There was only one mystery I wanted to solve coming into Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. No, it didn't have anything to do with the Nazi's misappropriation of ancient artifacts – the pursuit of which fuels a worldwide expedition into the heart of Vatican City, arid expanses of Egypt, verdant jungles of Southeast Asia, and beyond. What I needed to understand was why developer MachineGames went to all the trouble of securing the likeness rights for a young Harrison Ford only to have you staring at his forearms for hours.
Leveraging a first-person perspective as the primary point-of-interaction with such an iconic entertainment franchise was a bold creative decision. While it allows MachineGames to play on familiar ground (the studio famous for delivering two of the best first-person shooters of the modern era), it risked distancing players from an iconic silhouette. Tomb Raider and Uncharted set the model for Indiana Jones-inspired capers, after all – capturing the thrills of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade better than Steven Spielberg or George Lucas have managed with Indy in 30 years. So, why chance a venture into such unknown territory?
