Preview by Double Barrel Gaming’s Mr. Boomstick XL
There are going to be a total of 4 categories that will make up today preview video for Machine Games, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle releasing on December 9th, 2024, for Xbox Series XS, Xbox Cloud Gaming, PC & the PS5 in Spring of 2025!
Story
Set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), the story follows the original “Tomb Raider” Indiana Jones in 1937 as he attempts to stop the nazi’s, led by rival archaeologist Emmerich Voss who are seeking to harness a power connected to the Great Circle.
The overall plot refers to mysterious sites around the world that form a perfect circle when connected on a global scale, will offer great power, a power that the nazi’s would use to put an end to World War 2 before its even started!
The game spans numerous real-world locales such as Rome, Thailand, the sweltering sands of Egypt, Shanghai, and the dense, undiscovered jungles of the Himalayas. ALL of the locations that I visited during my playtime felt alive and lived in, there were tons of nazi’s patrolling the dark streets of Rome and many NPC’s roaming around the desert of Egypt.
Graphics
In my 2+ hour preview, one of the first things that players will notice is how amazing the graphics are. From the opening scene in Berkly college, to the large, open area of Cairo located in Egypt, you will notice the immense attention to detail on the characters models, in game items used to tell the story and their environments in which this grand adventure is being told.
The latest version of the incredible ID Tech engine used to power titles like Wolfenstein and the rebooted Doom’s are on full display rivaling the insane graphics of Ninja Theory’s Hellblade 2. Some specific moments were seeing the hair on Indy’s knuckles when he was holding a recently discovered relic. The facial expressions and eye movements are damn near life like, and the motion capture is on par with what you’d see on the big screen! The game has been confirmed to be running at 60FPS + on Series X with HDR, VRR and Ray Tracing.
Gameplay
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle will be played from a 1st person perspective, with some 3rd person instances during cut scenes, climbing and scaling ledges and buildings as well as using a boat and a few other instances.
The use of stealth plays a tremendous part in this adventure and should be considered when traversing each area but isn’t the ONLY way to play this game. YOU have free reign to tackle every instance the way you want, the more you make a ruckus, the more attention you will draw to your presence.
The control is on par with many of the current generation FPS titles, taking the straightforward path is fine, but if you are a “look everywhere, find everything” type of gamer like me, you will be looking to find hidden locations, secrets and hidden treasure on every level of the game.
The hand-to-hand combat feels heavy and meaningful, every landed punch feels like it actually hurts your opponent, there is a satisfying thud with every landed punch. Of course, there will be a small learning curve as you need to wait for your opening and block incoming attacks.
Gun play, just like the films, is used at Indy’s discretion, though you will alert many guards to your location making the odds of your survival smaller by the second should you decide fire his trusty six shooter. Make no mistake, how you play this game is entirely up to YOU, but this is NOT a Castle Wolfenstein of Call of Duty game!
The use of the Indy’s iconic whip is done perfectly, whether it’s bringing an enemy close to knock them out, scare a patrolling guards German Shepard away or swinging over a giant chasm, you will make GREAT use it during your adventure!
The more you look for hidden secrets, the more the player is rewarded, from mind breaking puzzles to hidden treasures, the player will get to use, something called adventure points and there is an RPG system that I will go into more detail as we get closer to the games release. Discovered “Side-Missions” are found by simply reading letters, journals and other scraps of paper littered around each level!
Sound
ANY fans of the films know that sound plays a HUGE part in the adventure. Whether it’s the legendary John Willims score, the perfectly landed punch from Dr Jones to the screams of nazi’s falling to their doom, it’s a major part of what makes it an Indiana Jones experience and Machine Games have NAILED IT!
The music is composed by Gordy Haab, who has been able to capture the essence of the iconic score from the films. The game’s music was recorded by a full orchestra at Studio One at Abbey Road. If you are a fan of John Williams, the original composer of the films, you will feel right at home! You sometimes forget you are playing a game and often feel like you are watching a new film, every little audio detail is here, and it feels both familiar and new at the same time!
Additional Info
The Great Circle is set to receive a standalone story expansion titled The Order of Giants following the game’s launch. Upon its release, the expansion will be instantly available for owners of the game’s Premium and Collector’s Edition on Xbox and PC. It can be bought separately as well.
