Hold on to your hats boys and girls, because they just might be blown off. As any regular long-term readers of Mojo will know, one of my favourite LucasArts games is Indiana Jones and Infernal Machine. I've spent many happy hours playing that game, and I'd thought I'd uncovered all its secrets. Apparently not!
One of the things that always bugged me was the identity of this little boy wearing an Indy hat in the minecart switching hut. Well, out of the blue today I received an email from Paul LeFevre, who worked at LucasArts from 1992-2000 (the wonder years) and was Lead Programmer on Infernal Machine. This is what he said:
On this page I noticed the "Indy loves the kids" entry -- but you didn't know who the kid was. That's my son, who I snuck into the game, when he was 3 years old (he's now 14!). Just thought I'd fill in one of your blank spots :)
Hooray, mystery solved at long last! But wait, there's more:
Incidentally, my wife is also in the game. She's Filipino, and doing the Palawan level (in the Philippines) was my idea. Inside one of the caves, there's an image on a wall of her as a "Filipina Princess" hidden away, but nobody seems to have found that easter egg (or at least commented on it). Oh, well :)
There's a secret in that game that I didn't know about?! Apparently so. At least one person seems to have found it inadvertantly. In the Palawan Volcano level, behind the huge gong in the lava/statue/Russians room there's a block you can push. Push it to the end and you'll find some treasure... but if you push the bare bit of wall opposite you can find the "Filipino Princess"!
Incidentally, in the N64 version of the game (which was found first) there's a stone carving of an N64 instead. Much less fun.
Impressed? I was!
Linky!
Too bad Zaarin killed off those images during the Mojo X transition though! Speaking of which, did we do anything for the one year anniversary of Mojo X?
Gabez
I'm a big fan of Infernal Machine and don't remember it getting too much love at Mojo in the past.
I wouldn't bet on my memory, but I think overall people complained about the engine being too old and clunky to the point the game didn't seem particularly worth playing. And compared to praises about the other LucasArts arcade games - including all the Legos, as well as Emperor's Tomb - no one seemed to hold The I-Machine in particularly high regard.
But like I said I might have dreamed that all.
Mighty Thirsty Pirate
I remember being annoyed that Sophia was still characterized as having some psychic powers, depite it being revealed in the previous game that those powers came from Nur-Ab Sal, not her.
I bet Nur-Ab Sal taught her a few tricks before he left.
The part which annoyed me the most also revolved around Sophia. At on point there was a homage to the FOA scene when Indy releases Sophia from a cell in Atlantis. However, instead of some cool puzzle to open the door you simple jump'n'run across chasms in another room to get the key for the cell. Fortunately there were better puzzles and more creative challenges elsewhere in the game.
Anyway, I'm rambling. Good to read about the identity of the kid. I feel slightly bad about implying that Indiana Jones was a pedophile now (back when I wrote the 'Indy loves the kids bit').
I'm a big fan of Infernal Machine and don't remember it getting too much love at Mojo in the past.
The Tingler
Shmargin
Really? Infernal Machine is your FAVORITE??
ONE of my favourites. But yes, I most definitely do. It's more for gameplay than story, admittedly.
But really really? I'm a big fan of Infernal Machine and don't remember it getting too much love at Mojo in the past.
Found the CD when I cleaned out my basement last weekend, so I might give it a try again to see if my opinions have changed.
Now Desktop Adventures, that was some addictive shit.
Shmargin
Really? Infernal Machine is your FAVORITE??
ONE of my favourites. But yes, I most definitely do. It's more for gameplay than story, admittedly.
Shmargin
I mean, it was alright, but I thought it was a pretty unimpressive sequal for FOA.
I mean, it was alright, but I thought it was a pretty unimpressive sequal for FOA. Had some fun parts, liked that the cut scenes were all in game, but even with Indiana Jones being my favorite character ever, I rank this game fairly low on my list.