LucasArts

When I say that this is a game made to compete with the likes of the Tomb Raider series, I'm not joking. The Infernal Machine is not a bold attempt to redefine the 3rd-person, 3D-exploration genre pioneered by the original Tomb Raider. Instead, it's a massive 17-stage exercise in transplanting the body of Indy into a Tomb Raider-style game complete with all the flaws that have typically plagued the genre.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood, Animated Violence

Game Description: If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones. The year is 1947. Indy is back (this time in electrifying 3-D!) as a CIA recruit tasked with uncovering why Soviet agents are sniffing around the ruins of the fabled Tower of Babel. So hold onto your fedora and grab your whip in this heart-pounding action quest for the elusive "Infernal Machine."

It must not have been sitting well with LucasArts to see a game franchise that was once credited for spawning Lara Croft being thoroughly surpassed by her. I'm sure the developers went to work on Infernal Machine with the goal of unseating Ms. Croft from her throne. Unfortunately, it could also be possible that like every other developer in the world these days, they looked at the success of Tomb Raider and decided if they locked themselves in a room with Tomb Raider I, they could make a clone and watch the money roll in.

You are familiar with the hype and whether it was generated by the media, George Lucas, or the fans themselves, it's helped to sell everything and anything Star Wars. Whether a product was any good was irrelevant, if it was graced with Star Wars, it was a must-have for any "true" fan. So as soon as Nintendo announced that they had a limited exclusivity deal with LucasArts, many in the media saw it as a coup for Nintendo. Others, however, doubted the game's significance because although it carried with it a big-license name, Pod Racer (as it was then called) was still merely a racing game.

Perhaps the best aspect of Racer is that it positively draws from the movie, including a temporary boost and repair feature that Anakin Skywalker clearly utilizes in the movie. These two features add an extra dimension because a level of on-the-fly resource management, not often seen in racing games, is introduced.

Game Description: Get behind the controls of a Podracer as Anakin Skywalker or any one of over 20 Podracers, as you feel the power of racing a twin-engine craft at 600 miles per hour. Visit eight distinctly detailed worlds as you make your way through Tusken Raider attacks, methane lakes, anti-gravity tunnels, and more. Each intense competition pits you against more than 20 opponents, as you do what you must to be the first to the finish line.

Essentially a first-person shooter made to compete with the likes of Quake 2, Jedi Knight tries to separate itself from the pack early on by capitalizing on the Star Wars theme. Utilizing full-motion video cut scenes in between gameplay, complete with live actors on digital backgrounds, Jedi Knight includes something most Doom clones forget: an actual plot!

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Violence