PS2 Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings

[Dany28]

When he's not enjoying success as a Lego figure then Indiana Jones has a tough time with video games. Years ago a next-gen technology demo piqued fans curiosity but The Staff of Kings isn't coming out for Xbox 360 and PS3 now but why modern technology was abandoned in favor of more frugal hardware remains a mystery. The floppy hatted explorer's new adventure doesn't try to be anything special either. The story appears to have been written according to a formula: Indy must travel halfway around the world and rescue a mysterious artifact from a Nazi who goes by the name Magnus Völler. To do this you trudge through half a dozen locations and solve the occasional undemanding puzzle above all beat up plenty of bad guys.

The controls and focus vary depending on the console: On the DS you mostly view the action from an elevated perspective and wonder why the developers had to link even the most insignificant detail to a stylus. You deliver blows with a touchscreen swipe, and climb ladders by tapping. To compensate you get to guide a drop of water through labyrinths Mercury style in a skill puzzle. On the PSP you beat up the villains with three buttons which is the most intuitive and works best of all the versions. Moreover the adventure looks good by mobile standards.

The PS2 and Wii share the same level design with frequent interludes like short cross target shootouts or biplane flights to liven things up. While the Sony console has to make do with a pointlessly reduced control scheme (one button serves three different types of attacks) on the Wii you mutate into the active player and almost all actions are triggered by shaking the remote which given the somewhat imprecise response often invites wild waving for example of during fights. Why annoying design flaws like the inability to skip story sequences on repeat playthroughs haven't been fixed remains a mystery.

My Opinion​

It seems Indy's luck has run out: While the last film was a mere shadow of its predecessors but the new video game is also a far cry from the best. Instead of exciting adventures you will find mostly annoying fighting sequences which are more or less manageable depending on the console. On the DS, the stylus waving quickly becomes irritating but on the PSP a lot has been done with the unimaginative basic formula. The home console versions offer more variety with shooting and skill-based elements but each have their own unnecessary quirks which usually have to do with the mixed controls. A lot of potential was wasted here and ultimately the Wii version only gets a recommendation but then only because of the fine Fate of Atlantis bonus.

Game:​	Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings​
Publisher:​	LucasArts​
Developer:​	A2M​
Genre:​	Action-Adventure​
Available for:​	PS2, Wii​
FAITH:​	12​
Published in:​	8 / 2009​

 

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When he's not enjoying success as a Lego figure then Indiana Jones has a tough time with video games. Years ago a next-gen technology demo piqued fans curiosity but The Staff of Kings isn't coming out for Xbox 360 and PS3 now but why modern technology was abandoned in favor of more frugal hardware remains a mystery. The floppy hatted explorer's new adventure doesn't try to be anything special either. The story appears to have been written according to a formula: Indy must travel halfway around the world and rescue a mysterious artifact from a Nazi who goes by the name Magnus Völler. To do this you trudge through half a dozen locations and solve the occasional undemanding puzzle above all beat up plenty of bad guys.

The controls and focus vary depending on the console: On the DS you mostly view the action from an elevated perspective and wonder why the developers had to link even the most insignificant detail to a stylus. You deliver blows with a touchscreen swipe, and climb ladders by tapping. To compensate you get to guide a drop of water through labyrinths Mercury style in a skill puzzle. On the PSP you beat up the villains with three buttons which is the most intuitive and works best of all the versions. Moreover the adventure looks good by mobile standards.

The PS2 and Wii share the same level design with frequent interludes like short cross target shootouts or biplane flights to liven things up. While the Sony console has to make do with a pointlessly reduced control scheme (one button serves three different types of attacks) on the Wii you mutate into the active player and almost all actions are triggered by shaking the remote which given the somewhat imprecise response often invites wild waving for example of during fights. Why annoying design flaws like the inability to skip story sequences on repeat playthroughs haven't been fixed remains a mystery.

My Opinion​

It seems Indy's luck has run out: While the last film was a mere shadow of its predecessors but the new video game is also a far cry from the best. Instead of exciting adventures you will find mostly annoying fighting sequences which are more or less manageable depending on the console. On the DS, the stylus waving quickly becomes irritating but on the PSP a lot has been done with the unimaginative basic formula. The home console versions offer more variety with shooting and skill-based elements but each have their own unnecessary quirks which usually have to do with the mixed controls. A lot of potential was wasted here and ultimately the Wii version only gets a recommendation but then only because of the fine Fate of Atlantis bonus.

Game:​	Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings​
Publisher:​	LucasArts​
Developer:​	A2M​
Genre:​	Action-Adventure​
Available for:​	PS2, Wii​
FAITH:​	12​
Published in:​	8 / 2009​

play the Wii version so you can unlock Fate of Atlantis. It's the only version of Staff of Kings that comes with it because it's on the Wii and the Wiimote acts like a computer mouse to point n click on stuff.

 

[DieselBrand]

The Indiana Jones games are always worth a look.

 

[bjork]

Maybe has been asked in an earlier thread, but what is the FAITH rating slot all about? Is that an age rating somewhere?

 

[JPchicre]

I heard the PSP version is a little more engaging, but cannot confirm it myself.