Finn said:
Just a curious question, but why on Earth people use term "rip-off" at instances like this? It's not like Dr. Jones had exclusive rights to what we call adventuring.
Rip-off, clone, copy, take your pick...this isn't about 'adventuring', its about packaging, marketing, story, themes, characters, etc...
Obviously adventure games, literature, and films existed before Indy (Quartermain, Kong, etc...), but the way that said media is presented and produced is completely influenced by Indy. There is no way that properties such as Tomb Raider, The Mummy (the new ones), and National Treasure, and now Drake's Fortune would have the aesthetics that they have now without Indy.
To stay specific on the game (as I am sure you would appreciate, Finn), I used the term 'rip-off' to allude to the several similarities to Indy in addition to basic adventuring, based on what I have read about the game in addition to the hour or so I have spent playing it.
I will say, however, that the term 'rip-off' can be easily percieved as negative, but if various games or other properties try to emulate what was successful in the Indy games/series and actually produce a good product, then we all win! This is the case with Drake's Fortune...it is a pretty good game.
It is Indy without Indy.