This game was developed, in its current incarnation at least, for the Wii, and is also available on handhelds and the PS2.As such, the player's expectation is for good, if not stellar, graphics, and solid or perhaps even innovative gameplay.Combine that with Lucasarts's traditionally excellent game design and the existing strength of Indiana Jones as a premise, and you'd expect a game that provides a satisfying experience.That makes it all the more shocking, then, that what's actually delivered is so far below any possible expectations that it's hard to know where to begin extolling the areas in which it lets the player down."Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings," to be blunt, is a staggeringly sub-par game in nearly every regard.I warn you ahead of time, this is a bit of a long review!But hopefully it'll be worth the read.
The most fundamental issue is that the gameplay itself isn't actually any fun.In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there isn't any "game" at all... does something count as a game if the player never has to be involved?Throughout the experience, the game tells you exactly what to do, how to do it, and when.If something needs to be done, an image of the button to press will appear, and you will press it.Then the thing is done.This isn't a tutorial level, mind you, this is quite literally every action in the entire game.You almost never have to think for yourself... Perversely, though, you do have to perform some actions multiple times before they work, as though you were actually exerting some kind of effort.Lighting torches, for instance, will require you to press the button three times (prompted each time), because the first time won't work.Always three, because that's what it takes.In the same thought-free vein, it seems that every trap or hidden door constructed by ancient civilizations can be actived by pushing a panel into a wall.It's all so repetitive that the extremely few times the game actually does throw a genuine puzzle into the mix, the player finds himself so confused as to not know how to proceed.
The play itself simply alternates between four distinct behaviors... in addition to walking your character forward, the following actions are continually repeated: 1.) Edging Along Ledges, which proceeds identically every single time... Indy edges along a few feet, then a stone drops out from under him.He falls, but hangs on with one hand... the screen instructs the player on how to pull him up.Once done, it prompts the player to press an indicated button to hop over the gap.A few steps later, another stone drops and the cycle repeats.2.) Shooting, wherein Indy automatically takes cover and is provided with several enemies to shoot, very slowly, one at a time.When several enemies have been dispatched, Indy will again be automatically moved a few steps ahead to new cover, where the cycle will repeat.In fact, the dispassionate shooting-gallery nature of this cycle starts to seem like cold-blooded murder pretty quickly, which feels just a teeny bit out of character, to say nothing of inappropriate.3.) Punching Bad Guys, which ought to be fun no matter what game you're playing... bizarrely, this game even manages to rob this activity of any satisfaction by way of the repetitive nature of the combat system.Punch, punch, punch, duck.Whip, knee.New bad guy.Punch, punch, punch, duck... you get the idea.The player can also throw things at people, which still manages to be boring because, as with everything else, the game shows you exactly what you can pick up and where it all is.
These steps are repeated over and over, mindlessly, ad infinitum.I actually found myself nodding off while playing, I do not exaggerate... What passes for gameplay here completely fails to engage the player's mind in any capacity.
That is, of course, the most fundamental flaw with the game, but it's by no means the only one.The second most notable issue is the inexplicably poor graphics... bearing in mind the consoles for which it was developed, you'd expect at least PS2-equivalent visuals.Instead, the game presents you with graphics that would be perfectly at home on the PS1 or SNES, only a little bit smoother.Again, I do not exaggerate; I cannot adequately convey how bizarre it is to see... the blocky figures, the blurred smudges that are intended to represent faces... Some of the environments' textures are good, but overwhelmingly the graphics are simply appalling, not even living up to the Wii's capabilities.I should point out that I am not a person easily upset by a game's graphics; I will happily play games from the golden days of the 80's and 90's without being in the least affected.This game is simply inexcusable.To provide context, the graphics in the six-year-old game "Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb" are genuinely far superior (as is the gameplay, but I think I've covered that).And don't expect pre-rendered cutscenes to make it better, because you won't find any.
That brings me to the story.What cutscenes there are, made using the in-game engine, are generally no longer than a few seconds apiece.The plot is never properly articulated... while you can detect that there must be a story underlying your endless repetition of the same actions in different places, you don't know what it actually is.Whether or not you believe that the story is the most important part of any game, certainly in an Indiana Jones game it should be at the fore.However, in order to find out what's happening and why, the player must actually *quit* the game, return to the main menu, and open up Indy's journal.There he will find a brief explanation of what's been happening all this time, which would have been handy to know when it was going on.At least it would have helped invest the player in the action... Ah well, better late than never?Then, of course, the game will need to be re-loaded to carry on.In order to actually keep up with the story, the player would have to quit the game approximately every ten minutes to read about what's meant to be happening.There are even tiny snippets of nonsensical dialogue as the game goes along, with Indy muttering things to himself that pertain to facts you don't know.Presumably these were there for the game as it was originally developed and never removed.
What else?An impossible-to-control camera ensures that you never quite know where you are or what's around you.Game-halting glitches occasionally pop up (did you simply shoot the German machine-gunner instead of the hitting box of dynamite to blow him up?Well, you're stuck, then).In surround sound mode at least, the controls that are supposed to allow you to adjust the relative volumes of speech, effects, and music do nothing at all, rendering Indy's mumbling largely unintelligible.Oh, and you're up against the "Germans."Not Nazis, mind you, just "Germans."I can certainly understand the desire to keep such heavy subject matter out of the game, but in that case perhaps it would have been better to change the enemies entirely?As it is, the game seems to take the view that everyone in Germany is dangerous and unpleasant.At one point, Indy actually utters the line, "Germans.Why did it have to be Germans?"
What makes the whole experience more galling than simply owning a frankly kind of terrible game is that you can see throughout the experience hints of the game that was supposed to be.This title was originally developed as a spectacular, in-depth, next-generation game for PS3 and XBox 360.It was supposed to be the Indiana Jones game fans have been waiting for all these years.And as the player trudges through this release, glimpses of that game can be seen... The story that you're not being told seems like it would be really interesting and engrossing, and a perfect addition to Indy's adventures.Set pieces you encounter, like giant spider-webs or elaborate sculptures that do little or nothing clearly evoke to the player the way they must originally have been intended... which makes the process of pressing-a-button-to-make-them-go-away almost painful.The environments and costumes, which you can barely make out in the actual game, still exhibit a lot of thought... in fact, one look at the concept art will illustrate how much care and imagination originally went into the game's development.In the brief cutscenes, you can still perceive really clever, very "Indy" moments through the poor animation, moments that would have been brilliant if they had had the chance to be executed properly.And still left from all this are the game's only two real strong points... first, the voice acting (what remains of it) is quite good.The fellow voicing Indy does a fair impression, and together with the tiny remaining bits of extremely well-written dialogue, manages at times to really capture the esssence of the character.Second, the game's muscial score is spectacular.The composer manages to perfectly capture the feeling of an Indiana Jones film score, mimicking John Williams's style exceptionally well.
So, what does that leave?Well... for the die-hard Indiana Jones fans the game has built-in appeal that may keep them playing 'til the end.That was the case for me... Though even then, it has to be noted that the game as-is even fails in delivering a faithful dose of Indy-ness.The details are all lacking... the jacket only makes a brief appearance, the satchel is perpetually absent, and several moments from the films are simply rehashed, sometimes more than once.And yet, being an Indiana Jones game is still the game's only real appeal.Take that away and you're left with something that wouldn't have made it off the drawing board, much less into stores and people's homes.
So, gamers and Indy fans, I personally advise you not to give in to the temptation.Rent the game, by all means, and see for yourself, but please don't buy this game without trying it first.Lucasarts insists that they're always open to creating to new Indiana Jones games... so don't let 'em think they've fooled the world into thinking this counts as one.It's a strange thing nowadays when a new generation of game can fall so far short, technically and creatively, of its predecessor... but until they make another go at it, I'd recommend getting your Indiana Jones gaming satisfaction by replaying the brilliant "Emperor's Tomb" and trying to forget this was ever released.
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Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
I have a kindergardener at home you loves just about anything with disney princesses. This is her absolutely her favorite. This game is clearly directed at little girls and hit the mark dead on. You play a s princess in training and you wave the Wii mote as a wand. My daughter loved the fact she can perform magic to help out her favorite princesses. As a parent, I play along side her and my joy comes her enjoyment of the game. If you have a little princess at home then it will be hard to disappoint with this game.
