Here is something that is very interesting that I’ve come across… There is a new Indiana Jones title called Indiana Jones and the Great Circle released for Windows PC, X-Box Series X/S and PlayStation 5. Apart from Windows PC the rest of those are systems that I’m not really familiar with as I am very much a retro video gamer. I don’t own any console newer than a Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3, I believe the PS3 is where Sony peaked and the newer consoles are just consolized PC’s and hold no interest for me. I am strongly against Microsoft game consoles so I’ve never owned any sort of X-Box and again, to me it’s just a PC in a box made to look like a console. So I am not actually familiar with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024) other than what I’ve just read in order to write this post. I’m sure it’s a good game as most Indiana Jones aren’t bad games as that franchise is usually backed by a healthy budget. However action adventure games these days aren’t a very exciting genre for me so it’s a game that I probably would not get myself.
Images taken from Wikipedia.org
Having said all that someone, specifically the people behind the “64 Bits” YouTube Channel have created a mockup game trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as point and click adventure game in the same style as the excellent SCUMM point and click game – “Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis” released in 1992 for DOS PC and Commodore Amiga. Actually it’s one of my most favorite SCUMM adventure games released during the golden age of adventure games (basically the 90s). If you navigate to the Retro Journal part of the website (visible on the top bar underneath the site logo) and see the last games I’ve finished recently you will see that I have recently finished the Fate of Atlantis on the Wii. The game is available as a bonus on the disc of Indiana Jones and The Staff of Kings. It’s an exact port (or very close anyway) of the DOS PC version but the pointer is now controlled by the WiiMote instead of a mouse. It’s an enjoyable way to play the game on your lounge room TV instead of at your desktop. I had never quite gotten to the end of the game on the PC so I decided to play it through to the end on the Nintendo Wii instead. I highly recommend this game, if you haven’t played it before it’s one of the best SCUMM games. In case you don’t know SCUMM stands for Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion which is a game engine initially developed to help create Maniac Mansion and subsequently used in future adventure games. Game utilizing the SCUMM engine are known to be the “cream of the crop” in point and click adventure games and many of these titles are now considered timeless classics, and for good reason.
Getting back to the theme of this post the new Indiana Jones game has been remade as video trailer mockup if the game had been made into SCUMM point and click adventure game. If you have played through the Fate of Atlantis then the result is a very entertaining game trailer, which looks genuine and really makes you wish that the game really was made into a graphic adventure game. This may seem like a generalization but I seriously doubt that anyone who had played the FOA would not have that exact opinion unless of course they didn’t like the game. However it’s very difficult to imagine that any gamer would not like and enjoy Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. It really is a perfect game, there isn’t really much more you could as of a point and click adventure game. A really unique feature is it’s branching storyline game mechanic with different puzzles to solve depending on how you choose to tackle the game which is classified as team, force and think paths. The team path is the most interesting as you work with your companion adventurer Sophia Hapgood. You get to control her just as you control Dr. Jones, collecting items in her separate inventory and interacting with the in-game world in the exact same way.
So if you haven’t played Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis then don’t watch this video yet. First go and obtain it either on PC DOS or through a copy of Indiana Jones and The Staff of Kings on the Nintendo Wii. After you finish the game then you may watch the video, if you don’t do this or haven’t done this in the past then you won’t understand get the full enjoyment from this video. The PC DOS version of the game is difficult to obtain, due to it’s popularity for retro gamers coupled with relatively limited print run will be very expensive. It would make a great addition to a PC DOS collection though, but it won’t be easy to find and win on eBay. I recommend getting a copy of Indian Jones and the Staff of Kings, it’s a much cheaper and easier way to obtain the game as you should be able to easily get a complete copy for $20 AU or less. From memory I think you have to play a bit of the main game before you unlock access to the port of Fate of Atlantis but it’s not that hard. The other method, which I can’t officially recommend is to illegally download a copy on PC and play it through the SCUMMVM engine. You may be able to find a loose copy of the Fate of Atlantis on eBay for cheap as it’s mainly the box and manual that is worth the most. A lose copy itself shouldn’t cost that much.
After you watch the video you can post your opinion below in the comments section. Do you think the developers of the game should make 16-Bit version like the developers of the Farming Simulator series did with the 16 Bit Farming Simulator? Maybe 16-Bit game de-makes will start to become more and more common if there is enough demand for developers to profit from. I don’t doubt many of you would love for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to get a 16-Bit de-make. What system should it be for, Windows PC, DOS PC, Commodore Amiga, Nintendo Wii? What about something else like Sega CD, Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn, Panasonic 3DO, Philips CD-i? There are many forms this game could take if it were to be created and commercially released. Think Cronela’s Mansion, it’s very much a point and click adventure that has been programmed and [soon to be] released for many different retro consoles.
