When the Indiana Jones franchise burst onto cinema screens in the 1980s, the filmmakers could barely have imagined the influence that the series would have not only on the cinematic world but the entertainment industry as a whole. The perfect mix of Harrison Ford’s rugged title hero, exotic locations and danger-filled temples touched a cord of adventure, discovery and excitement for the viewer, helping the film to become a global phenomenon.
In the years since the film’s release, with the massive growth of the computer gaming market, video game designers have been striving to re-create the atmosphere of the series set within the temple exploring genre. Here we will look at some of the most notable examples:
Lara Croft & The Tomb Raider Franchise:
Since the mid-1990s there have been 12 Tomb Raider games focusing on the exploits of archaeologist Lara Croft. The series involves locations across the world as she looks for lost artefacts and makes enemies along the way.
The series has been massively successful and the Tomb Raider games have sold over 88 million copies worldwide by 2022. The Lara Croft character has become a genuine cultural icon, possibly as recognisable as Indiana Jones himself on whom she was loosely based.
On the back of this success, the series has been adapted into no less than three major films released in 2001, 2003 and 2018.
The John Hunter Series
With his fedora hat and leather jacket, it’s easy to see where online slots series John Hunter draws its inspiration from. The series sees the intrepid explorer feature in such titles as ‘Book of the Fallen’ and ‘Quest for The Bermuda Riches’ at sites such as BetVictor, which is rated as one of the best online casinos due to the range of slots and the free spins no wagering welcome bonus. These offers are increasingly popular due to how they provide the opportunity to try out slot titles without committing money and there are sites that compile all this information so players can find the best option for them.
Uncharted
A more recent computer game franchise whose roots clearly lie with Indiana Jones is the Uncharted series. First released in 2007 as Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, seven further releases have followed. The games centre on the treasure-hunting exploits of main protagonist Nathan Drake and the player takes control of the character on puzzle-solving and treasure-hunting adventures across the globe.
The series has been widely praised and regularly cited among the greatest video games ever made, again tapping into what is clearly a fertile market for the action, and adventure genre.
Like Tomb Raider, the success of Uncharted has seen it make the transition to the cinema and the first film was released in 2022 with Tom Holland playing the lead role and Mark Wahlberg supporting. The film itself has however received mixed reviews that have compared unfavourably with the game series itself.
The tomb-exploring genre continues to be popular after Indiana Jones brought it to the forefront of Hollywood back in the 1980s, so it will be interesting to see how this genre develops.