Infernal Machine

Prime Blue

New member
I hate those controls, I feel like I'm playing Harry Mason. I can't believe how much better the game would be if I didn't have to worry about jumping into certain death because I'm looking an inch too far to the left. Would it have been so hard to implement a completely new control system akin to Castlevania?

And boy, are some of the design choices bugging me off. Not to mention the effload of bugs. This game was in serious need of half a year more development time. It could have been great, but now it really is just the "best of the worst" on N64.



On a positive note: What the hell did I just play? (no really, positive!)
I fought ice demons lurking in the dark spots of an Asian monastery!
At times, the game feels more like survival-horror than an action-adventure, the atmosphere just blows me away. It seems to be the most supernatural of the Indy stories ? if that was just level 4, then I'm really excited about the climax.
 

DocWhiskey

Well-known member
Prime Blue said:
I hate those controls, I feel like I'm playing Harry Mason. I can't believe how much better the game would be if I didn't have to worry about jumping into certain death because I'm looking an inch too far to the left. Would it have been so hard to implement a completely new control system akin to Castlevania?

And boy, are some of the design choices bugging me off. Not to mention the effload of bugs. This game was in serious need of half a year more development time. It could have been great, but now it really is just the "best of the worst" on N64.



On a positive note: What the hell did I just play? (no really, positive!)
I fought ice demons lurking in the dark spots of an Asian monastery!
At times, the game feels more like survival-horror than an action-adventure, the atmosphere just blows me away. It seems to be the most supernatural of the Indy stories ? if that was just level 4, then I'm really excited about the climax.

Agree whole heartedly. I'm surprised so many Indyfans like this game. I found it to be nearly garbage when it came out and sadly I still find it pretty terrible. The controls and glitches are outrageously frustrating. I can't tell you how many times I beat an annoying level just for it to freeze or a cutscene to just stop. One of Indy's worst console outings.

FoA and ET are still my favorite.
 

The Tingler

New member
DocWhiskey said:
One of Indy's worst console outings.

Considering that it's a PC game that just happened to have a quick N64 port I think that's why.

Screw a Fate of Atlantis Special Edition - I want an Infernal Machine Special Edition. Improved graphics, controls and soundtrack, with maybe an extra level or character moments. Perfect Indy game.
 

DocWhiskey

Well-known member
The Tingler said:
Considering that it's a PC game that just happened to have a quick N64 port I think that's why.

Screw a Fate of Atlantis Special Edition - I want an Infernal Machine Special Edition. Improved graphics, controls and soundtrack, with maybe an extra level or character moments. Perfect Indy game.

I own it on both PC and N64. Though I think the PC version is crisper and a tad bit better, I'm still not in love with it. I always give it unlimited chances ( it is Indy) since it came out and I always walk away disappointed.

But as for a updated revamped edition? Of course! I enjoy the story and voicework. An improvement is always welcome. Maybe it'll hit the Wii virtual console one day. Perhaps with a NEW Indy game like FoA was coupled with SoK.
 

Falcon

New member
Perhilion said:
Question: How can I get this game to work on Windows 7?
See my link on page 3 of this thread. I'm running it just fine on Windows 7 after installing it from the CD created per the instructions contained in this link.
 

Prime Blue

New member
If I'll ever meet the people who let this game be published in its current state, I'll smack 'em left and right with the cartridge. I bet that's the reason it never got a European release: NoE just didn't approve it with all those bugs.

Four crashes so far, countless other severe bugs. I'm in the Palawan Volcano now.
 

Exulted Unicron

New member
I'm glad I found the DVD case edition cheap. I love the game, even though people often push it aside as a Tomb Raider knock off. Although I can kinda see where they're coming from. But infact, I'd say that Infernal Machine is bigger and more expansive than any Tomb Raider game
 

Prime Blue

New member
Done.

What a horribly flawed good game this is. It has great level design and definitely gives you that old LucasArts adventure feel of having figured out something yourself, but boy...these controls...these many bugs...this broken battle system and these uninteresting bosses...

And what about the story? Such a nice concept, though utterly destroyed by the lack of character development and the flawed writing. I know there's some need for Indy commenting on the gameplay but, seriously, need I hear lines such as "In a pioneering operation, Dr. Jones deftly restores the patient's vision..."? Sophia feels completely tacked on (well, she was intended to be, but still) and lost all of her previous charm, too. Barwood might as well have used an entirely new character as a C.I.A. agent, written as being a past friend/love interest of Indy. Almost all of the start cutscenes have Indy going "So here I am in [level]. Let's see what I can do to solve the central puzzle." Overall, the game really fails to award accomplishments with long cutscenes which I consider mandatory for any good action-adventure out there.
Not to mention the fact that Volodnikov and his men try to get the parts and kill me in eleven levels but once he talks to Indy, everything is fine and dandy. I just didn't buy into this whole villain twist thing, partly because Turner is pretty lame... Barwood could have done so much more with his obsessive patriotism.


Bottom-line, while still fun, the game is one big waste of many great ideas and opportunities and, for me, doesn't come close to Fate of Atlantis. I'll commend it for its diverse and memorable settings, though.


PS: This one has the yuckiest spiders I've ever encountered in any game... Yuck!
 
Last edited:

Raiders90

Well-known member
With KOTCS out, is Infernal Machine canon, given technically Indy encounters interdimensional beings first in IM. Is IM or any of the games canon?
 

The Tingler

New member
There's nothing really to contradict it as that time period (1947) is utterly unexplored for Indy, there's no reason why it can't be canon. Fate of Atlantis is liked by both Lucas and Spielberg, and all of the games had to have their stories checked by Lucas before they were approved (something the books and comics didn't have to). I think that makes them pretty well canon.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
The Tingler said:
There's nothing really to contradict it as that time period (1947) is utterly unexplored for Indy, there's no reason why it can't be canon. Fate of Atlantis is liked by both Lucas and Spielberg, and all of the games had to have their stories checked by Lucas before they were approved (something the books and comics didn't have to). I think that makes them pretty well canon.

There's no mention of Indy's OSS service or anything even suggesting it.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Raiders112390 said:
There's no mention of Indy's OSS service or anything even suggesting it.

I think that's what The Tingler <I>means</I> by no contradiction. Yeah, he doesn't say anything like "I was with the OSS!" to Sophia, and she would know that he was in it when she bothers to say that the OSS is now the CIA, but it's not a massive contradiction. It's the sort of thing that can be swept under the rug a little bit.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Attila the Professor said:
I think that's what The Tingler <I>means</I> by no contradiction. Yeah, he doesn't say anything like "I was with the OSS!" to Sophia, and she would know that he was in it when she bothers to say that the OSS is now the CIA, but it's not a massive contradiction. It's the sort of thing that can be swept under the rug a little bit.

Yes, things that aren't mentioned are unlikey to contradict. Indy isn't likely to go spouting off about his OSS war record, considering that the Government is still calling him for professional advice, such as at Roswell.
 

The Tingler

New member
Roswell was actually the same year as Infernal Machine (1947), so you could say his expertise in the field after IM was what made the military & CIA so interested in pulling him in to give his opinion. Heck, Sophia might have recommended him... which might explain why he didn't see her much after that year!
 

Montana Smith

Active member
The Tingler said:
Roswell was actually the same year as Infernal Machine (1947), so you could say his expertise in the field after IM was what made the military & CIA so interested in pulling him in to give his opinion. Heck, Sophia might have recommended him... which might explain why he didn't see her much after that year!

That's a good point. After the Aetherium nothing in Indy's life would look strange again! In fact, he'd probably be the one needing 'professional advice' from Oxley.
 

Prime Blue

New member
I hereby present Weird Repeated Icon and the Infernal Machine.

titlescreenbug.png


They should have invested more in quality control.
 

Lao_Che

Active member
The Tingler said:
And the fact that he shot one of their agents wouldn't have particularly endeared him to them...

This. Or working with Soviets in '46/'47 in Iron Phoenix...
 
Top