Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb impressions

LucasArts graciously invited us to see a nearly complete version of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb for the PC in motion. In the game, you play as the famed archaeologist Indiana Jones on a mission for the Chinese government to recover a powerful artifact before your enemies can do the same. The game will be a third-person action game reminiscent of Tomb Raider and the previous PC game, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, but the new game is clearly intended to put much more emphasis on hand-to-hand fighting. The Emperor's Tomb is actually powered by an enhanced version of the same game engine that developer The Collective used in the 2002 Xbox game Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which allows for the additional combat elements.

Though the first level of the game acts as a training mission that will help new players get accustomed to running, jumping, and cracking Indy's trademark bullwhip, the final game will have a total of 10 levels that will take place in various locations around the globe, including Prague and Hong Kong, among others. But in addition to running and jumping, Indy will find himself in a lot of different fights against determined opponents, like Gestapo soldiers and Triad gangsters.

Fortunately, the PC version of the game will use an intuitive first-person shooter control scheme in which you will move using the W, A, S, and D keys and attack using the left and right mouse buttons. You will be able to block incoming attacks by pressing the shift key, which will also automatically lock onto a specific enemy and let Indy focus his attacks. As you might expect from his many motion-picture adventures, Indy fights like a brawler, though pressing both mouse buttons also lets him grab his enemies, then shove them back against walls or even toss them off of ledges. Indy also carries a revolver, which he can fire at his enemies using an optional first-person view, though he can pick up larger firearms, such as shotguns and submachine guns, as well as all sorts of improvisational weapons like table legs, chairs, and bottles. He can even flog his enemies with his whip, though this can be a dangerous tactic, since some enemies can rush Indy at close range before he recovers from swinging. Indy's enemies won't back down from a fight, either, and they won't hesitate to pick up the nearest chair or bottle themselves.

The game itself will take place in very different-looking environments and will even feature levels that take place at night. The developer is attempting to make sure each of the game's areas looks different, and to help add character to each area, Indy will find that various characters and enemies will speak the local language; Gestapo soldiers in Prague will shout threats at you in German, for instance. When left alone, enemies will also talk among themselves and may even make humorous remarks as you listen in, much like the characters in Half-Life or No One Lives Forever. As it turns out, the events in The Emperor's Tomb will take place just before the events of the motion picture Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, so within the game, Indy will meet the waiter Wu Han (a minor character in the film) for the very first time.

Though the levels in The Emperor's Tomb will feature a combination of puzzles, platformer elements (such as jumping across pits and climbing up over ledges), and brawling, some of the game's levels will have "minigame" goals in them. For instance, in one level, Indy must travel across a chasm atop a gondola, but he's attacked by German planes and must fight them off using a stationary machine gun.

Indiana Jones and The Emperor's Tomb is scheduled for release on the PC at the end of March. For more information on the game, consult our previous coverage .