Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game

Not to be confused with the NES release, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1991 video game).

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Title screen
Developer(s)	Tiertex Design Studios
Publisher(s)	U.S. Gold Ltd.
Platform(s)	Genesis/Mega Drive, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Game Boy, Game Gear, MSX, NES, Sega Master System, ZX Spectrum
Release date(s)	1989, 1990, 1991, 1992
Genre(s)	Action, Adventure, Arcade
Mode(s)	Platform
Distribution	8 Bit Cartridge

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game was released in 1989 by Lucasfilm Games, based on the film of the same name. The game appeared on a number of 8-bit & 16-bit computers and consoles including, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, DOS, Sega Master System, Megadrive, Genesis and Game Gear. There are also two completely different games for the Nintendo NES and the Nintendo Gameboy called Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, one released by Taito, and another by Ubisoft, with no subtitle to differentiate the two versions.

Gameplay

As in the movie, your quest is to find the Holy Grail. Before this can be done you must find the Cross of Coronado, the Knight of the First Crusade's Shield and your fathers Grail Diary. Each of which must be picked up in one of the first three levels in order to progress.

Overall this makes for a four-level arcade adventure combining climbs, exploration (with several routes through each level, and some traps) and puzzles. Indy is armed with his trusty whip to fight off foes, but can also get involved in hand-to-hand combat. Just as in the movie, the first level takes place in caves underneath Utah, where you must find the Cross of Coronado, before reaching the moving circus train strewn with enemies and carriages full of circus animals. The second level comprises a combination of the Venetian Catacombs, where you need to pick up the Knights Shield, and Castle Brunwald in Austria, where you must ascend to the highest point of the level, but watch out for that lightening!. The third level takes place upon German Zeppelin which is full of German Guards and Ladders. You must make your way through the Zeppelin, find your father's Grail Diary and make good your escape. You start the level with a full boarding pass which diminishes over time. Once gone, the guards become more alert and move faster. New or replenishing boarding passes can be found around the level which will slow the guards down again. The final level is a race against time and to reach the Holy Grail itself, before Indy's father succumbs to heart trauma, following a gunshot wound. This is represented by a beating heart on screen which diminishes over time, once fully diminished the game is over! The final level features the saw blade traps and lettered flooring from the movie. Here Indy must walk on the correct letters to spell out the name of God, otherwise he will fall to his death and the game will be over!

Reception

Computer Gaming World gave the Taito's version a negative review, saying, "Instead of becoming a game that features an Indiana Jones which fans can readily identify with, the game becomes just another search and recover game in which the character icon happens to resemble a familiar film hero." The review did praise the graphics and sound, but noted fight sequences were both too easy and too short, since all enemies could be defeated in one hit and turned their backs shortly after attacking the player.^[1]

In the Spectrum sales charts, it was number two, behind Robocop, which was number one every month for most of the year.^[2]