With “open-area maps” to explore, Xbox’s Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is much less linear than the Developer Direct made it look.
Tim and Luis talk about what they’ve been watching and playing along with the news from the past week, including the swirling Xbox rumors and the potential future of the brand, Marvel’s Echo show, Steam Next Fest highlights, the new Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo and a new Rugrats game!
Digital Foundry : It's been just over a year now since Microsoft delivered its first Developer Direct - and back in the day I called it the "best games show we've seen in years". After its latest episode, I stand by those words and more than that, I also believe it's the perfect way to debut a big new game. I don't think they get much bigger with the hugely promising Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
I agree.
XDD is awesome and a great medium to reveal big AAA previously announced games.
The reveal and release date for Indiana Jones later this year was EPIC and unexpected!
Here´s hoping Xbox to do something similar for Fable, Perfect Dark and Everwild next year.
I wasn't expecting Indiana this year either.
Next year... Gosh they could show anything. Those three you mentioned, anything that gets announced at E3, the next Gears, the next id game, the next Double Fine game, South of Midnight, Contraband.
Yes indeed!
There´s literally so many games that it´s hard to predict what they might show/reveal.
I just hope Xbox to continue and present us great events like XDD on yearly basis.
I truly love its format.
Jerk Gustafsson, game director at MachineGames, speaks to Lucasfilm.
Indiana Jones will soon embark on his next big adventure: starring in a current-generation video game. Teased in 2021 and fully unveiled today with a new trailer, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle arrives later this year on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass; it’s the first Indy game in years, and as such has generated enough hype to fill the Raiders of the Lost Ark warehouse.
It fits right in their wheelhouse with first person action and beating up nazis. Just trade out the whip for a gun and it could be another Wolfenstein game.
It basically is control wise, I don't have a problem with how the movement and gun/whip mechanics will work.
It's gonna feel very familiar to Wolfenstein from the get go which is a good thing but with puzzles, treasure hunting and the indy jokes and adding to hopefully a great adventure.
While I'd prefer 3rd person for a game like this it still looks fun. So I'll check it out. One thing though. There's nothing unique about first person.
Unique? No, but the way they blend 1st and 3rd person isn't very commonplace. Especially in this type of adventure game. They aren't the only ones that have done it, but they do it better than anyone else. They were already perfecting this style way back when they were at Starbreeze making the Riddick games.
Metroid Prime really pioneered the 1st to 3rd transitions. I think it has potential but we will have to see. It should be entertaining, but it’s certainly not a system seller.
Haven't seen real gameplay yet, so have nothing about first-person yet. But reasoning is beyond dumb.
«making it a unique experience that you cannot find anywhere else» - Cyberpunk 2077, BioShock, Far Cry, Dishonored, Wolfenstein and many other first person action-adventure games all say group hello. So that doesn't look unique already.
Oh, and just because you think it's «unique» doesn't mean it's a good fit. Having camera turned upside-down is certanly unique, doesn't mean it's good. But again, i'll wait and see.
They shouldn't need to have their reasoning nitpicked and to justify it if that's what they feel confident with. All the games you mentioned are RPGs or shooters, most linear action-adventure/puzzle solving games are third person, like Uncharted, Tome Raider, and clones of those games. In that specific space it is kinda unique.
@spicelicka
Director provided a reason and everyone can challenge it or critique it, as long as you explain why you think it's wrong. That doesn't mean anyone have to change anything, by the way.
He could've stopped at "First-person gameplay is part of MachineGames’ DNA" and would've been fine, no reason to challenge that statement. Saying it's unique was a lie and unnecessary, in my opinion. And i think i've explained why i think that.
I can even flip your response, saying that «I shouldn't need to have my reasoning nitpicked and to justify it if that's what i feel confident with». But i think it's counterproductive and kinda cheeky. I mean, there's a reason we have comment section, to discuss news, ain't it?
Also, if you think that Uncharted or Tomb Raider are not shooters, you're flat out wrong, they both have a lot of shooting, i'd say 50/50 of shooting and exploration/puzzles. And another thing, no one knows what exactly the new Indy game will be like, it could be like BioShock Infinite or like Far Cry 4. Or even like Wolfenstein: New Order. All of those games are first-person, by the way. That's me going back to uniqueness part.
I understand, but I think you're overreading the 'Uniqueness" part. These are buzzwords certain departments use all the time. Neither of us are there to ask for a detailed explanation of what they mean by "unique". If they're implying that it's unique overall then certainly they're wrong, if they're implying that it's unique within the sub-genre or games like Uncharted and Tomb raider then they're not so wrong. Their wording could've been better but I think it's unfair to call the reasoning dumb over an insignificant interview quote. You and I both know they're making it first person because they're good at first person, that's all there is to it.
@spicelicka
I guess you're right, i think i'm just tired from all the PR speak, trying to oversell you something. I think if he would've said that it's because they're good at first person games - as you said - i would have no issues with his statement. I mean, New Order, Old Blood and New Colossus were all good (didn't like Youngblood though).
Have you played Escape from Butcher Bay? the director of this game directed that game. That was a pitch-perfect blend of (primarily) first person with occasional third person sections for climbing and what-not.
@0hMyGandhi
Oh yeah, love Riddick games, that feels me with confidence that they can pull it off, thanks!
Classic game that one. Off topic but prison break on the PS3/360 got slayed at release 3/10 scores but the game was basically copied from riddick EFBB yet that scored 10/10.
Unfortunately the UK prison break studio closed down with lack of sales.
I've always said reviewers never played prison break and just scored it bad because it was a TV series game.
It was a gem of a game, no patches needed, no FPS drops just a great game.
Nothing wrong with the first-person perspective but I wonder what they didn't reveal during the trailer if he's saying this will be a 'unique' experience. It looked like every other first-person game that I've seen before. Unless he mean unique compared to the past Indiana Jones games.
i think he's saying 1st person is unique amongst other action-adventure games. I bet he's thinking of the same games we are - the gold standards Uncharted and Tomb Raider.
Oh okay, I wasn’t even thinking of the archaeology angle. I was thinking more Wolfenstein, Doom, Dishonored, etc.
The directors first mistake was responding to people complaining. There is no pleasing ppl but now all those ppl see that he will respond. Basically giving trolls food.
Cool
I bet it is as it seems.
wide linear is the new linear
Terrible decision to make it first person.
im pretty sure that it's gonna be as linear as it seems.