Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis: A Graphic Adventure by Hal Barwood
Published by LucasArts Entertainment Company, P.O. Box 10307, San Rafael, California 94912-9978.
This is a disk-only format software. Five disks are included in this software package.
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A brief manual accompanies this software product. The manual walks you through the game in a short synopsis format. The manual features photographs from the software and a bibliography located in the back of the manual provides further reading on the sub
ject of the lost city of Atlantis. In addition, a reference card accompanies this product. The reference card includes information on the contents of the software package, system requirements, installation instructions, setting preferences, keyboard/cur
sor controls, and save/load instructions. The manual and the reference card provide clear, straightforward directions.
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No intended audience is stated by the publisher. The manual includes a 1-900 hint line and admonishes callers who are under the age of 18 to obtain permission from their parents or guardians before calling. Due to the vocabulary, reading, cognitive, and
problem-solving skills needed, as well as the dialogue and situations featured in the software, I would not recommend this product for children below junior high age.
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The manual states, in "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, you play the role of Indiana Jones, famed archaeologist- adventurer, as he attempts to discover and explore long-fabled Atlantis...Here's where you come in: you direct the actions of Indy...in
his search for Atlantis...use your imagination...you and Indy will eventually discover the true fate of Atlantis!" This purpose does not mention actually learning about the lost city of Atlantis, which is good, because I see no educational value in this
software. This is a game and only a game. If educators want to teach their students about Atlantis I would advise them to leave this product on the shelf and look for the books and materials mentioned in the bibliography section of the manual.
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This game can be fun. The animation and graphics are great, the music, which is the Indiana Jones theme, is exciting, and the software is full of surprises. In addition, this software contains several different games, so the boredom that comes from play
ing a game the same way each time will not be a factor for a long time. However, the game does feature video clips that move slowly due to excessive dialogue, and the surprise effects may become tiresome quickly. Most importantly in my opinion, the game
can be very frustrating. Players will become frequently mired and be forced to spend large amounts of time in one scene if they cannot figure out how to move on, which could lead to irritation and exasperation.
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Navigation and Interface
Navigation is not difficult in this game because you have to complete each section before you can move on to the next scene. Once you leave a scene you cannot return to it unless you start the game again from the beginning. Players may press F1 to exit
or save the game at any time. They may pause the game by pressing the space bar at any time. Pressing F8 will restart the same game. The interface is consistent and self-explanatory when the software is used in conjunction with the manual. Getting los
t is next to impossible because the software guides you through the game. You do not return to previous sections unless the game sends you back for some reason.
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Conclusions
In general, I personally found this software to be fun and exciting, but also frustrating and boring when I could not find my way out of situations. Many children may find this game challenging and entertaining and will spend hours working with it. It i
s definitely a game that is designed to occupy players for many hours. However, I believe that many children will become distressed and weary of this game when they cannot master the sections quickly. I would not recommend this software for use in a sc
hool setting because I do not believe that it has any educational value. I think parents and guardians should carefully consider the temperament and abilities of their children before they purchase this product for them. A game is no fun if it aggravate
s more than it delights, and a game is a waste of money if it sits on a shelf and is rarely or never played with. At worst, this game could discourage children from attempting other computer games because they may fear becoming confused and frustrated by
the other games as well as this one.
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System Requirements And Installation
This software requires 9.4 megabytes of hard drive storage (plus approximately 50K per saved game). The game requires 540K of available RAM in order to run smoothly.
I installed this software on an Epson Action Tower 3000 PC computer. It has 8 megabytes of RAM and a 420 megabyte hard drive. The program performed well on the computer I used.
The installation instuctions are located on the reference card. The directions are simple but the installation process took some time because each of the five disks were installed separately. At the "a" prompt, I inserted disk #1 and typed the word "ins
tall." I then installed the program on the "c" drive and I installed each individual floppy disk one at a time on the "a" drive of the computer. To run the program, I typed "cd \atlantis" at the "c" prompt, and then when the atlantis directory appears o
n the "c" drive I typed the word "atlantis."
No card is included to register the software, but a card is included if the buyer wants to purchase hint book and a survey form is included which can win people free software, t-shirts, and other "cool stuff" if the survey is filled out and mailed in.
The manual states, "If you need technical assistance, call the LucasArts Games Product Support staff at 1-415-721-3333. We're sorry, but no hints can be given on this line."
Reviewed by Dina Abramson. March 1, 1996.
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