Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The Good
This is the first Indiana Jones game that is based on the second movie. The first thing I noticed was the close resemblance of Harrison Ford on the title screen. Ford looks adventurous as he did in the movie. The infamous theme tune is there. I like how it plays out in its entirety.

Then there are the three action sequences based on events from the film. First up, you have to save a number of children stuck in cages while whipping Thugee guards and bats. If you don't get a move on, Mola Ram will appear and send a fireball at Indy. (It is called a flaming heart in the coin-op version.) I don't find whipping the fireball that difficult, but many times have I been in the position where a fireball and one or two bats are all coming for Indy at once, it was sometimes impossible for me to whip them all. Once you've saved all children, it's into the mine cart where you have to whip those guards again and avoid booby traps to reach the ceremonial chamber. Finally, you have to retrieve one of three Sankara stones. Get them all, and you will be able to defeat Mola Ram on the bridge.

I really like the first action scene. Nothing beats going around the mine and whipping everything you see. Hazards such as spikes and lava are great to get past. You even have the opportunity to use your whip to swing between platforms.

Although the music during the game is quite basic, the same music can be heard from the movie, and I didn't mind listening to it while I was playing. I enjoy hearing the crack of Indy's whip, and hearing the Thugees scream when they are whipped.

In all action scenes, the status bar is visible on the right side of the screen. I like the way it tells you how many children need rescuing, and how many stones you have collected so far. Having played all the scenes, I found out that whipping has never been so fun. You just whip something every five seconds.

The Bad
Some users have complained that the game is quite repetitive, that you have to replay the action scenes once you get one of the stones. I agree with them. It would have been nice if you just have to play the scenes and get all three stones at once, only this time make the task of getting the stones difficult, perhaps by making Indy cross one of those crap bridges, with some parts of the bridge collapsing under his weight.

Having watched the second movie, I believe that the action scenes in the game are out of sequence. As far as I know, Indy recovers the Sankara stones first, frees the children, escapes in the mine cart, then defeats Mola Ram. But in the game, the children are freed, Indy escapes in the mine cart, recovers the stones, and then Mola Ram is defeated.

The side-scrolling only occurs when Indy gets to the left and right edges of the screen, and not as he walks around. The movement of all characters (Indy, Thugees, and bats) is a bit choppy, and this also applies to Indy swinging between platforms. Once you have defeated Mola Ram on the bridge, there is a bonus scene where you have to free about nine children, and when you free all of them, there is no mine cart at the top of the mine and no way I could leave. All I had to do was load up the game again.

The Bottom Line
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom consists of three action scenes that are found in the second movie. In the first one, Indy has to rescue children trapped in cages; the second has him riding a mine cart down to the temple entrance; and the third has him recovering the Sankara stones. Once you complete all three scenes, you have to do it again twice so that you have three stones and can defeat Mola Ram on the bridge. What's common in all of these is how you have to whip Thugees, bats, and fireballs, and I learned from doing this that whipping could never be so fun. There are three difficult levels, with each level introducing new challenges.

The home conversions are good, but they are nothing compared to the coin-op version. In the coin-op version, there is more music, the graphics are excellent, and the animations are smooth. It is also quite amusing because not only in the way Indy runs like a chicken, it has some hilarious audio clips which are heard during you play. These are the main reasons why I still play this version. If you didn't get to play the coin-op version in the arcades, then you have a opportunity to download MAME and the ROM images of the game.