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Instruments
of Chaos:
Starring Young Indiana Jones
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Developer:
Brian A. Rice, Inc. & Waterman Design, Inc.
Publisher: SEGA
Release date: June 1, 1994
Programming by:
Brian A. Rice, Robert M. Birmingham, Joseph M.
Guagenti, Chuck Batson, Rob McCool, Patrick J.
Simmons
Graphics by:
Mark D. Waterman, Tom Brophy, Pascal Saint-Clair,
Dennis Swiec
Animation by:
Mark D. Waterman, Tom Brophy, Pascal Saint-Clair,
Dennis Swiec
Graphics Management
by: Charles Wiltgen
Original Music by:
Rolf Weber, Clifford Falls
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Technical Info:
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Platforms:
Sega Mega Drive,
Genesis |
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Genre:
Action, Platform Game |
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Mode(s):
Single-player |
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When The
Young Indiana Jones Chronicles debuted
on television in the early 1990s, it was not embraced
by the public as many Indy fans and Lucasfilm
alike had hoped. While it managed to stay afloat
as a series of television films and previous episodes
re-edited into feature length specials into the
mid 1990s, the project eventually folded due to
lack of interest from the public. While the idea
behind the series was solid and pioneered many
new filmmaking techniques, Lucasfilm could not
make the boat float and the Young
Indiana Jones projects ceased.
The title screen. |
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There was a small merchandising
campaign associated with the series and within
this marketing umbrella, two console games were
made. Jaleco made the first in 1992 for the Nintendo
Entertainment System simply titled The
Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and the game
was as devoid of creativity as its title. The
second game was produced in 1993, titled Instruments
of Chaos: Starring Young Indiana Jones,
and was developed by Sega for the Genesis/Mega
Drive system. This game proves to be as forgettable
as the Nintendo title, but unlike the NES product,
this game has a more colorful history. |
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Story and Gameplay
The structure of the game is much
like the Nintendo title. It is a platform game,
with Young Indy running and jumping and using
his whip to fight off the baddies while collecting
items, power ups, and extra weapons. The graphics
are average for the Genesis/Mega Drive with the
digitized backgrounds looking very nice at the
expense of the foreground animations, which tend
to look inferior by comparison. The game is a
real step up stylistically from the NES version,
both visually and in sound structure. Unfortunately,
the game is still an uninspired platform romp.
The play control is rather awkward and Indy's
whip acts more like a jump rope than a kangaroo
hide, lashing weapon. The plot is also nothing
too original. Once again, based generally on ideas
from the series, Young Indy must try and outwit
agents of the German Kaiser during the height
of World War I. With this kind of narrative setup,
the game takes Indy across the world fighting
off the Kaiser's evil agents.
Young Indy
has to run and jump his way across the levels. |
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Conclusion
Whip action! |
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What is interesting is the fact
that the game was apparently sub-contracted by
Sega to a small game developing company named
Brian A. Rice, Inc. who made a number of games
for Sega in the 80s and 90s as well as the original
PC adventure game of Lucasfilm's Willow.
In the early 1990s, when Sega was getting ready
to launch the new Sega CD/Mega CD system attachment,
Brian A. Rice, Inc. was asked to provide a retooled
version of Instruments
of Chaos for the new console. Due to Sega
CD's lackluster performance, this game was never
actually released for the Sega CD, even though
it was mentioned at the 1992 Summer Consumer Electronics
Show in Chicago, Illinois. Very few test copies
of the game exist, though some have been spotted
on eBay.
For all intents and purposes, the
Young Indiana Jones
gaming franchise was uninspired and short lived
and Instruments of Chaos
is a prime example as to why these games never
hit pay dirt for Nintendo or Sega. Instruments
of Chaos is a great item to hunt for if
you are an avid Indy collector. The box art is
nice and flashy with that Indiana Jones feel to
it and it would look great sitting alongside all
of those other Indiana Jones games you may have
collected. All I ask is that you avoid frustration
and keep the game out of your Sega system as it
will only upset you. (MF)
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