Early in the game Indy teams up
with Sophia Hapgood, a self-
professed psychic medium who
claims to be in contact with the spirit
of an Atlantean king. The pair were
romantically involved once upon a
time, and their relationship is similar
to those of his female companions in
the movies—more playful and
sarcastic than romantic. Sophia has
definite echoes of Marion
Ravenwood. She’s tough, resourceful,
and quick-witted, regularly putting
Indy in his place. It’s refreshing (and
surprising) to see a strong female
character like this in a game,
especially one from the early 1990s.
If you choose the Team path you’ll
spend the rest of the game with
Sophia, solving puzzles together,
trading barbs, and occasionally taking
control of her. For me this is the most
enjoyable way to play the game,
simply because the interactions
between the two characters are so
much fun. The dialogue is sharp and
funny, and some of the puzzles
involving both characters are well
designed. But if you’d prefer to go
solo, the Wits path sees Indy chasing
Atlantis on his own, with trickier
puzzles and, of course, less dialogue.
You’ll visit many of the same
locations in both paths, but they feel
quite different.
One of the most entertaining
puzzles is found on the Team path,
where Indy and Sophia try to steal an
artifact from a snooty French
professor by staging a séance. While
Sophia conjures up the spirit of her
Atlantean king, Indy combines a
bedsheet, a flashlight, and a creepy
mask to scare the professor out of the
room, leaving the object behind.
Meanwhile, on the Fists or Wits
paths, you get involved in a car chase
with some Nazis to retrieve the item.That’s more exciting, granted, but the
séance is a great character moment.
Then, finally, there’s the more
action-focused Fists path, which is
the one I would avoid—if only
because it forces you to endure the
game’s abysmal fighting minigames
more often. While the opportunity to
punch Nazis in a game is always
welcome, actually beating someone
up in Fate of Atlantis is a chore. You
use a combination of key presses and
mouse clicks to block and strike at
different angles, but enemies are
difficult to read, and the controls just
feel clunky and unsatisfying.It wouldn’t be an Indy adventure
without a creepy jungle.A Nazi scientist marvels
at Atlantean tech.ANCIENT HISTORY Other games starring Indiana Jones
INDIANA JONES AND
THE LAST CRUSADE
Indy’s first point-and-click
outing. Not as good as Fate
of Atlantis, but still a
decent adventure game.INDIANA JONES & THE
INFERNAL MACHINE
The first 3D instalment in
the series, inspired by the
wildly successful To m b
Raider series.INDIANA JONES & THE
EMPEROR’S TOMB
An action game with
puzzles and punchy melee
combat that really makes
you feel like Indy.INDIANA JONES &
THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
Based on the second film,
this sees Indy battling
cultists, riding minecarts,
and using his whip.OLD GAMES, NEW PERSPECTIVES
REINSTALL
Indy finds a clue that
the Nazis are after him.