The Official Xbox Magazine chose Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb as the Game of the Month in their March 2003 issue! They call it "one of the best Xbox games around". This magazine is certainly worth checking out because according to 'samurai' it contains a world exclusive review with a 9 out 10 rating, plus the magazine comes with a playable Emperor's Tomb Xbox demo!

The March 2003 issue of the Official Xbox Magazine will come available on Tuesday, February 4, 2003. Thanks to the official Emperor's Tomb site and 'samurai' at The Raven for letting us know. This game is going to be a blast!

Every Indyfan is wondering when Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb will be released this year. When? Well, the thruth is that LucasArts still have no official release date.

According to Amazon.com Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb's Xbox version will be released on February 19, 2003. The PC version will be released on February 21, 2003. And the PS2 version is set for a March 28, 2003 release. But how did Amazon.com get these release dates when LucasArts doesn't have an exact date yet?

I have contacted LucasArts and asked when Emperor's Tomb will be released and they answered that they don't have an exact date yet for the PC, Xbox and PS2 release. and that they are still planning for a late February release. So there's a chance that this rumored February 3rd date is the date the game goes gold and then we may expect to see the game on PC and Xbox in stores about a week and a half later.

The official Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb site has released an Indiana Jones screensaver available for download. The screensaver features the newest gameplay footage available and is certainly worth checking out, if you have Windows. The screensaver requires Quicktime 6 and Flash 6.

Hit the link above to access the official site and download the screensaver.

The Official Xbox Magazine named Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb the first must-have title of 2003 last week and now Gamespy named Emperor's Tomb as one of the most wanted games of 2003:

Indiana Jones may be getting long in the tooth, but he's never looked better than in Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. Though the whip-wielding, kiss-stealing, treasure-hoarding, and villain-thrashing archaeologist has had his fair share of gaming adventures, none have been as potentially exciting as this one. One of the reasons this title is so anticipated is that it is being developed by The Collective...

Hit the link above to read the rest of this preview.

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb Art Director Brian Horton explained to IGN.com's Action Vault how he re-created the Harrison Ford title character:

"My goal for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb was to make the most convincing Indy possible, and that meant nailing the likeness of Harrison Ford. The first thing I did was grab as much reference as I could on the actor. I purchased every book I could get my hands on and spent hours on the web downloading his image. The one thing that's amazing about Mr. Ford's face is how different it looks from film to film. I decided to stick with Indy reference; he has a distinct smirk that permeated the Indy reference I gathered. I also decided to narrow my reference to Raiders and Temple of Doom as we were going for an Indy that predates all of the films."

Hit the link above to read more and to view some very detailed pictures of the Indy character in the game. Certainly worth checking out!

On the Ask LucasArts page the current question is about Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb game demo. Here's the question plus LucasArts' answer:

Do you plan to release a demo for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb?
Yes, in the upcoming Xbox demo you'll have a chance to punch, whip, and kick your way through the jungles of Ceylon as legendary adventurer and daring archeologist Indiana Jones. Look for the demo on the March cover mount disc of Official Xbox Magazine, and in the coming months at Xbox kiosks in retail stores. It also will be a part of a Xbox Exhibition sampler disc sold in retail locations.

The Official Xbox Magazine has named Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb the first must-have title of 2003.

"Playing as Indy is a thrill in and out of itself. This is the closest you're going to get to actually being Indiana Jones... It is no surprise then, that the game is already shaping up to be the first must-have title of 2003."

Visit the official site or TR.N's own Emperor's Tomb page for links to previews, interviews and much more stuff about the upcoming Indiana Jones game.

Also at LucasArts' Company Store:
Pre-order your copy of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb for Xbox or PC from the LucasArts Company Store and get free shipping and handling plus a collectible light-up spiral pen featuring the game logo with your order! And if you are looking for a new cool boxer short, LucasArts also sells Indiana Jones boxer shorts!

The official Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb site has released the System Requirements for the PC version of the upcoming Indy game. Here they are:

Operating System: Windows 98, ME, Windows 2000, and XP.
Computer: 100% DirectX compatible computer required.
CPU: Pentium III 733Mhz or better required.
Memory: 128 MB RAM required.
Graphics Card: GeForce 1 video card or better required.
Sound Card: DirectX compatible sound card required.
CD-ROM: Quad Speed IDE or SCSI CD-ROM drive required.
Input Device: 100% Direct Input compatible keyboard or mouse required.
DirectX: Requires DirectX 8.1 or higher required.

Team Xbox was able to check out the latest Xbox version of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb to see what Indy is made of. Here's a part of their very positive preview:

So far, the Emperor’s Tomb is like an Indiana Jones movie on steroids. The numerous locations and various enemies are straight from the movie motif. Expect Indy to do everything from exploring ruins while taking on ivory hunters, to disguising himself as a Nazi officer to infiltrate a sub base. The Collective even through in a few first-person areas, such as trying to escape from the Black Dragon Triad in the streets of Hong Kong, to make things a bit more enjoyable. While riding in a rickshaw, you’ll have to take out the oncoming enemies with your machine gun. While there are only a few of these areas, it does help to spice things up a bit from the typical third-person action/adventure title.

The Xbox version is set to ship around middle of February. Hit the link above to read the preview.

Jim Tso, LucasArts producer of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, has been interviewed by the electrix playground. Here's a part of the interview:

Share with us a favorite moment from the development of this game.
JT: One of my favorite moments was watching the Triad guys in the game for the first time. For a long time, the only enemies we had to fight against were ivory hunters and Nazis. These guys have a fighting style similar to Indy's, kind of a western brawling style. The Triad guys are totally different, they do flips and spin kicks. It was really cool to watch them do flips over Indy in the game.

Click on the link above to read the interview. Thanks to Chuck Halverson for letting us know.

The official Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb site has released the first screenshots from the PlayStation 2 version of the game. 11 new PlayStation 2 screenshots to be exactly.

Gamespot also added 16 amazing new screenshots to it's gallery. The screenshots show skeletons, rats, great locations, beautiful lighting effects, Indy fighting various villain's and a gigantic dragon!

Both galleries are certainly worth checking out!