Infernal Machine The Best Indy Game

I think so people hate the alien element in kotcs. but they have seemed to have delt with it for this game,i havent seen any complaints about the game.

Movies are more popular than video games. Not every Indy fan plays the games or watches YIJ but all of them watch the movies.

About it being the best game, I couldn't say as its the only one I've played.

I like Temple of Doom (Arcade version), Fate of Atlantis, Greatest Adventures, Lego Indy, and Emperor's Tomb way more than Infernal Machine. Infernal Machine is by far the worst Indy game I've played IMO.

I think the opposite. While Fate of Atlantis is still the best, Infernal Machine is my favourite.

people hate the alien element in kotcs. but they have seemed to have delt with it for this game,i havent seen any complaints about the game.

Click to expand...

There are plenty of complaints about the game though, one of them being the Aetherium level. Dodgy controls, far too much reliance on guns and not whip or fists in combat, too much block-pushing, some stupid dialogue ("An idol!") and only short snippets of music all the way through are just some of them.

Still love it. Emperor's Tomb is far worse, although the fun combat sometimes makes up for it.

MolaRam2 said:

I like Temple of Doom (Arcade version), Fate of Atlantis, Greatest Adventures, Lego Indy, and Emperor's Tomb way more than Infernal Machine. Infernal Machine is by far the worst Indy game I've played IMO.

Click to expand...

I agree. I tried so hard to like this game. I have it on N64 and this game has more glitches than any game I've ever played. The controls are god awful. It's basically unplayable. I recently played the Peru level just for kicks and I had to restart the level 3 time because
1.) Indy got caught crouching near a rock and I couldn't stand up.
2.) Due tot he terrible controls I fell and died but the level just turned to black and wouldn't restart
3.) I actually got to the end of the level. I dodged the boulder but in the cutscene the boulder went "through" the mountain and floated away in the river minutes later. And the cutscene wouldn't end.

It's just not the worst Indy game, it's one of the worst games I've ever played. Awful game. And this is coming from a HUGE Indyfan.

Wow, I've heard people round here saying the N64 version is superior to the PC version in every way! For your account, that's the opposite to the truth!

Going by the PC controls, the game is not unplayable. It's just a little slower, more measured experience than Tomb Raider or Emperor's Tomb.

Apart from the occasional graphical hiccups when playing it on a modern PC, I've never had any problems with the game.

This is my personal game rating for the Indy series:

1. Fate of Atlantis (Graphic Adventure)
2. Infernal Machine
3. Emperor's Tomb
4. Lego Indy
5. Last Crusade (Graphic Adventure)
6. Greatest Adventures
7. All others

I really had to think about where to put Lego Indy in there, but I think that's right. I wasn't really impressed by Greatest Adventures, too hard and fiddly for my tastes.

Question to thread starter...

What makes Infernal Machine so stellar? I ask because I've never played it though I've heard so much good reports.

gear guardian said:

What makes Infernal Machine so stellar? I ask because I've never played it though I've heard so much good reports.

Click to expand...

Well, I don't know off-hand whether you've played Emperor's Tomb, and while the combat system and the graphics are what really make that game stand out, Infernal Machine has a larger scope - the levels are bigger, you have some really huge rooms unlike anything that appears in Emperor's Tomb, and you see more of the globe. Sure, it's a little clunky in places, and the dialogue just doesn't cut it most of the time, but you've also got a few interesting additions to the Indy rogue's gallery in Simon Turner of the CIA and Gennadi Volodnikov, a Russian physicist. It also has loads of snakes, spiders, and scorpions, which Emperor's Tomb lacked. Also, for those who care, it doesn't sell off pieces of established canon wholesale the way Emperor's Tomb does.

Attila the Professor said:

Well, I don't know off-hand whether you've played Emperor's Tomb, and while the combat system and the graphics are what really make that game stand out, Infernal Machine has a larger scope - the levels are bigger, you have some really huge rooms unlike anything that appears in Emperor's Tomb, and you see more of the globe. Sure, it's a little clunky in places, and the dialogue just doesn't cut it most of the time, but you've also got a few interesting additions to the Indy rogue's gallery in Simon Turner of the CIA and Gennadi Volodnikov, a Russian physicist. It also has loads of snakes, spiders, and scorpions, which Emperor's Tomb lacked. Also, for those who care, it doesn't sell off pieces of established canon wholesale the way Emperor's Tomb does.

Click to expand...

Exactly. I agree with the opening poster to, Infernal Machine is the best. It was like a 3D version of the old Lucasarts point and clickers with the appropriate elaborate traps. I feel the Emperor's Tomb lacked the need to think about anything. The only puzzle that required a second of thought was the clock puzzle in Prague. There is also an awesome moment on a Communist ship in the Infernal Machine and as you're running along the Indy theme plays. Reminds me so much of the sub bit in Raiders. Infernal Machine also had it's own score like Fate of Atlantis did. Emperor's Tomb didn't.

The difference between Infernal Machine and Emperor's Tomb is like the difference between Thief 2 and Thief: Deadly Shadows, both awesome but the latter games have been compressed and simplified to a degree.

Quickening said:

Infernal Machine also had it's own score like Fate of Atlantis did. Emperor's Tomb didn't.

Click to expand...

Well, that's not <I>quite</I> accurate. Infernal Machine had an original score, but it appeared rarely. Emperor's Tomb had a full score, composed by Clint Bajakian and performed by a full orchestra, that played throughout the entire game. So, it must be given that.

And, truthfully, while I think Fate of Atlantis is the best game, my sentimental favorite is probably the old Last Crusade graphic adventure.

Attila the Professor said:

Well, that's not <I>quite</I> accurate. Infernal Machine had an original score, but it appeared rarely. Emperor's Tomb had a full score, composed by Clint Bajakian and performed by a full orchestra, that played throughout the entire game. So, it must be given that.

And, truthfully, while I think Fate of Atlantis is the best game, my sentimental favorite is probably the old Last Crusade graphic adventure.

Click to expand...

Fate of Atlantis is awesome and should've been Indy 4 (god damn it) and while I like the Last Crusade I do have some issues with it. Like it doesn't take itself seriously like Fate of Atlantis does. I mean I know Last Crusade the film was humourous but there are things in the game like,

"Nothing could make me get the Grail for you Donovan"
*Shoots Indy's dad*
"Except maybe that".

Also I was replaying it not too long ago and while I'll give it credit because there are multiple ways to solve many puzzles unlike Fate of Atlantis (with the seance being the only bit with more than one solution), some of the puzzles are damn obscure. Like how in the castle there is a tiny brick you can push to make it whippable if you climb back onto the window ledge. Damn. Also, I cannot remember for the life of me where to find the travel pass to get Hitler to sign. I hate having to fight my way through the roadblocks.

Still an awesome game though. And poor old Marcus. Gets no credit for his speedboat and tank escapades.


EDIT: And I wasn't aware of that Emperor's Tomb musical fact. It's just that at the end credits of both Fate of Atlantis and Infernal Machine they play their own unique Indy finale whereas Emperor's Tomb just used the generic Indy score.

Infernal Machine feels really dated. Games from the PS1/N64 era have not held up as well as games from the NES and SNES eras. Except for the characters, Fate of Atlantis still has impressive graphics. The gameplay of IM also feels really dated. Again, the Tomb Raider games of the same time had far better game play.

I do prefer Infernal Machine to Emperor's Tomb, and just a little bit over Fate of Atlantis as well. Don't get it twisted, tho---Fate of Atlantis is still the benchmark for best Indy game ever made. But damn, there's something to be said for the epic scope and feel of Infernal Machine. The moment where it all comes together at last and you step into the machine itself is awe-inspiring, and the final escape from the crumbling temple is both thrilling and breath taking. I never felt more like I was about to cheat death as Indiana Jones, and for that it becomes my personal favorite in the series. Emperor's Tomb has its moments, but it's simply too frustrating. Too much focus on the combat rather than the exploration, and it just feels dumber compared to Fate and Machine.

Dust McAlan said:

The moment where it all comes together at last and you step into the machine itself is awe-inspiring, and the final escape from the crumbling temple is both thrilling and breath taking.

Click to expand...

I remember battling Marduk with the electric/magical whip vividly. I remember playing that game obsessively over christmas when I got it and that "scene" was just iconic to me.
I also loved the map loading screen and its music but damn they load too fast to enjoy on modern PCs

Jesus. Never thought Id be complaining about quick load times.

Quickening said:

I remember battling Marduk with the electric/magical whip vividly. I remember playing that game obsessively over christmas when I got it and that "scene" was just iconic to me.
I also loved the map loading screen and its music but damn they load too fast to enjoy on modern PCs

Jesus. Never thought Id be complaining about quick load times.

Click to expand...

The map load time on the N64 is longer than on the PC. PC load time is nothing, but on the N64, sometimes it was a minute before a scene loaded. Which was okay, because that excellent map music played. I must say, however, that the N64 had that beautiful main menu music playing, which segued into a wonderful, Russian choir singing the Russian March. I wish I could find an MP3 of that track.

Dust McAlan said:

The map load time on the N64 is longer than on the PC. PC load time is nothing, but on the N64, sometimes it was a minute before a scene loaded. Which was okay, because that excellent map music played. I must say, however, that the N64 had that beautiful main menu music playing, which segued into a wonderful, Russian choir singing the Russian March. I wish I could find an MP3 of that track.

Click to expand...

I never played the N64 version. I always assumed that it would be lesser than the PC one which is often the case with these kind of games but after reading several posts on this forum Ive discovered that it was actually good.
I hope this new Indiana Jones gets a PC release and I hope that sometime they make proper Indy games of the original trilogy. Greatest Adventures was the last and that was a decade and a half ago. Im not counting Lego Indy.

Dust McAlan said:

The map load time on the N64 is longer than on the PC. PC load time is nothing, but on the N64, sometimes it was a minute before a scene loaded. Which was okay, because that excellent map music played. I must say, however, that the N64 had that beautiful main menu music playing, which segued into a wonderful, Russian choir singing the Russian March. I wish I could find an MP3 of that track.

Click to expand...

I have it on N64 and I'm able to just press start and skip the map scenes

And I found some IJIM Mp3's here http://skreemr.com/results.jsp?q=infernal+machine

I've got all the cool Infernal Machine music that doesn't feature The Raiders March at IndyJones.net.

As for that N64 track you want, just PM me with your email and I'll send you it.

Jonesy9906753 said:

I think so people hate the alien element in kotcs. but they have seemed to have delt with it for this game,i havent seen any complaints about the game.

Click to expand...

The best Indy Game?? Are you insane?? Did you not see FOA?

peterlally said:

The best Indy Game?? Are you insane?? Did you not see FOA?

Click to expand...

I hear you. I feel guilty for saying Infernal Machine was better than Fate of Atlantis. I probably personally prefer Fate of Atlantis but Infernal Machine just has an epic feel which can't be conveyed in the old point and clickers. I remember first walking out into the Olmec Valley. Just a lush sweeping landscape to explore.