Any fan of puzzles, exploration, mysteries or even fistfights all know and love Indiana Jones. One of the most coveted games of its genre Indiana Jones has provided us all with countless hours of entertainment uncovering mysteries from far and wide all from the comfort of our home. So lets take a little look into the next big adventure in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
The game starts at Marshall College a place many Indiana Jones fans would recognize and what a job they did. You feel immersed immediately, the sensation of stepping directly into the Lost Ark is quite overwhelming. You have your objective of course, follow a trail, but what else would Indy be doing. But with the beautiful and very much open for exploration college at your disposal its hard to keep focus. Venture down the corridors and take in the amazing design work done by MachineGames who teamed with LucasFilm to provide as in-depth of a recreation as they could. But don't forget, there is a mission to be done and if you hope to finish this game you'll need to get good at reigning yourself in.
But Marshall College certainly is not the only location you'll be privileged to experience in this massive game. Explore wonderfully rendered version of the Vatican, the scolding hot sands of Gizeh or the fringed summits of the Himalayas. Now I know, most sites claim this game runs approximately 12-14 hours. But that is only if you run straight from first objective to last without any additional exploration and at a fast pace. The game is filled with side quest, hidden areas, secret artifacts and smaller mysteries to solve that add an entire story beyond the main line of quest. All of which take time to uncover, explore and unveil. That's not even mentioning the approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes of highly rendered cutscenes that could have been a featured film by itself! This by no means is a small game, my very rough estimation would be over 30-40 hours of gameplay at a casual rate.
So what type of gameplay can one expect here? Well certainly not a gunslinger with flashy weapons and big booms... ok some big booms. But for the most part its exactly what you expect out of an Indiana Jones, avoid combat at all cost. You'll spend most of your time sneaking around trying to unravel the mystery all while trying to stop various factions from harnessing the power connected to the Great Circle. Using your witty sense of humor to ingratiate yourself with locals and your dry matter of fact explanations to placate guards. With the occasional fistfight and whip crack to keep you on your toes of course. Though in my experience, the fistfights are rigged... swear Indy was told to take a dive.
Anyways, if you enjoyed the rest of the Indiana Jones series I'd place a wager you'll enjoy this one. There seems to be some repeating themes, but with so many titles in the Indiana Jones series that is bound to happen. It doesn't seem overtly lazy like they didn't attempt to make it fresh. Also keep in mind this game was set between Lost Ark and Last Crusade, so there almost has to be some type of overlap.
The sound track is great, the graphics are out of the world and the story is at least decent. With all the side missions to explore coupled with the overwhelming nostalgic feeling this game offers I'd say its worthy of at least a second look. Considering the overwhelmingly low bar set by other titles releasing around this time of year Indiana Jones and the Great Circle may be one of the better AAA titles releasing in December. Except maybe PoE 2... sorry I couldn't help myself. Look for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle being released on PS5, XBOX Series X & S and Microsoft Windows in the steam store December 9, 2024 with a starting price tag of you guessed it $69.99.
Comments