Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
Guess I’ll review the bonus game that came with “Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis” for Wii.
Ok, of course it’s the other way around, but not to me. Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings is the third 3d Indy game (following Emperors Tomb and Infernal Machine). Honestly, it’s tough to get excited about an Indy game. The Indy games are pretty hit and miss, there are some great ones, but the rest were pretty bad. If you wanted a good Indy experience you turned to Lara Croft, or more recently Uncharted.
Staff of Kings for Wii tries to take back the adventure mantel and it’s a pretty good attempt. Even though it’s the newest game in the series, it still falls short of Emperors Tomb.
The single player campaign features a lot of different types of gameplay. Each stage is basically a completely different type of gameplay. For example, the first stage is the adventuring style where you explore caverns, solve some basic puzzles and search for relics. Here you use the wiimote controls to perform certain actions like lighting a torch.
The second level has you fighting enemies with your fists and whip. The wiimote and nunchuck control what kinds of punches you do, and can also control the whip. The combat itself does have quite a few moves: 6 different punches, 3 ways to grab enemies with your whip, grappling, and using the whip to bring the environment down on bad guys. So there’s a lot to do. Like typical wii games sometimes the game just won’t do what you want, but for the most part it works ok.
Next is a flying level where you fly your play through a canyon and try to shoot down enemies that are attacking you. The wiimote is used like a flight stick and controls pretty well.
Following that you get to shoot some guys finally. It becomes a sort of shooting gallery where Indy ducks behind cover and you have to pop up to shoot your gun. It plays like a Time Crisis game and the controls work pretty well (though sometimes it’s tough to know what you’re supposed to be aiming at).
The game continues through several other countries following the same styles of gameplay. It doesn’t feel quite as broken up as it sounds, and its fun that you’re not doing the same kind of action over and over, but overall it’s not the strongest experience. There are also several treasures in each level that you can find to unlock special features.
The co-op adventure is also a very welcome addition to this game. It’s a completely different scenario in which you play as Indy and his dad. It’s split up in much the same way and actually works really well for two players. The first level has you trying to row a raft through some rapids and it’s a huge pain in the ass.
Mostly because you have to use your wiimote like a paddle and have to be in-sync with your partner. It does allow some room for error, but chances are you’ll die once or twice before you get to the end.
Then there’s a platforming section where you have to rely on each other to make it to the top of the temple.
This is followed by several puzzle rooms within the temple. Then you’re onto the vehicle gameplay where you drive a tank. Your partner shoots and your goal is to catch up to your enemy and eventually shoot down his plane. Finally it’s a 2 player shooting style stage. Then repeat for several other regions.
So, all in all, Staff of Kings is a decent game. It’s gimmicky, but it’s fun. The two scenarios offer a lot of playtime, and you can unlock another multiplayer mode. All that alone makes for a decent game, but is it worth a buy, not really UNTIL you factor in Fate of Atlantis.
Fate of Atlantis is arguably the BEST Indiana Jones game ever made. It was an early Lucasarts adventure game in the vein of Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, and Sam & Max. If you don’t like point and click adventures it’s not for you. But if you do, it’s a great game, and a wicked Indy experience. The game has been ported to Wii and is available as an unlockable in Staff of Kings. After you get your first Glory Move (which takes less than an hour), it becomes available under the extras menu.
Everything works as if it were on a pc, the wiimote becomes the mouse, and the speech pack is even included. I don’t want to say too much about it, but you join Indy and an old flame as they search for the secrets of Atlantis, and fight Nazis. It’s your typical point and click adventure with a few innovations thrown in. The biggest one is that there are several different ways to complete an objective in the game. There are different paths the game will categorize you under depending on how you act and that will change the game a little provided some replay value.
I can’t recommend this game enough, it’s very tough to find a PC CD copy and even then you have to get the SCUMM VM engine to run it. I love to see classic PC games come to console so check it out… or don’t if it’s not your thing, at least you know it’s included. The game was out for nearly a week before I even heard about it. It’s not advertised on the box or anything. Way to go Lucasarts.
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