The International House of Mojo

GameSpot recently checked in on the latest build of Hal Barwood's RTX Red Rock. The article discusses various aspects of the action adventure like vehicles and the Tron-like part of the game where you help IRIS in her cyberworld. Here's a quote:

The game's graphics are slowly coming together. While the visual quality of the game has always been pretty high, the game's frame rate has been pretty inconsistent. The latest build included more effects and showed off a variety of new areas in the game. The frame rate wasn't quite as inconsistent as before, despite the new additions, which is a good sign.

If you have a GameSpot Complete Account (which sadly, I do not), you can also check out the new video interviews with producer Reeve Thompson and view gameplay footage. Anyone with an account wanna share their impressions on the videos?

Wow.. our first on-time-review of a game ever! Surely a time for celebration! Yes, after a weekend of gaming, Lemonhead has thrown out this superb look at the new Indiana Jones action title for the Xbox. Here' a snippet:

After a spectacular intro sequence giving a brief insight into what you may expect to find in Emperor?s Tomb, you?re dropped straight into the action on just another treasure hunt (which Indy invariably finds himself in at the beginning of every movie) for the lost idol of Kouru Wato. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this particular artefact is located in a deep recess, under the ruins of a lost temple in the tropical wilderness.

We certainly had a fun time playing this title! Read it here, adventure fans!

GameSpy.com has published a rather glowing review of Xbox's Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. The reviewer scores the game at 82 out of 100, complimenting the game's story, music, and fighting style. Here's a quote:

Fans of the Indiana Jones movies and fans of great action beat-'em-up video games should absolutely take Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb for a spin. It might be some time until the Xbox sees another adventure that's this enjoyable again.

Read the full review here.

Source: Some Old Guy

LucasArts.com has updated its Gladius product spotlight. This time, new concept art has been added, featuring some really freaky animals. Find them here.

Adventure Gamers has interviewed Dave Grossman, asking him about his past, present, future, and of course, The Secret of Monkey Island:

Who came up with the highly controversial ending to MI2? What do you have to say to those who hate it so much?

I blame society.

Check out the whole interview along with some stolen Mojo photographs at Adventure Gamers!

The Dutch television program Gammo has raised itself just slightly above other pulp gaming television by doing a 'refresh' review of Full Throttle. I caught a rerun of the program last night, but the item may be posted on their website soon.

Full Throttle was run either in SCUMMvm or the new Entertainment Pack edition and looked absolutely beautiful on the TV screen. Ignorant as they may be, Gammo called Full Throttle a special game because it's about bikers who are 'real American characters', and said there were no aliens, knights, beasts or other fantastical characters. I guess they didn't remember the Cave Fish -- or the futuristic hover cars!

Blahhh! Everyone's favorite SCUMM Bar, The SCUMM Bar has a brand new highly-addictive time-waster: Virtual Insult Swordfighting. Match wits with the pirate greats (well, really just with the web server). It's pretty fun, and (sadly) keeps you coming back for more and more.

Though it's probably old news (see?), game industry site Gamasutra has a profile, interview, and small portfolio up for Bill Tiller. The interview includes some fun facts? like this:

Upon graduating from the Cal Arts character animation program, LucasArts offered me a job on Steven Spielberg's The Dig. I should have run the other direction! Just kidding...sort of. That was one hell of project to cut my teeth on. It got better pretty quickly. I got to film some "Star Wars" video for Rebel Assault. I think I was the first person since George finished those lame "Ewok Adventures" to actually shoot new "official" Star Wars footage.

Those who already have a free account (or those interested in the wonderfully long sign-up process) should definitely give it a look.

Source: Ourselves?

IGN has published one of the first reviews for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, giving the game 6.1 out of 10.

The main complaints seem to be too much emphasis on action instead of puzzles, some flawed game design, AI glitches, and Indy himself being a little out of character. IGN's high points for the game include great music and voice acting, a decent story, and some fun gameplay. Here's a quote:

The final score doesn't quite match my overall enjoyment of the game, but again, the muck-ups and nearly non-existent puzzle elements hurt a lot. This isn't a game you'll play twice, but anyone looking for a dozen mindless hours of action and platforming should at least rent Indy. It's worth a look at least to see if it's worthy of your money. A good rental, but not really the best $50 investment you could make.

More reviews should be released in the near future, so hopefully we'll get a better idea of the game's quality. Check out the full review, but only if you have an IGN Insider account.

Update: If you're looking for another opinion, Team XBox gave Emperor's Tomb an overall 4.2 out of 5 (including a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Gameplay) in their review.

Last week, GameSpot checked in on LucasArts' Gladius to see how production was going. Seemingly impressed by what they saw, the article points out some of the more promising aspects of this RPG.

... while combat is obviously a core element of the game, Gladius will be a multifaceted package. Like any RPG worth its item sack, Gladius will offer a strong narrative, character development, side quests, and even some exploration. The game's story will be told through two narratives: one that focuses on Ursula, the daughter of a barbarian king, and another that focuses on Valens, the son of a great gladiator.

The article also goes on to discuss the battle system as well as who will be providing voice overs for the characters. Mmmm, Linda Cardellini...

LucasArts.com was updated on Friday, although the only thing that seems to have changed is the featured screenshot. This week's shot is taken from what may be a soon-to-be-announced expansion pack, RTX Rodeo Roundup. It shows EZ "Tex" Wheeler riding a bucking mechanical spider. Ride and rope 'em, space cowboy!

Also, I'm drunk.

In addition to the previous online chat with CMI lead artist Bill Tiller, Brimstone Beach Club has once again contacted Bill to ask a few questions that didn't make their way into the chat event.

Among them are very interesting gems of info concerning the setting of his new game, why he may or may not be back to work on Monkey Island 5, and the actual secrets of Monkey Island. Very interesting stuff, so I demand that you go read the answers now!

The official Gladius homepage has been updated with even more goodies. Among them are new models, more equipment, and a new Team Note from the lead game tester. Here's a quote:

"Is 600 battles too many?" Rob asked. We sat in a small meeting room where the design team and I could discuss Gladius' details. At first, I thought Rob was kidding. So, naturally, I laughed.

An uncomfortable silence followed. No one else laughed. Rob just looked at me with that confident yet questioning look on his face. He was serious. Feeling like I had just made a complete fool of myself, I thought, "600 battles! This game is going to rock!"

Rock on!

LucasArts.com announced today that Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb has gone gold and launched a new website. The site now contains such goodies as desktop wallpaper, a TV commercial, and two tracks from the amazing live orchestral score written by Clint Bajakian. Woohoo!

Also, if you didn't catch it the first time it appeared, be sure to read our interview with Clint concerning his work with a live orchestra for this game. The results really speak for themselves.

Look for the Xbox version in stores on February 25th with the PC version available on March 18th and the PS2 port sometime in May.

Ready for some Norwegian humor? Don't have a clue what Norwegian humor could be? Then check out the latest Double Fine news update for some very amusing pictures and words concerning Psychonauts, naked ladies, a Norwegian store, and a tragic fire.

And on a personal note, I think that may be the first and only time I'll ever use the word "Norwegian" in three consecutive sentences. Oops, make that four. Oi!

As mentioned yesterday (and a couple weeks back), LucasArts is putting some extra effort into the manual (and hopefully the game) for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. Last night they were kind enough to send us four scans out of the manual for us to check out, so check them out.

As mentioned by Pedgey and a couple others in the comments earlier, it's unknown as to whether or not people outside the US (especially non-English versions) will be receiving anything resembling this particular book, but we're checking on it. For now enjoy some very nice Indy graphic design, and maybe get a little insight into the game:

IGN XBox has an Emperor's Tomb "designer diary" of a slightly different type. The journal is by Gregory Harsh, the graphic designer responsible for the game's manual, made to look like Indy's journal. After getting a sneak peek earlier this month (shh) I have to say that it's pretty nice looking, as anticipated (see our previous report). The IGN story includes some details you'll find if you dig through the book, as well as some pictures of the manual itself. Some bits of the article are a little shady, especially the opening:

Console game manuals have a history of sucking. PC games often have nice packaging and great, in-depth manuals filled with extra goodies that don't necessarily pertain to gameplay. But in the console world, manuals are often in black-and-white and sometimes fail to even cover all gameplay aspects.

When was the last time a PC game had nice pack-in goodies and a manual superior to that of a console game? Like ten years ago maybe. I haven't seen an amazing full-color full-size PC manual in years, while nearly every console manual I own is full color, and about 150% the size of my PC ones. That aside, it's a very interesting worthwhile read especially for Indy fans (and fans of nice game pack-in stuff), so check it out. It's not even an "insider" story!

The official Gladius homepage was updated recently. The site now contains a new scroll concerning the history of the imperial conquest, a map tour, and a few new screenshots. Head over to LucasArts.com to check 'em out.

Aaron over at The Indy Experience.com has written up some tidbits from the Official Xbox Magazine concerning Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. The magazine supposedly contains new screenshots, an Xbox demo of the game, and other various bits of information. Here's some of it:

The in-game cinemas are backed by a professionally-recorded score and move smoothly into the game (thanks largely to their use of the regular game engine). Voice-overs are brilliant and truly admirable. Indy's gravelly voice is provided by David Esch, who has been the voice double for Harrison Ford in the past, and he acquits himself perfectly here.

Check out theindyexperience.com for a detailed report.

After a bit too much planning and a surprisingly quick development time, we're proud to announce some brand spankin' new Monkey Island Discussion Forums on LucasForums. These forums now serve as Mojo's Monkey Island forum, as well as the official forum for the SCUMM Bar, Brimstone Beach Club, and EscapeMI.com. Of course, any other MI sites or communities are free to use them as well.

The lovely art at the top was painted by none other than Dan Lee, so be sure to thank him somehow, as it looks amazing. Go talk. Now.