As a huge fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer game, I had high hopes that The Collective, Buffy's developers, could do it again with Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. And as Buffy set the standard for games of TV series, Indiana Jones whips, shoots, swings and punches his way straight to the top of the movie conversion pile.

There have been a number of Indy games over the years but none of them have really done the excellent films justice, until now that is, because this latest title is oozing with as much class as your favourite Indy movie, from the opening sequence to the closing credits. When the game loads up, refrain from hitting the start button and you'll get to watch an action-packed sequence of in-game footage, accompanied by the famous, rousing theme tune. Daaa da-daa daaaaaaaa! Daaaa da daaaaaaaaa! Ahem. Sorry, I just got a bit carried away there, but the game captures the spirit of the films so well that it is almost better than watching the film, because a whole new Indiana Jones story is unfolding before your eyes and you are the one making it happen.

The story begins, as you would expect, with Indy on a quest to find an ancient artefact. The first chapter of the game is very large and split into a number of sections, the first few of which serve as an effective tutorial. Within minutes you will be familiar and comfortable with the controls. The ruins you are exploring lead to an ancient temple, within which lies the artefact you seek. However, a bunch of ivory hunters have already invaded the place and so you have to punch and shoot your way through certain sections of the area. When you finally finish the chapter (which will take you an hour or two,) you head back to New York, Indy style, with the theme tune playing and a picture of a plane faded into a map, tracing your course across the world. Upon your return, two Chinese officials offer you the chance to retrieve the Emperor's Stone, a black pearl that legend says can control the minds of men. As the Nazis are already working to find it, Indiana does not hesitate to agree.

The game features a strong storyline that is not too intrusive (indeed, the cut scenes are fairly infrequent) but keeps the story moving along nicely. The emphasis is firmly on the action in the game itself, which is a superb mixture of exploration, platform jumping and combat.

The graphics in this game are outstanding, as anyone who has played Buffy would expect. You can tell it is made by the same developers as Buffy from the quality of the graphics and animation. All of the scenery is lush, colourful and detailed, with each of the ten massive chapters bringing a complete change of location and, indeed, country. Ancient temple ruins, a massive old castle in Prague and a fortress in Istanbul, beneath which lie the ruins of a sunken palace, are what you will see in just the first three chapters alone. The first two break you in relatively gently (although are still pretty challenging) but once you get into chapter three you'll be going some to complete any of them in under two hours. There is at least 20-25 hours of playing time to be had here; this is a very big and challenging game.

The other outstanding aspect to the graphics is the animation, which is the most realistic I have seen in a long time. The way Indy jumps off a ledge, then whips at a stone statue, uses it to swing across the gap and then catches hold of the ledge opposite before hauling himself up has to be seen to be believed; it is just so smooth and natural looking. Indy's variety of punches, kicks, throws and attacks look excellent too. Every aspect of graphical detail is a treat and you can smash up a lot of the furniture by punching it or throwing an enemy into it. In the Prague level, try smashing a suit of armour - the way it all falls apart as it collapses on the ground is so impressive. There is only one slight area of disappointment graphically and that is the backdrops - they look pretty basic and are clearly just a "painted" background, so don't look at them too closely or it'll spoil the realism. Considering the attention to detail given to every other aspect of the graphics, it is a shame the backdrops aren't more realistic, but certainly not a big deal either.

The sound effects are excellent - the weapons fire is authentic and the sound of fists punching Nazi face is solid and satisfying. Explosions, the splash as you land in water, the clang of knives in combat, Indy grunting from the effort of hauling himself up a ledge, everything is spot on. In fact, Indy will start to puff and pant after a few seconds of sustained activity and this aspect is almost too realistic, but you do get used to it. I thought he was fitter than that! I don't know if the soundtrack for the game had any input from John Williams, but suffice to say not only is Indy's theme tune used regularly (with plenty of variation so it doesn't become tiresome) but a whole host of full orchestrations from the frantic pace during a shootout to the suspenseful strings in an eerily quiet temple chamber, providing a soundtrack that equals any of the Indy films. The final aspect that is particularly good is the voice acting - it's not Harrison Ford, but the voicealike is so similar to the real thing that it is immediately convincing and sometimes I began to wonder if it wasn't Harrison Ford after all!

Despite the excellent presentation, story, graphics and sound, the gameplay is still the aspect that shines the most. The level designs are extremely well thought out and are up there with the very best games of this genre. Each level introduces new elements and more fiendish obstacles to work around. Climbing up a ledge is done automatically, unless you have to jump to grab it. A standard section of a location will generally involve thinking outside the box - the obvious routes are almost always locked or blocked, so you must be creative to find alternatives. You will have to climb up various ledges, then perhaps use your whip to swing across a gap, or leap onto a hanging chain, climb up it and then swing across to a higher ledge and sometimes even through a stained glass window! Wall sneaking also plays a big part, as Indy can edge around some very narrow ledges and there is also a great system for combat that uses this too. You can put your back to a wall, get to the edge of it (so you can see beyond it) and then leap out from behind the wall, fire your gun and then leap back again, all with a simple press of the right or left trigger. It's a great system and realistic too.

A lot is made of using what you find in your surroundings. You can use many items as weapons, including liquor bottles, any chairs that happen to be lying around and other objects like metal pipes and wooden table legs to batter your enemies. In the first level when you see two ivory hunters ahead with a crate above their heads, walk along the left hand side away from them and you'll find a shovel. This is so satisfying to use for giving them a good beating! You can also steal any guns, ammo, grenades and knives from your enemies. The combat system is simple with a number of punch and kick combos, combined with the ability to grab and pummel your enemy. If you are able to grab an enemy from behind, Indy does a really cool move and thrusts him headfirst into a wall! You can use a weapon, but if you get knocked over you will drop it and your enemy might pick it up and use it against you. The combat is extremely satisfying and because you have the choice of using a gun or going hand-to-hand, you really are free to tackle each situation however you like.

Indy has a few items of equipment that are invaluable in the field - the first of these is his water canteen, which is used to restore health and can be filled up every time a source of fresh water is found; medkits can also be found and used to restore health. He has a machete for hacking away at overgrown vines that block doorways but most important is, of course, his trusty whip. This can be used to swing across gaps and to slide down wires, but it can also be used in combat to great effect. Use the blue button to swing the whip around in front of you to force your enemy to back away, then hold the green button to whip his weapon out of his hand. Then whip him with green again and if you get the timing right you will grab him by the neck, yank him towards you and then punch him, knocking him over! It's such a cool move - all hail the whip! Indeed, Indy is one of the most versatile characters yet to appear in a console game and rightly so, as his on-screen persona is ever inventive in getting himself out of seemingly impassable predicaments.

There are only a couple of small criticisms to make about the game, but neither are enough to stop me giving it full marks. The first is that in some levels the loading interruptions can be quite frequent, sections can be fairly small and it can at times break up the flow of the game just a little. Still, the action is so gripping that you've forgotten about the break a few seconds into the next section. The other niggle is that some sections are too long without a continue point. There are no continue points; you must reach the end of a section for your progress to be autosaved (hence why some sections are small). This is not so bad, but it can be very frustrating at times when a careless mistake sees you going back a long way. For example, the first section in Istanbul is a long one and some of it must be completed without any of your equipment. I got all the way through it (after being repeatedly killed at the start) only to fall off a ledge whilst fighting with an enemy and I was only a few steps away from the section exit (not that I knew this until I got back there). To be relegated to the start of the section again was really disheartening, but I pressed on and was through it again and onto the next part in due course. Again, this is not a big deal, but there are levels where you must perform many death-defying leaps and swings, so one mistake can mean several minutes to get back to where you were. It's not the end of the world, but a couple of continue points here and there would have been nice.

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb is a rip-roaring game that finally does the films and the character justice; it encapsulates everything that is great about gaming and delivers an unmissable experience. With all the style, grandeur and adventure of the films, the lush graphics, detailed locations, superb soundtrack and perfect blend of platform action and combat, this delivers a very authentic experience and you truly feel that you are in the shoes of everyone's favourite archaeology professor.

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).