Indiana Jones and
the Staff of Kings
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Game
Reviewed: Indiana Jones and The Staff of Kings
Publisher:
Lucasarts
Developer: A2M
Reviewer: Matthew
Scott
Platform: Wii (Also on PS2 and PSP)
Category: Third Person Action
ERSB Rating: T
Game
Summary:
Indiana
Jones and The Staff of Kings takes place a couple of
years after The Last Crusade (The third movie). This time Indy is in
search of
The Staff of Kings, aka the rod of Moses. The story is very similar to
most of
the movies in that Indiana will visit different locations around the
world in
search of an artifact or clue that will eventually lead him to the main
artifact he is looking for, in this case being the Staff of Kings. Indy
is not
alone however, in that the Nazi’s are also looking for the staff and
they will
do whatever they can to get to it first.
The
game reminded me a lot of the first couple of Tomb
Raider games back from the original Playstation. Each level is pretty
linear
with half the level being composed of fighting bad guys and the other
half
composed of trying to solve some puzzle like how to open a door or
lower a
bridge so that Indy can progress to the next part of the level. To add
a little
variety to the game there are also some distractions to break up the
gameplay
such a short level where Indy flys a plane and another where Indy
pilots a raft
down some whitewater rapids.
In
addition there is also a co-op play where Indiana can go
on some short missions with his father. There is also a bonus game,
Indiana
Jones and The Fate of Atlantis (an older popular PC game), that can be
unlocked
on the Wii version. Speaking of the Wii version, some of the
controllers are
done very well and use the Wii-mote in some creative ways such as when
Indy
swings his whip. Other controls, however, feel a bit repetitive and
would have
been better used if they had been mapped to a button press instead of a
swing
of the wrist. Still, if the content meets up to your family’s standards
and you
are a fan of Indiana Jones, you may at least want to give this game a
rental.
Reviewers Note: This
review is based off of the single player campaign only.
What Parents
Need to
Know
Violence:
Indiana
Jones is played from the third person perspective. There
are some levels where Indiana will have to use his gun to take out the
enemies.
These levels are played much like an old carnival shooting gallery.
There are
other times where Indiana will have to fist fight the enemy in which
Indiana
can either punch them or swing objects at them such as a board or
shovel until
they are knocked unconscious.
Also,
there is no blood or gore in the game. You will not
see anyone’s face melt off like in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Language:
I
only came across two swear words in the whole game. The
words bastards and damn were each used once.
Sexual
Content:
There
is no inappropriate sexual content in this game.
Spiritual
Content:
There
are some references to ancient Mayan mythology such as
a ball court where Indiana makes some comments about how some twins had
to play
ball against some demons.
There
are also some references to the story of Moses from
the Bible. This is because Indiana is in search of the staff of Moses.
At one
point in the game the staff is used to part a sea and at another part
of the
game the staff turns into a snake.
In
addition, it is possible to unlock the movie trailers
from the four Indiana Jones films. In the Temple of Doom trailer there
are some
clips from the human sacrifice scene.
Conclusion:
Indiana
Jones and The Staff of Kings had a lot of potential,
but in the end it wound up feeling a bit flat. Still, as mentioned
before, if
you feel the game meets your family’s standards and you are a big fan
of the
movies, then you will probably want to at least give it a rental. The
game is
rather short, however, so my recommendation would be to either rent the
game or wait to purchase once it is in the dicount bin.
