New 'Indiana Jones' Game in Development from 'Wolfenstein' Team
In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indy said, “Nazis, I hate these guys.” So does MachineGames, a video game development studio behind 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order, a first-person shooter where players fight Nazis as part of a resistance in an alternate timeline where they won World War II.
On January 12, publisher Bethesda tweeted that a “new Indiana Jones game with an original story is in development from our studio, @MachineGames and will be executive produced by Todd Howard, in collaboration with @LucasfilmGames”. They also said it would “be some time” before they had more to reveal, but they shared a brief teaser video that had plenty of details that may have to do with the game’s story. In the video, we can see a stack of books, with titles like Forbidden Stones and Ancient Circle Jubilee, which could indicate that the story revolves around megalithic structures similar to Stonehenge. We can also see a journal, a map, and a plane ticket to Rome before the footage ends on a familiar looking hat, which is picked up to reveal a bullwhip underneath.
MachineGames developed 2014’s soft reboot of the Wolfenstein series, Wolfenstein: The New Order. The game continued the storyline of the Wolfenstein series while putting an emphasis on the game’s narrative and the character development of protagonist BJ Blazkowicz. The first-person shooter had intense combat where BJ was frequently outnumbered and outgunned by the Nazis (something Dr. Jones may know a thing or two about). The game renewed the popularity of the Wolfenstein brand, leading MachineGames to develop a prequel, Wolfenstein: Old Blood; a sequel, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus; and a spin-off, Wolfenstein: Youngblood.
Todd Howard, whom Bethesda had announced as executive producer, is best known for his work on the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series.
At this time, it is unknown whether the currently untitled Indiana Jones game will be played from a first-person perspective, as the Wolfenstein games were, or whether it will be a third-person action adventure game, akin to the Uncharted and Tomb Raider series. It should be noted that both of those series draw obvious inspiration from the Indiana Jones films.
There has not been an Indiana Jones video game since 2009’s LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues. Like other LEGO games, this adapted famous scenes from the Indiana Jones films into full length levels, this time adding in levels from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The last Indiana Jones game to feature a brand new, original story was 2009’s Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, released for Wii, DS, PSP, and PS2. In it, Indy was searching for the Staff of Moses. It was not well received, with a Metacritic rating of 55/100 for the Wii and PS2 versions.
Indiana Jones as a video game property has certainly had mixed reception, with the highest rated [non-LEGO] game, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, having a 75/100 Metacritic score. Meanwhile, another popular Lucasfilm property that you may have heard of, Star Wars, has many games with a much higher rating, including fan-favorite Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, with an astounding 94/100.
With this newly announced game in the hands of a talented studio like MachineGames, could we see the first Indiana Jones game to receive universal praise? MachineGames has proven that it can create not only fun and memorable gaming experiences, but engaging stories with unique and interesting characters.
What do you think? Will MachineGames release a first or third-person perspective game? What kind of gameplay would you like to see from an Indiana Jones game on modern consoles? If you have a theory on what the plot may be, leave a comment!
Source(s): Twitter