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Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is a video game for the PC released in 1999. A Nintendo 64 port followed the next year in 2000 with a Game Boy Color adaptation on shelves for 2001.

Publisher's summary[]

PC[]

1947. The Nazis have been crushed, the Cold War has begun and Soviet agents are sniffing around the ruins of the fabled Tower of Babel. What are they up to?

The CIA wants renowned archaeologist and adventurer Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. to find out. Grab your whip and fedora and join in a globe-spanning race to unearth the mysterious "Infernal Machine."

N64[]

1947.

The Nazis have been crushed, the Cold War has begun and Soviet agents are sniffing around an ancient ruin. Grab your whip and fedora and join Indy in a globe-spanning race to unearth the mysterious "Infernal Machine."

Game Boy Color[]

Grab your whip and join America's finest archaeologist in an all new action-packed adventure. Become Indiana Jones in a race against time to find the missing pieces of the legendary "Infernal Machine" before the Russians can, and discover its mysterious powers.

  • 14 action-packed levels across Russian borders, frozen wastelands, lagoons, volcanoes, and mines
  • Navigate your way through dozens of unique environments armed with a whip and revolver
  • Negotiate perilous terrain, fight monsters, solve puzzles, find secrets, and uncover stories

Plot summary[]

Infernalmines

While working in the canyonlands of Utah, Dr. Jones is visited by his old girlfriend Sophia Hapgood, who now works for the CIA. She tells Indy that the Russian Communists are excavating the ruins of Babylon looking for something. She asks Indy to take the assignment which is to find what the Soviets are looking for. Jones takes it.

When he arrived in Babylon, Jones overhears a conversation between a Russian radio operator and Dr. Gennadi Volodnikov, a physicist. Volodnikov says he's looking for clues about a machine buried in the Babylonian ruins that was used for communicating with Marduk, the Babylonian god. Jones then slips away and infiltrates the Russian dig site. He then goes into a ruined building where he finds a locked door. He goes back and is confronted by a Russian soldier. Before the guard can shoot, he is shot from behind by Simon Turner, Sophia's boss in the CIA. Turner gives Jones the key to the door and opens it, finding ammunition and oil barrels. He shoots the barrels, creating a massive explosion, and sees a gaping hole made from the blast. Jones then drops down and finds an elevator. Going deeper into the palace. Jones finds Nebuchadnezzar's Library. In there, he finds three cuneiform tablets. When he puts them together Jones reads, "Make welcome seeker, know that it was Nebuchadnezzar, in heed of the writing that Marduk, made appear unto him, who built the Great Engine. Having no understanding, the rabble hath thrown down his work, but four trusted disciples are scattered all over the earth and the relics go with them. Wouldst thou tread the path of knowledge, look eastward. Urgon, it is, who flees to the heavenly mountains, where Shambala holds a mighty secret." Jones finds a map leading to the heavenly mountains, which is the Tian Shan Mountain Range in Kazakhstan. Indy leaves the room but finds an idol of Marduk that Turner requested he find for him. Indy sees Turner at the area where he started this level and gives him the idol. After telling Turner everything, Jones gets in his jeep and drives off, remembering Turner's warning that Kazakhstan is in Soviet territory.

After parachuting out of a plane, Jones travels through the snowy mountains and comes across a Soviet border post. He enters it, after shooting up all the guards, and finds a raft. He inflates it and navigates the treacherous rivers, where he then finds a strange candle holder. On the other side of the river, Jones sees a large monastery he believes is Shambala. But the bridge is not open for use. Believing he needs to find candles for the holder, Jones again navigates the rivers and locates them. He brings them back, sets them on the candle holder, and lights them up. A gust of wind activates the windmill on the other side, and the bridge swings across for Indy. He then crosses the bridge and enters Shambala Sanctuary.

Expecting to find monks roaming the halls, Jones finds the monastery abandoned. Instead the place inhabited with little ice minions who attack him. As he fends them off, Jones sees a bell in the bell tower and a small clockwork statue that's supposed to ring the bell. He uses it to ring the bell and an old woman appears before him. She says she is the temple's caretaker and asks Indy to "search for a golden treasure". Indy goes off and explores the temple. He finds a little flower which he later puts in water and douses it in sunlight. Afterwards it now sprouts a little bud. He returns to the woman and gives her the flower. It fully blossoms and the woman is now young and strong. She then opens a door that leads inside the mountain next to the temple. Indy enters the door, slides down a tunnel, and ends up in a large chamber. Landing in front of him is a gigantic ice monster called the Ice Guardian, which roars menacingly at him. As Jones evades the beast, he runs into a smaller room that houses a strange mechanical device; Urgon's Part of the Infernal Machine. The device is used to smash open weakened walls by emitting a small concussion wave. As Indy leaves the room, he's cornered by the ice monster. Jones activates Urgon's Part which hurts the beast. Jones activates two more times in the monster's face and it explodes in a shower of icicles. Jones walks outside the temple and sees the holy woman. She thanks him for his efforts and guides him through a secret passage way to the jungles of Palawan Island in the Philippines.

Indylava

Inside the Palawan Temple

Jones, now in a beach and jungle environment, comes across a volcano which is active. He enters it through a door and after navigating some passageways, Jones is greeted by Sophia. She is then captured by the Russians, causing Jones to later rescue her and shoot up some more Russians. After freeing her, Indy is assisted by Sophia through a door but she leaves him saying she has more spy work to do. Jones goes off and comes across a small gondola which takes him to the lower levels. Down there, Jones sees large rock creatures that ruthlessly attack him. As he dodges them, Jones comes across a lava lake which is inhabited by a large creature made of lava. Indy evades the monster and finds Taklit's Part of the Infernal Machine. This device makes him invisible. He uses it to sneak past the lava monster and goes outside where Jones finds a lake of water. He pushes a button and a statue head opens its mouth draining the water. Inside the cave, another statue head open its mouth and the water pours through, cooling and hardening the lava. The lava monster is then cooled and hardened as well. Now completely free to walk on the lava, Jones exits the cave. Outside he finds a campsite where he expected Sophia and Turner to meet him. Wrong! Jones is ambushed by the Russians and he escapes them on his jeep. After navigating the maze-like passageways of Palawan, Jones sees Sophia and her helicopter. Jones gets on the chopper and he and Sophia leave the island for Mexico.

Indyinca

The second pyramid in Mexico

Indy enters the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico. It's dark inside the pyramid so Jones opens some doors that bring in the light, which later bounces off a statue holding a mirror, and opens a large door. Jones enters it and comes across a hidden valley once inhabited by the Olmec civilization. As he navigates it, Jones finds a large pyramid and enters it. The chamber he's later in had two large doors on both sides of the room. Jones opens one and finds it empty save for a pressurized platform. He steps on it and then goes to the second door. When he opens it, he sees a large feathered snake named Quetzalcoatl. Behind it is Azerim's Part, just a bit too high for Indy to get. But the pressurized plate Indy stepped on raised a platform for Indy to step on and get the part. As he evades the snake, Jones gets the part which makes him levitate when he stands under crystals called The Jewels of Heaven. Jones levitates himself onto an overhead walkway and is safe from the snake. On the ends of the walkway, Jones sees elevator platforms that not only lower him back down, but raise up spikes from some pitholes. Using this to his advantage, Jones has the spikes impale Quetzalcoatl several times before the snake explodes. As Jones leaves the pyramid, he is ensnared in a rope trap set up by Gennadi Volodnikov.

Onboard the Russian freighter, the V. I. Pudovkin, Jones is a prisoner. He escapes his room, finds his stuff, and finds the three machine parts. He then gets off the freighter by using a small motor boat and speeds off to the African coast. Then, probably by private plane, Jones arrives at Meroe, Sudan. He explores several of the pyramids there and finds a passageway into a mine shaft. Hitching a ride on a minecart, Jones navigates the mine caverns and finds three jewels. Using them to open another passageway, Jones enters the tomb of King Nub, one of the disciples of Marduk. After exploring some areas and running into several robots that attack him, Jones finds Nub's Part, a battery that powers up machinery. After defeating a large robot of Nub's creation, Jones exits the tomb and finds Sophia and Turner waiting for him. Turner demands he give them the machine parts but Volodnikov appears behind Indy, saying the agents are gangsters. Indy, however, gives them the parts and they leave him behind. Volodnikov says their betrayal will cost them their lives, as he explains the purpose of the Infernal Machine: for Marduk to cross over to their world and destroy humanity. He implies that nothing can be done if Simon and Sophia allow this, but Jones follows them anyway.

Infernalmap

Example of the film-inspired loading screen.

Back at Babylon, Jones discovers the Infernal Machine. He sees Turner and Sophia put Taklit's Part in a socket and activate some levers. A crystalline cage drops down in front of them and Turner orders Sophia to enter it and go to the Aetherium, where Marduk lives. Sophia refuses and Turner pushes her in anyway. He sees Jones and says he will use the machine to destroy the Communists and "secure" the world for the Western Powers. Jones doesn't like the idea but Turner disappears with Taklit's Part. Jones discovers that Turner has stuck the machine parts, except Taklit's, in the wrong places. As he searches for Turner, he puts the parts in the right places. Afterwards, Jones faces Turner in an attempt to get the last part to shut down the machine, but Turner accuses him of wanting the power for himself. A gunfight ensues and Jones wins. He takes Taklit's Part and installs it to free Sophia, but the cage drops down into the portal and Jones dives in after her.

Jones ends up in the Aetherium, a world filled with machinery. In this place he finds the Tool from Beyond. This device opens portals back to Earth (usually places Jones has been before in his adventure) so Jones can replenish his health. Afterwards, Jones faces Marduk but can't defeat him easily. He rushes through a portal that leads him back to the Pyramid of the Sun and gets the mirror from the statue. Rushing back to face Marduk, Indy used the mirror to bounce back Marduk's electric balls back at Marduk, causing him to flee and drop his medallion. Indy inserts the medallion into a socket and an electric ball drops down. Indy then charges his whip with it and goes off to free Sophia. He succeeds in doing so but Marduk swoops in and merges his body with Sophia, creating Mophia, a large bird-like creature with Sophia's face and Marduk's wings. As Jones evades Mophia, he finds portals linking him to the mine shaft in Meroe and retrieves King Solomon's jewels. Returning, Jones uses the jewels to unlock three doors that have portals leading to Babylon behind them. Jones opens these portals causing a leak between realms and weakening Mophia. Jones later attacks Mophia with his electrified whip and Marduk is destroyed, releasing Sophia. The two share a romantic moment that is interrupted when the Aetherium begins to collapse. Sophia and Indy run through the portal back to Babylon and the Aetherium vanishes behind them, sealing the dimension and the resulting earthquake destroying the Infernal Machine. Volodnikov confronts the two but admits that it was wrong to have tried and used the Machine for world domination and becomes friends with Indy and Sophia. The three then walk away into the sunset.

Return to Peru[]

Indyperuraft

Indy rafting in the Peru level

Also, for fun, if you accumulate enough money by finding treasures, you can buy a map that leads to a secret level. Or you can wait until you beat the game. The secret level is in Peru, South America. This is the place Indy visited at the start of Raiders of the Lost Ark. There he goes to the same temple and finds new passageways and finds another idol. He gets it and escapes another boulder, glad that Belloq won't get this idol.

Levels[]

  1. Canyonlands
  2. Babylon
  3. The Tian Shan River
  4. Shambala Sanctuary
  5. Palawan Lagoon
  6. Palawan Volcano
  7. Palawan Temple
  8. Jeep Trek
  9. Teotihuacan
  10. Olmec Valley
  11. V. I. Pudovkin
  12. Meroë
  13. King Sol's Mines
  14. Nub's Tomb
  15. Infernal Machine
  16. The Aetherium
  17. Bonus Level: Return to Peru

Machine Parts[]

When the Tower of Babel was destroyed, Marduk's disciples fled to different parts of the world carrying four critical parts of the Infernal Machine with them. Each part has its own power, and can in certain cases be used as a weapon. Indy can only endure using parts for short periods without damage. Only when all four machine parts are returned can the Infernal Machine operate again.

Urgon's part[]

Found in the snows of Kazakstan. When used by Indy, it smashes open weakened walls.

Taklit's Part[]

Found in a volcano in the Philippines. When used by Indy, it confers invisibility.

Azerim's Part[]

Found among the artifacts of the mysterious Olmec civilization of Mexico. When used by Indy with strange crystals called the Jewels of Heaven, it causes levitation.

Nub's Part[]

Found in a tomb in the Sudan. When used by Indy, it powerfully energizes certain machinery of unearthly orgin.

Tool from Beyond[]

Opens permeable membranes separating the Aetherium from our own world when Indy is on the other side. It resembles a machine part.

Guardians[]

InfernalEnemies

Enemies in Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine

Each of the machine parts has a supernatural guardian or monster, keeping it safe from intruders.

Ice Guardian[]

The Ice Guardian in the Shambala Sanctuary guards Urgon's part with the aid of little Ice Creatures.

Lava guardian[]

The Lava Guardian of the Palawan Temple lives in a fiery lake and guards Taklit's part with the help of Lava Warriors.

Quetzalcoatl[]

At Teotihuacan, the giant snake, Quetzalcoatl, guards Azerim's part.

Robot Guardian[]

Within Nub's Egyptian tomb, a giant bronze robot guards Nub's remains.

Ethereal Marduk[]

Indy must defeat two different incarnations of Marduk, before he can find the final machine part and return home.

Appearances[]

Cast[]

Other characters[]

Artifacts[]

Locations[]

Vehicles and vessels[]

Animals[]

Weapons[]

  • Fists
  • Whip
  • 45-caliber Revolver
  • 9mm Automatic Pistol
  • Machine Pistol
  • Combat Rifle
  • Machete
  • Submachine Gun
  • Pump Action Shotgun
  • Bazooka
  • Satchel Charge
  • Hand Grenade

Behind the scenes[]

In the mid-'90s, at a dinner party attended by both George Lucas and LucasArts' Hal Barwood, Lucas commented to Barwood that he had an idea for a fourth Indiana Jones film set in the 1950s. Barwood caught the man off guard by guessing that it would have a sci-fi element involving the Roswell UFO incident though Lucas wouldn't confirm or deny either way.[1]

Over the following years, with a fourth Indiana Jones film looking unlikely, Barwood pitched a 3D-action Indy video game set in the 1950s during the Cold War period, with the Roswell UFO incident as the game's MacGuffin. However, Barwood's Roswell proposal was vetoed.[2]

He instead adapted his plans into what eventually took the shape of Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, centering the story around the Tower of Babel, with Barwood allowed use of the Soviets and the Cold War setting albeit taking place in 1947 rather than the '50s.

The idea to revisit the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors from Raiders of the Lost Ark for the game came about following discussions between the development team and level designer Geoff Jones, who built the bonus level, when they realized that they had enough resources and time to create bonus material.[3]

Cover gallery[]

Notes and references[]

See also[]

Indiana Jones video games
Adaptations
Raiders of the Lost Ark · Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game · The Graphic Adventure · Taito game
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Mobile game · Didj game
Film series: Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures · Cancelled trilogy adaptation
Young Indiana Jones
Chronicles · Revolution · Special Delivery · Hunting for Treasure · Cancelled IBM game
LEGO Indiana Jones
Console: The Original Adventures · The Adventure Continues
Desktop: Indiana Jones Adventures · Shanghai Chase
Mobile Adventure
Original stories
Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom · Indiana Jones in Revenge of the Ancients
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis: The Action Game · The Graphic Adventure
Instruments of Chaos starring Young Indiana Jones · Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine · Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (Scavenger Hunt) · Indiana Jones and the Lost Puzzles
Indiana Jones Adventure World · The Gifts of Mara
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Cancelled: Young Indiana Jones at the World's Fair · Iron Phoenix · Spear of Destiny
Tie-ins and crossovers
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction · Pinball FX/Pinball FX3/Williams Pinball · Fortnite
Disney
Disney Magic Kingdoms · Disney Emoji Blitz
Star Wars
Yoda Stories · Republic Heroes · Galactic Spy
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga · The Clone Wars · The Force Awakens
Related
Timeline of video games
ADVENTURE TIMELINE
previous next
1947 1947 August 1957
Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
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