Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (xbx: 2003): Reviews

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Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb


8.3

based on 43 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 13 votes
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Official Website

Join daring archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones as he travels to 1935 China to prevent a powerful artifact from falling into evil hands. Indy's latest globe-spanning adventure takes you from the jungles of Ceylon and underwater palaces in Istanbul, to the deadly streets of Hong Kong and beyond. Racing against evil Nazis and the Asian underworld with mysterious, alluring partner Mei Ying, you'll leap, swim, climb and punch your way through exotic locales, fighting hand-to-hand combat from street brawls to martial arts battles. It will take more than just your trusty whip and pistol to avoid deadly traps and navigate through all the dangerous environments. Do you have what it takes to possess the mysterious "Heart of the Dragon?" [LucasArts]

PUBLISHER:	LucasArts
DEVELOPER:	The Collective
GENRE(S):	Third-Person Action, Adventure
PLAYERS:	1
ESRB RATING:	T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE:	February 24, 2003

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

GamingTrend

This is high adventure in the grandest sense, and running around in the shoes of Indiana Jones is truly a great thing. Not to mention the manual has got to be seen to be believed. It’s so bloody cool, it’s amazing.

XGP Gaming

Playing The Emperor's Tomb is just like watching your favorite Indy movie; it's got everything, and strikes a wonderful balance of platforming, puzzle solving and combat.

Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

It's all top notch Indy stuff and perfectly captures all the ace elements of the man and the movies. Monsters, exotic locations, suspicious characters and back-stabbing. He even looks and sounds like Harrison Ford which makes it all even more believable, charming and utterly essential. [GamesMaster]

Deeko

With a great musical score, fantastic gameplay and great graphics (for the most part), this is one adventure you do not want to miss!

Official Xbox Magazine

The huge number of levels and their often epic scale is backed up by a worthy storyline. [Mar 2003, p.40]

ActionTrip

If there is a problem with the game it's that it offers nothing new to this style of game that hasn't already come from the Boob Raider saga. That's not to say it's a bad game. It a great game.

Game Informer

Let's put it this way: Anything you see Indy do in a movie, he can do in the game - the control is that good. [Mar 2003, p.86]

Team Xbox

LucasArts did a fine job making the closest thing to a replication of all the movies thrown into a video game. The gameplay is fantastic, the level design is overwhelming at times, and the graphics and sound make their own positive arguments.

GameNow

It's like "Tomb Raider" with a better fighting engine. [Apr 2003, p.54]

GameSpy

It might be some time until the Xbox sees another adventure that's this enjoyable again.

Play Magazine

I think LucasArts should have The Collective make all of their A-list movie games. Howard the Duck beckons. [Apr 2003, p.59]

GamePro

The combat is especially well executed, although the amount of punishment opponents can take is a tad unrealistic.

GameZone

Excellent graphics and sound, but may be spending too much time on that puzzle-heavy road.

Gamer's Pulse

It immersed you in a pit of action and puzzle solving, all classic adventure game elements, and it was just fun controlling Indy and his whip.

GameCritics

The fights, though violent, are unfortunately completely bloodless—not a drop of claret is spilled—and the bodies of his enemies, once beaten, magically vanish. This makes the game feel as tidy and antiseptic as a Disney ride.

TotalGames.net

This combination of adherence to the Lucas/Spielberg rules and innovative game design not only makes this a convincing depiction of an icon, but also makes for a satisfying and rewarding play.

Total Video Games

Thanks to the use of the Buffy engine, the game features an excellent combat system that refuses to tire on you and a compelling story to pull you through the game.

Game Chronicles

Manages to capture the spirit of the films and packs a ton of combat and action sequences into a good old-fashioned adventure game. The puzzles are mindless so check your brain at the door.

Gamezilla!

Issues like graphics that are clearly below Xbox standards also keep the game from becoming great.

Into Liquid Sky

Look past the glitches and the mediocre puzzles and you can find a fun action/adventure for just about anyone.

Entertainment Weekly

At times the game has all the pulse-pounding thrills of an archaeological dig. [7 Mar 2003, p.78]

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Gorgeous graphics, inspired combat, fun minigames, and cool puzzles and platform challenges bolster play immensely. [Apr 2003, p.130]

Game Over Online

If not for the abundant technical glitches, repetitive level design and spotty camera system, recommending The Emperor’s Tomb would have been a no-brainer.

Game Revolution

Better than average combat through exotic locales is always fun. Just steady that camera, grab your wetsuit and don't eat the monkey brains.

Armchair Empire

You’ll be looking for opportunities to heave enemies off catwalks or crack them against a wall so Indy can smack them silly.

Gamestyle

It’s just a really good fun game that does not take itself at all seriously and for fans of Dr Jones it is absolutely fantastic and I cannot recommend it high enough.

GamerWeb Xbox

The over emphasis on action and less emphasis on using your wits drags it down to a pretty standard evolution of the Tomb Raider formula.

Cheat Code Central

The graphics themselves are good but not befitting of the Xbox. The gameplay is challenging to an extent but is more targeted at novice gamers.

EuroGamer

It's a blast from start to finish and somehow manages to be greater than the sum of its parts. It's perhaps a classic example of the ideal game to rent.

GMR Magazine

While the action runs smoothly, textures and level design are a bit on the simple side, making some of the more ambitious "natural" levels feel a little too grid based. [Apr 2003, p.67]

Electric Playground

My copy of Emperor's Tomb had occasional moments of severe slowdown and music stuttering. These instances never occurred during a life or death situation, but they were aggravating all the same.

Xbox Nation Magazine

Sadly, however, not even the best Indy console game necessarily makes for a great Xbox title. [Apr 2003, p.80]

All Game Guide

While these are disappointments, there are few games that have you leaning into every jump you make, your heart in your throat each time Indy barely grabs onto a ledge with his fingertips before pulling himself up.

XenGamers

It’s pretty much a given that beating up Nazis is inherently fun, but the developers threw in some truly entertaining wrinkles into the combat to make the Nazi-bashing especially enticing.

Gaming Age

A poorly done camera is the only true blemish on what is a fantastic game.

GameSpot

While the game does a lot of things right, severe technical issues surface at almost every turn and really drag down the game's high points, leaving behind a game with tons of untapped potential.

IGN

It's fun and a bit addictive. But there are a ton of flaws to be found and the puzzle design is so incredibly meager it hurts the game a great deal.

Yahoo! Games

What Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb amounts to is lots of riddles, lots of combat, too many deathtraps and jumping puzzles, and a decent, if contrived story.

Maxim Online

Despite the occasionally clunky controls, Emperor’s Tomb does impress with its hand-to-hand brawls (Ms. Croft would be lost without HER weapons) and the free-range exploration allowed within each level.

G4 TV

Plays it safe for the most part. It takes familiar gameplay and runs with it, without trying to innovate much beyond the fun brawling.

Cinescape

Falls short by being vastly repetitive and not offering much new to gamers. A rental at best.

netjak

About the only thing that I didn’t absolutely hate in The Emperor’s Tomb (but it was still lacking) is that there are a few cool big boss fights.

Edge Magazine

Instant deaths, glitchy combat, uninspiring boss encounters and twitchy controls conspire to make this a below-par experience. If it wasn't for the occasional flashes of imagination and the familiarity and richness conveyed through the license then The Emperor's Tomb would be utterly forgettable. [May 2003, p.99]

The average user rating for this game is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Sunny D. gave it a10:
Excellent story line, good environment, concept arts and characters; the essentials for a good single player game. And Indy has it all. A must have for fans.

Blue Falcon gave it a2:
Wow, I think a bunch Lucas Arts or Collective employees are reviewing it below or something. This game is definately among the worst games I've played on the xbox. The graphics are poor, gameplay awkward, and in some spots broken. It's really just a poor game all around.

Pieter J. gave it a 9:
This game is awsome in every way. You ARE Indiana Jones in this game. The music is also impressive! If you are an Indiana Jones-fan, buy it NOW!

Michael C. gave it an 8:
An all around fun game. Gameplay mechanics are solid. Graphics and sound are nothing short of what you'd expect from Lucas. My one complaint: certain part of this one are really tough, so be prepared to get frustrated. Third-person action at it's finest, folks.

Rex gave it an 8:
This is a must have for the xbox! The only game i have ever played that i want to replay over and over. The fighting is exellent with tons of wepons to choose from, which some you can under or over estimate, for example i went through the whole game first time without using a chair or table leg but second time i found it was amazing. The graphix are bright and coulerfull with beutifull lighting effects though a lack of solidarity and the level range is amazin, from antient tombs and hong kong to nazi bases!! The game its self, however is quite short but if you wish you can collect all 30 artifacts, but this only opens a quite unimpressive art gallery. Its hard to rate this game because besides some minor glitches the gameplay, immence thrill and overall fun of being indiana jones makes the game well worth buying so dont hesitate if you are considering this puchase go forth and buy this game!!!

Indy gave it a 10:
This is the Best Indiana Jones game they have ever made.

John S. gave it an 8:
I don't see why this didn't get a higher score. I give it a solid 8.5. The graphics are very good (much sharper and eye-popping than any of the trailers I've seen for it), the combat is excellent (very "Buffy"-like), and the levels are huge. The only things missing are savepoints and multiplayer. Multiplayer, especially, which would add to the limited replay-value.