INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE

Is MachineGames trying to sneak a stealth game past us?

- Robin Valentine

Shortly before my hands-on with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a developer from MachineGames explains that this is "not action-adventure, but adventure-action." He promises that this isn't just a cinematic skin over the studio's usual FPS combat, instead prioritizing the feel of an Indiana Jones adventure. The problem is, I think that's only half true.

As a statement of intent, it's exactly what you'd want. It certainly wouldn't feel true to the character if Jones was simply going room to room mowing down Nazis like BJ Blazkowicz. You want to see him bash some heads, for sure, but also exploring, escaping, outwitting and pulling off the impossible. The problem is, I don't think what the studio's made here really is "adventure-action". After roughly three hours with it, I think it's basically just a stealth game.

As my demo takes me from Marshall College to Vatican City to the Pyramids of Giza, more than anything what I'm doing is crouching behind boxes waiting for guards to pass. That's not to say it's bad or boring stealth—it's mostly light and forgiving enough that you can make your way around fairly quickly, and cinematic touches give it extra spice. Stealth kills require a one-use weapon from the environment each time, meaning you're breaking shovels, wine bottles, fire pokers and saucepans over Nazi's heads. That's just an old-fashioned good time.