Indiana Jones And The Staff Of Kings

[Ghost]

Hello fellow board members,

The new Indiana Jones - Indiana Jones And The Staff Of Kings - was released this month with little to no fanfare to attract much attention from the fans, I myself only discovered by accident that the game had been released as a Dutch game site had copies for the game as part of a contest.

I have now been checking out what the reaction has been to the game on the consoles it was released on; Wii, PS2, NDS and PSP (a PS3 and Xbox360 had been planned but have been cancelled) and which version of the game seems to be the best.

Unfortunate it seems that in general the game suffers from the movie to game curse as in general none of the four seem to be outstanding.
Still, being an Indiana Jones fan I would like to pick up at least one of the games once it is for sale on a budget price and now I am looking for the best of the lot.

Have any of you played this game?

[Harrison]

I also had no idea it was released and haven't seen anything mentioned about it in the press. I might "obtain" a copy of the PS2 version just to have a look.

[Ghost]

It is weird, isn't it Harrison, that there barely is any press information about this game.
Even the magazines here barely speak about it.

That makes it so difficult to determine which version of the game is the most fun.

[Teho]

A major newspaper here reviewed it, which is odd because the papers usually only review the mass-market titles. But anyway, the reviewer absolutely butchered the game except for one detail. In the Wii version you can early on unlock and play the full Fate of Atlantis game. So the reviewer said that alone makes Staff of Kings worth the purchase for the Wii at least. The other versions doesn't have this bonus unfortunately. And as for Staff of Kings, he had hardly anything good to say. There was a flying sequence early on that he liked which lasted 1 minute and 7 seconds (he timed it), and that was it. The review is here for those of you who can read it.

[Ghost]

Hello guys,

I got to play the PS2 version today, now I can finally make an observation after having played it.

The pro side is that it does feel like Indiana Jones in certain segments, having to escape deadly traps without a second to loose and taking on bad guys in various situations.

In a way the gun fight sections also make more sense, I loved Infernal Machine and I liked Emperor's Tomb (hate it doesn't have quick save) but at some point it seemed like Indy was carrying an arsenal of guns with him which seems a little unlike the character.

In the gun scenes you just have to rely on your Webley, quick timing, and sometimes useful surroundings.
However you only get to use the gun in certain sections, in other parts you take on enemies with your fists and whip, and it sometimes can get a little repetitive even if you can beat most of the enemies easy.

Downers are that there are barely any conversation scenes between Indy and other characters, there is barely any build up of story and that is just as much a part of Indiana Jones as an action sequence.

Sometimes sections of the game are also really short and the players who have played Infernal Machine and Emperor's Tomb might feel they play a toned done version of those games.

Last, the game is glitchy in some areas which is rather a shame.

I think all of us Indy fans will pick a copy of this game up sooner or later but I again recommend that you wait until it is in the bargain bins or get it cheaper second hand.

Trust me, you will thank me for that advice.

[Harrison]

Sounds a bit like the last film! Being an Indy film it had great promise, but it was too late and it's style of action had past its time. Sounds like it could be better than any direct movie tie in could have been though, which is some consolation.