints at real depth behind the character’s field of study. The Temple of Doom doesn’t follow the winning formula of the first and third installments of the trilogy, and for that reason I’d consider it the most well-rounded. Though it is unfortunate that shock value was used to present the themes and adversaries instead of a more educated approach, you can’t fault the producers for that – it was meant to be entertaining, after all.

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.

Remember when the name “LucasArts” used to mean something in the adventure game genre? By canceling two adventure projects in the last few years with recognizable IP that were almost certain to do well, they’ve essentially severed all ties with that heritage. I have my doubts that the company will be able to restore faith in adventure gamers, because issuing another Tomb Raider clone is not the solution. LucasArts needs to look farther than that. Back to when they were making games with the same engine, but still presenting highly unique adventures that actually told a story, and had an excellent sense of humour.

On most days I can easily call Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis the greatest game of all time. In fact, for the same reasons I re-installed Sim City 4 I began to play Fate of Atlantis again with the help of SCUMMVM. I know the puzzles like the back of my hand, and the dialogue trees are no surprise. But as I said about Half Life 2, playing a favorite game again is a lot like watching a favorite movie. If you leave it on the shelf long enough, it seems the magic is always there waiting when you return.

Today, however, we celebrate Indiana Jones being transferred from old film stock to digitally remastered, THX certified home-theatre goodness. Given what Lucasfilm had to work with, and after browsing all three flims, I consider the transfer to be very good, and the specially included fourth disc with the boxed set contains a very satisfying amount of bonus material.

The bonus disc contains a set of four featurettes detailing the stunts, sound, music and special effects of the trilogy. Although not known for it’s work on this movie, ILM still managed to pull off a memorable sequence with the “Opening of the Ark” and it was cool to see how it was done. It also has some of the original theatrical trailers for each of the films, and some “unlockable” content that can be viewed at the official site. You need one of the DVDs in your computer and that stupid Interactual player installed to be able to get it though. Beyond some concept art and behind the scenes photos, there isn’t much at the DVD-exlusive site worth checking out. Where the Special Features really shine are the individual documentaries on each of the films, kind of like what Lucas did for the THX remastered VHS release of the original Star Wars trilogy in 1996. We all knew Tom Selleck was originally up for the role of Indy, but to see a screen test of him and Sean Young (as Marion Ravenwood) was something else. All of the Documentaries and featurettes include various retrospective segments from Lucas, Spielberg, Ford and the rest of the behind-the-scenes crew, who recounted on how they helped create one of the most memorable movie heroes of modern cinema.

It shows that Uncle George and Steven Spielberg really took the extra effort to dig into the archives to give fans material that has never been seen before to make this an excellent package. And along with the remastered DVDs of the trilogy I can’t say I’m disappointed.