Entry 44: The Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure

Indy Timeline: 1938

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure was released on PC, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST and Mac OS in May 1989.  Using the LucasArts "SCUMM" engine that powered such classics as "The Secret of Monkey Island" and the Maniac Mansion franchise, the Last Crusade graphic adventure is a point and click puzzle game with extensive dialogue and some action sequences (like fist fights and an aerial dogfight).  The plot of the game largely matches that of the film (reviewed HERE), at times with dialogue matching word for word, but digresses from the movie storyline at other points.  How does this game hold up close to 25 years after its release?  Does it capture the magic of the original film?

The answer to the first question is, frankly, "not great."  To start, the sound fx are poor, even for standards at the time - mostly made up of blips and bleeps.  While I found the graphics charming - the sprites are colorful and the animations are often humorous - they are blurry and inferior to other graphic adventures that came out just a short time afterwards (like the Monkey Island games and Fate of Atlantis).  The controls are also clunky and not the most intuitive, and many of the "commands" Indy can follow are never used in the course of the entire game.  This game is somewhat older than SCUMM engine classics like LOOM and MI1+2, and it is clear that the developers were still working out some kinks. 

The puzzles themselves are also less polished than successors in the SCUMM engine.  There is an overreliance on complicated mazes, which I doubt I would have been able to solve without the help of an internet walkthrough.  There are three major "maze" sections in the course of this relatively short game, and each requires that Indy go through certain sections in order and/or select specific dialogue choices in a specific sequence to succeed- tricky.  I felt that way about a number of the puzzles- at one point, Indy needs to find three books in a Venetian library with hundreds of volumes.  The player is never told s/he needs to find the books (they come into play later in the game) and I suspect I would have unknowingly walked past them without the aid of a walkthrough.  At another point, you have to "pull" a chair 55x in a row to solve a puzzle.  In order to beat the game, you have to google for a PDF of the "grail diary" that came with the original game (unless you happen to own a hard copy) and read through it to solve the game's final puzzle.  That's not very nice.  The "combat" in the game is also punishing and somewhat random- I recommend avoiding it when possible (fortunately, this is often doable). 

All of that said, the game succeeds in capturing the spirit and charm of the original film.  While the game skips over some of my favorite moments in the film (such as the tank sequence), it gets more right than wrong in terms of locations and set pieces.  From the opening title sequence, in which a young Indy is racing across the top of a circus train holding the Cross of Coronado, to the final sequence in the Canyon of the Crescent Moon, I found myself smiling and even laughing out loud at different points in this charming adaptation.  The game is definitely sillier than the movie, with lots of little jokes sprinkled throughout, but I found these to be clever and possessing the deadpan sarcastic wit for which Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island were well known.  There are many examples of this humor, starting with Indy practicing boxing wearing gym shorts, a tank top, and his fedora on the game's first screen.  There are lots of little touches that add to the overall humor and charm of the title - the elaborate dog house for the German shepherd, the way the Indy theme plays when he changes into his leather jacket, and lots of funny dialogue quips. 

When Indy and Henry Jones Sr. crash a biplane and the Sr. Jones is unconscious on the ground next to the plane, Indy says without sympathy "no time to take a nap!" Sr. springs to life saying "OK, let's steal a car!"  When Elsa falls to her death in the canyon of the crescent moon, Indy simply says: "Nice going Elsa." 

In sum, while "The Graphic Adventure" suffers from dated sound fx and esoteric puzzles, it succeeds in capturing the spirit and charm of the feature film.  While some sequences are tedious, my take away is positive.  Besides, any game that lets the player punch Hitler in the face (even if it doesn't end well for Indy), is worth playing in my book!

Indy Rating: 6.5/10