Using the lead character from the well-known Indiana Jones film series but based on an original story, it concerned a race between Jones and the Nazis to find the mythical lost continent of Atlantis, which may contain technology vital to the future of the world.
Less innovative than the earlier Indiana Jones adventure game, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, it nevertheless featured a nod to originality by including three differing paths to the completion of the game. It is also significant for breaking with the LucasArts adventure game tradition of not allowing the player to die or become irretrievably stuck. At several points in the game it is possible for the player to die, at which point a short "what happened next" plot summary and a score appear.
At one point in the game, the player can choose in a dialogue sequence between a path concentrating on puzzles, one more dependent on fist fights (the game included a rudimentary engine for such fights), and one which combines both elements and features a sidekick character, Sophia Hapgood. The game was re-released on CD-ROM with a full voiceover soundtrack in 1993. The project was led by Hal Barwood; Barwood also wrote the story and designed the game together with Noah Falstein.
The game's music was composed by Michael Land, Clint Bajakian, and Peter McConnell, based heavily upon the works of John Williams.
A four-issue comic book miniseries based on the game's storyline was published by Dark Horse Comics in 1991 before the game was released.