INDIANA JONES AND THE EMPEROR’S TOMB:

The newest Indiana Jones game predates the popular films.  This action-adventure has the world’s most famous whip-snapper teamed up the beautiful Mei Ying as they seek the three pieces of the Heart of the Dragon, a powerful artifact that gives its possessor the ability to shape the minds and wills of others.  We’ll all be able to join Indy in his newest adventure in the spring of 2003.

LucasArts has gone to great extremes to capture the likeness of Harrison Ford in this newest Indy adventure.  Do you believe that players can relate better to a character that is instantly recognizable?

[Jim Tso] Yes, I think players like to step into the shoes of their favorite characters and become the character. I think that's what working with an established character brings to a game: players already have a context for the character and therefore you can focus more of your time on gameplay and action as opposed to setup.

Indy’s well-known for using his wits as well as his fists to solve a problem.  Will the player be able to make that choice in The Emperor’s Tomb or does every puzzle only have one solution?

[Jim Tso] We actually don't have that many puzzles in the traditional adventure sense but there are definitely many obstacles that Indy has to overcome.

Is there any possibility that the newest Indy game could serve as an inspiration for a new Indiana Jones movie?

[Jim Tso] You never know :-)

The Xbox version of Emperor’s Tomb has just been released to rave reviews.  Read our review tomorrow, but in the meantime visit the official site (http://www.lucasarts.com/products/indiana/)

for additional information.

FULL THROTTLE 2:

Little is currently known about this much-anticipated sequel.  It has been almost eight years since we first rode alongside outlaw biker Ben, leader of the Polecats, a renegade motorcycle gang.  Whatever road this new installment takes, I’m sure we’ll all be glad to be along for the ride.  Scheduled for a release date of winter, 2003.

Roy Conrad, the voice of Ben in the original Full Throttle, passed away last year.  Who is the new voice of Ben and are there any plans to include an in-game tribute to the original Ben?

[Sean Clark]  We are in the process of casting a new Ben, and hope to find someone who can bring what Roy did to the character.  It's a tall order, but we're hopeful.

Are we going to see a kinder, more peace-loving version of Ben or will he still be cracking jokes and skulls?

[Sean Clark]  Ben is still Ben.  Sure, he's a few years older, but he hasn't changed much.  He still likes to talk with his fists, thunder down open roads, and crack wise; irony hasn't left him behind.  The writing and design team spent a lot of time with the original game, both when it was in production and as a refresher more recently, so I think there's a sense of authenticity in what we've created.

Do you think that the continued popularity of a series like Full Throttle will depend upon its ability to capture the imagination of the console crowd?

[Sean Clark]  I think Full Throttle would remain popular without a sequel.  The original was a great story surrounding one of the most memorable characters ever seen in a game.  Ben deserves a bigger audience, though -- there are a lot more people playing games now than there were eight years ago, and most of them are playing on consoles.  So, we're telling a new story with the same character, telling it with lots of gameplay and new activities, and making it available on consoles as well as PC.

 

SAM AND MAX 2:

Even less is known about this recently announced sequel to the now-classic Sam and Max.  But we still managed to dig deep for a few investigative questions.  The current release date is sometime in 2004..

Rumors are afoot concerning arcades sequences in Sam and Max 2 - is there any basis to these rumors?

[Michael Stemmle]  Allow me to answer that in an annoyingly cryptic fashion: We're taking everything that people seemed to love about the first Sam and Max game, multiplying it by five, and getting rid of all the boring junk.

Can we expect the same off-the-wall humor and crazy puzzles that made the original so popular?

[Michael Stemmle]  We certainly hope so.  Otherwise, what would be the point, y'know?

Why Sam and Max? 

[Michael Stemmle]  It was either them or Loom 2: Electric Boogaloo, and, frankly, that Bobbin Threadbare kid scares the bejeebers out of me.

Its been almost ten years since we last saw these characters, what prompted LucasArts to bring them back after such a lengthy absence?

[Michael Stemmle]  An amusing if unlikely alignment of coincidence, desperation, and managerial wisdom.  It'll all be in the Director's Cut DVD.

And finally, we asked about the rumors concerning the impending announcement of a new Monkey Island game.  LucasArts answer – no response.