Indiana Jones 2007
Encyclopedia
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings is a historical fantasy video game published by LucasArts
for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS
, Playstation 2
, and PlayStation Portable
. The game is the third in the series of original 3D
Indiana Jones games, preceded by Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
, and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
. The Wii version also includes Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
videogame as an unlockable.
. The game is mostly about a quest which takes you around the world on various quests, fighting Nazis, Panamanian hunters, and Tong
thugs, and trying to find artifacts which will unlock other possible things for you to get and do. Although the staff of Moses is never mentioned in the beginning of the game, the plot is set about finding the staff, but the actual part of the story where the quest about finding the staff of Moses first start taking place is a lot further on in the game. It is set in 1939 (the year World War II
begins, 18 years before the events in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and 1 year after The Last Crusade
) and features a sequence set in San Francisco, involving a brawl
outside a fireworks factory, and a fight atop a runaway cable car
(inside the cable car in the Wii and PlayStation 2 version). The destinations included in the game are Chinatown, Panama, Nepal, and a zeppelin named The Odin. The Wii and the PlayStation 2 version includes Sudan and Istanbul. The PSP version has Istanbul and an intro level in which Magnus Voller finds the Jade Sphere. The DS version includes Paris.
A trailer released at E3 2006 showcased the games' use of the Euphoria
animation engine, created by NaturalMotion
. Further explanation comes from David Collins
, sound designer and voice director of the project as seen here. He explains that by using Euphoria no two reactions will ever be alike, objects will have their own unique textures, and enemies will be thinking on their own.
GameTrailers
hosts a publicity trailer for the game, featuring concept art of a train station and an African Queen
-style river boat. It has also been revealed that Indy will recover many "ancient artifacts from around the globe", and the artifact central to the game's plot will become a major part of the gameplay after being recovered, also the locations will include San Francisco's Chinatown
and "the most sacred ground in the world." His name being featured in the tech demo videos for the game have led some to speculate that Lao Che may be a villain, though his name is only seen he has no part in the game.
The Wii version of the game includes an exclusive co-op story mode (with Indy and Henry Jones Sr.) and unlockable version of the classic point and click adventure, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
(also set in the same year). On the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions you can unlock: Big Head mode, Henry Jones Sr., Tuxedo Indy, and Han Solo.
Indy has several weapons at his disposal. First and most obviously are his fists; punching and grappling the enemy helps get the job done. Naturally, you can also use your whip. With it you can disarm your opponent, or wrap the whip around their neck, waist, and ankles to pull them into your mercy. Another approach is snapping the whip up against a large piece of furniture (such as a bookshelf) and pulling out. This will cause it to fall and crush any opponents in the way.
One interesting factor is that you can also pick up several items at hand in the environment around you and use them as weapons. These include, but are not limited to: shovels, beer bottles, planks of wood, pool balls, etc. You may also grab your enemy and slam him into a solid object, including walls, fish tanks, desks, etc.
Sometimes, you will be forced to use your gun in a shoot-out. You may fire at your enemies, or look for something to fire at, including kegs of dynamite or street lamps.
in 1939. Indy traverses a canyon and enters the temple of the idol. After a few narrow escapes, including a swarm of spiders and collapsing statues, Indy finds the idol and is about to exit, when an explosion sends him backwards. It is the Nazis. He is confronted by their leader, Magnus Voller, and a Nazi aide bearing a pistol. Indy is forced to give up the Idol, but makes an escape when he distracts Voller. Indy then makes his way outside, and fights off some nazi soldiers. He gets in a truck and chases after a plane that is taking off down the runway. After catching up to the plane, he disposes of the pilot and takes off. He is briefly pursued by some Nazi fighters, but escapes and heads back to the United States.
Back in America, Indiana receives a letter from an old friend, Archie Tan. He explains that he has information about the disappearance of Indy's former college professor, Charles Kingston. Indy heads to San Francisco to talk to Archie, only to find that he and his daughter Suzie have been kidnapped. Indy tracks down Suzie, and learns from her the location of her father's office. He also learns of an ancient artifact that Archie was guarding, the Jade Sphere. Indy heads to the office and finds a secret passageway, leading to some waiting Thugs. He defeats the thugs and rides a rickety chair lift down into a subterranean chamber filled with old ships. The chairlift gets hit by a thug with a pistol but Indy manages to survive the ride down. He also survives when a mast falls down. He meets more thugs down below, but dispatches them. He then finds the Jade Sphere in a pile of cannon balls. A day later, Indy is standing outside a San Francisco office, when he spots Archie across the street being held by Magnus Voller and a Nazi agent. Voller orders Indy to hand over the Sphere, lest Professor Tan die. Indy appears to throw the Sphere to Voller, and then he and Archie get on a trolley going down the street. Magnus rips open the packaging around the sphere only to find it is a worthless statue. He smashes it on the ground in disgust. The trolley is then chased by cars with machine gunners inside. Indy uses his pistol to shoot out the tires or engines of the cars (in the Xbox 360 version, this is replace by a brawl on top of the cable car), and the trolley is stopped by Archie. After Archie tells Indy about the events that transpired, Indiana decides to head for Central America, where Kingston found the Sphere years ago.
At the dock to his destination, Indy gets into a minor argument with a British photographer named Maggie O'Mally, who decides to escort him on the way there. However, their campsite and the surrounding forest is attacked by native mercenaries under Magnus's employment. Indy manages to fend of the attackers. He saves a village of Indians in the Wii and PS2 version, who give him the key to a pyramid. Indy travels through the ruined pyramid, which is based on the Mayan underworld, which leads to a diary of Kingston's revealing details of the Staff of Kings, the artifact that Moses used to part the Red Sea
. After obtaining further clues on the staff's location in Istanbul, Indy locates Kingston in Nepal. Unfortunately, the Nazis have followed Indiana to the Staff's resting place and kidnap Kingston and Maggie(who is actually an MI6 agent). Indy then sneaks onto the Nazi's zeppelin, the Odin, and rescues Maggie, but is unable to prevent Magnus from fatally shooting Kingston and using the Staff to clear a path through the Red Sea. In response, Indy and Maggie chase Magnus on a motorcycle with a sidecar and defeat him with a rocket launcher. Magnus then attempts to escape, but Indy sucker-punches him into the wall of water. Upon reaching dry land, the staff then unleashes a blast that causes the water to sink the zeppelin. It then turns into a snake, and Indy laments "Ugh.. It can take care of itself..."
and Xbox 360
consoles. During E3 2006, LucasArts heavily promoted the game by citing its use of the new simulation technology developed by NaturalMotion
called Euphoria
, which generates "on-the-fly" animations for 3D characters thus eliminating the need for canned animations and preventing repetition of animations. At the time that game was scheduled for a release sometime in 2007, but this did not occur. Later, when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was finally green lit and entered production, many assumed that LucasArts would be timing the release of the game with the new film in the summer of 2008 (such was the case with Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
), but this did not happen either.
These delays in development were caused by LucasArts prioritizing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which uses the same technology that was originally associated with the Indiana Jones game during 2006.
In a July 2008 interview with DailyGame, a LucasArts
representative dismissed rumours of the game's cancellation, stating that the Indiana Jones
PS3 and Xbox 360
games were "very deep into development." The team was "working very actively" to bring the game up to form for public/media consumption, and said that "the game looks great." John Armstrong provided the voice of Indiana Jones.
On January 23, 2009 an official trailer revealed that the game would come out in the Spring of 2009 for the Wii
, Nintendo DS
, PlayStation 2
, and PlayStation Portable
gaming platforms. It was eventually revealed that the original, internally developed PS3 and Xbox 360
versions had been canceled after constant delays. The Wii
, Nintendo DS
, PlayStation 2
, and PlayStation Portable
versions had been concurrently developed by Artificial Mind and Movement
(the exception being the PSP
version, which was instead developed by Amaze Entertainment
) and had not faced the same delays.
The game's story was inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark and is a collaborative effort of the design and management teams at LucasArts, with one of the writers being Peter Hirschmann. It was created a few years before the release and received some input from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
A novel also titled Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings was going to be released as a tie in for the video game, but because of the numerous delays the book was never released. A finished version of the book does exist, however.
.
Some critics of the Wii version believed that the motion controls were not implemented well. Nintendo Power
gave it a 7.5/10 praising the variety in gameplay and voice-acting. It received a 69% from NGamer
, criticizing its "frequent remote-waggling quick-time events" and being "sometimes frustrating and dull". IGN
gave it a 5.0/10 praising its interface, graphic effects, amount of extras, interactive levels, and varied gameplay, but criticizing its "stupidly implemented motion controls". The Onion (A.V. Club) gave it an F (an 0 on the Metacritic scale) calling the motion controls "inexcusable" and stating the game's best aspect was the inclusion of the point-and-click adventure Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
, further adding it surpasses Staff of Kings in everything, but the "GameCube-like" graphics. GameSpot gave it a 3.5/10, criticizing its "terribly laid-out checkpoints", "out-of-date" visuals, and "atrocious, annoying motion controls". Game Chronicles praised the "solid" Wii controls adding "never once did the game feel gimmicky or the actions forced." and that "On any other system this game would be just another average adventure but the Wii adds so much with intuitive and responsive controls." It gave the game a score of 7.8/10.
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, Playstation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. The game is the third in the series of original 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
Indiana Jones games, preceded by Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb is an action video game developed by The Collective and published by LucasArts in 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Macintosh and Windows. It features cover art by Drew Struzan. The game is a new adventure of fictional archeologist Indiana Jones. The story is set in...
, and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is a multi-platform action-adventure video game by LucasArts released in late 1999. The first 3D installment in the series, its gameplay focuses on solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and various platforming sections...
. The Wii version also includes Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a point-and-click adventure game by LucasArts originally released in 1992. Almost a year later, it was reissued on CD-ROM as an enhanced "talkie" edition with full voice acting and digitized sound effects...
videogame as an unlockable.
Gameplay
The plot centers around Indy's search for the Staff of MosesThe Staff of Moses
According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, the staff used by Moses was by his side throughout important milestones in the narrative...
. The game is mostly about a quest which takes you around the world on various quests, fighting Nazis, Panamanian hunters, and Tong
Tong
-Chinese:*Tang Dynasty, a dynasty in Chinese history when transliterated from Cantonese*Tong , a type of social organization found in Chinese immigrant communities*tong, pronunciation of several Chinese characters*See:...
thugs, and trying to find artifacts which will unlock other possible things for you to get and do. Although the staff of Moses is never mentioned in the beginning of the game, the plot is set about finding the staff, but the actual part of the story where the quest about finding the staff of Moses first start taking place is a lot further on in the game. It is set in 1939 (the year World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
begins, 18 years before the events in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and 1 year after The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
) and features a sequence set in San Francisco, involving a brawl
BRAWL
Brawl is a real-time card game designed by James Ernest and released in 1999 by Cheapass Games.-Gameplay:Like Spit or Icehouse, players in Brawl do not take turns, instead either making a move or staying inactive as best suits their strategy at that moment...
outside a fireworks factory, and a fight atop a runaway cable car
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
(inside the cable car in the Wii and PlayStation 2 version). The destinations included in the game are Chinatown, Panama, Nepal, and a zeppelin named The Odin. The Wii and the PlayStation 2 version includes Sudan and Istanbul. The PSP version has Istanbul and an intro level in which Magnus Voller finds the Jade Sphere. The DS version includes Paris.
A trailer released at E3 2006 showcased the games' use of the Euphoria
Euphoria (software)
Euphoria is a game animation engine created by NaturalMotion based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis, NaturalMotion's proprietary technology for animating 3D characters on-the-fly "based on a full simulation of the 3D character, including body, muscles and motor nervous system"...
animation engine, created by NaturalMotion
NaturalMotion
NaturalMotion is a software company with offices in Oxford and San Francisco. Founded in November 2001 as a spin-off of Oxford University, the company specialises in creating animation technology for the game and film industries.-Technology:...
. Further explanation comes from David Collins
David Collins
-People:* David Collins , 18th-century cricketer associated with Hampshire* David Collins , played for Wellington and Cambridge University...
, sound designer and voice director of the project as seen here. He explains that by using Euphoria no two reactions will ever be alike, objects will have their own unique textures, and enemies will be thinking on their own.
GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
hosts a publicity trailer for the game, featuring concept art of a train station and an African Queen
African Queen (boat)
The African Queen is the boat used in the movie The African Queen. It is located at 99701 Overseas Highway in Key Largo, Florida. On February 18, 1992, it was added to the U.S...
-style river boat. It has also been revealed that Indy will recover many "ancient artifacts from around the globe", and the artifact central to the game's plot will become a major part of the gameplay after being recovered, also the locations will include San Francisco's Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
and "the most sacred ground in the world." His name being featured in the tech demo videos for the game have led some to speculate that Lao Che may be a villain, though his name is only seen he has no part in the game.
The Wii version of the game includes an exclusive co-op story mode (with Indy and Henry Jones Sr.) and unlockable version of the classic point and click adventure, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a point-and-click adventure game by LucasArts originally released in 1992. Almost a year later, it was reissued on CD-ROM as an enhanced "talkie" edition with full voice acting and digitized sound effects...
(also set in the same year). On the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions you can unlock: Big Head mode, Henry Jones Sr., Tuxedo Indy, and Han Solo.
Indy has several weapons at his disposal. First and most obviously are his fists; punching and grappling the enemy helps get the job done. Naturally, you can also use your whip. With it you can disarm your opponent, or wrap the whip around their neck, waist, and ankles to pull them into your mercy. Another approach is snapping the whip up against a large piece of furniture (such as a bookshelf) and pulling out. This will cause it to fall and crush any opponents in the way.
One interesting factor is that you can also pick up several items at hand in the environment around you and use them as weapons. These include, but are not limited to: shovels, beer bottles, planks of wood, pool balls, etc. You may also grab your enemy and slam him into a solid object, including walls, fish tanks, desks, etc.
Sometimes, you will be forced to use your gun in a shoot-out. You may fire at your enemies, or look for something to fire at, including kegs of dynamite or street lamps.
Plot
The story begins with Indiana Jones hunting for an ancient ram's head idol in SudanSudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
in 1939. Indy traverses a canyon and enters the temple of the idol. After a few narrow escapes, including a swarm of spiders and collapsing statues, Indy finds the idol and is about to exit, when an explosion sends him backwards. It is the Nazis. He is confronted by their leader, Magnus Voller, and a Nazi aide bearing a pistol. Indy is forced to give up the Idol, but makes an escape when he distracts Voller. Indy then makes his way outside, and fights off some nazi soldiers. He gets in a truck and chases after a plane that is taking off down the runway. After catching up to the plane, he disposes of the pilot and takes off. He is briefly pursued by some Nazi fighters, but escapes and heads back to the United States.
Back in America, Indiana receives a letter from an old friend, Archie Tan. He explains that he has information about the disappearance of Indy's former college professor, Charles Kingston. Indy heads to San Francisco to talk to Archie, only to find that he and his daughter Suzie have been kidnapped. Indy tracks down Suzie, and learns from her the location of her father's office. He also learns of an ancient artifact that Archie was guarding, the Jade Sphere. Indy heads to the office and finds a secret passageway, leading to some waiting Thugs. He defeats the thugs and rides a rickety chair lift down into a subterranean chamber filled with old ships. The chairlift gets hit by a thug with a pistol but Indy manages to survive the ride down. He also survives when a mast falls down. He meets more thugs down below, but dispatches them. He then finds the Jade Sphere in a pile of cannon balls. A day later, Indy is standing outside a San Francisco office, when he spots Archie across the street being held by Magnus Voller and a Nazi agent. Voller orders Indy to hand over the Sphere, lest Professor Tan die. Indy appears to throw the Sphere to Voller, and then he and Archie get on a trolley going down the street. Magnus rips open the packaging around the sphere only to find it is a worthless statue. He smashes it on the ground in disgust. The trolley is then chased by cars with machine gunners inside. Indy uses his pistol to shoot out the tires or engines of the cars (in the Xbox 360 version, this is replace by a brawl on top of the cable car), and the trolley is stopped by Archie. After Archie tells Indy about the events that transpired, Indiana decides to head for Central America, where Kingston found the Sphere years ago.
At the dock to his destination, Indy gets into a minor argument with a British photographer named Maggie O'Mally, who decides to escort him on the way there. However, their campsite and the surrounding forest is attacked by native mercenaries under Magnus's employment. Indy manages to fend of the attackers. He saves a village of Indians in the Wii and PS2 version, who give him the key to a pyramid. Indy travels through the ruined pyramid, which is based on the Mayan underworld, which leads to a diary of Kingston's revealing details of the Staff of Kings, the artifact that Moses used to part the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
. After obtaining further clues on the staff's location in Istanbul, Indy locates Kingston in Nepal. Unfortunately, the Nazis have followed Indiana to the Staff's resting place and kidnap Kingston and Maggie(who is actually an MI6 agent). Indy then sneaks onto the Nazi's zeppelin, the Odin, and rescues Maggie, but is unable to prevent Magnus from fatally shooting Kingston and using the Staff to clear a path through the Red Sea. In response, Indy and Maggie chase Magnus on a motorcycle with a sidecar and defeat him with a rocket launcher. Magnus then attempts to escape, but Indy sucker-punches him into the wall of water. Upon reaching dry land, the staff then unleashes a blast that causes the water to sink the zeppelin. It then turns into a snake, and Indy laments "Ugh.. It can take care of itself..."
Development
The game was announced in 2005 for release on PlayStation 3PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
consoles. During E3 2006, LucasArts heavily promoted the game by citing its use of the new simulation technology developed by NaturalMotion
NaturalMotion
NaturalMotion is a software company with offices in Oxford and San Francisco. Founded in November 2001 as a spin-off of Oxford University, the company specialises in creating animation technology for the game and film industries.-Technology:...
called Euphoria
Euphoria (software)
Euphoria is a game animation engine created by NaturalMotion based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis, NaturalMotion's proprietary technology for animating 3D characters on-the-fly "based on a full simulation of the 3D character, including body, muscles and motor nervous system"...
, which generates "on-the-fly" animations for 3D characters thus eliminating the need for canned animations and preventing repetition of animations. At the time that game was scheduled for a release sometime in 2007, but this did not occur. Later, when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was finally green lit and entered production, many assumed that LucasArts would be timing the release of the game with the new film in the summer of 2008 (such was the case with Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is a 2008 video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts. The game allows players to recreate moments from the first three Indiana Jones films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the...
), but this did not happen either.
These delays in development were caused by LucasArts prioritizing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which uses the same technology that was originally associated with the Indiana Jones game during 2006.
In a July 2008 interview with DailyGame, a LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
representative dismissed rumours of the game's cancellation, stating that the Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
PS3 and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
games were "very deep into development." The team was "working very actively" to bring the game up to form for public/media consumption, and said that "the game looks great." John Armstrong provided the voice of Indiana Jones.
On January 23, 2009 an official trailer revealed that the game would come out in the Spring of 2009 for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
gaming platforms. It was eventually revealed that the original, internally developed PS3 and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
versions had been canceled after constant delays. The Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
versions had been concurrently developed by Artificial Mind and Movement
Artificial Mind and Movement
Behaviour Interactive [formerly Artificial Mind and Movement ], founded in 1992 in Québec City, Québec as Megatoon Entertainment Group, is the largest independent game development studio in Canada, specializing in the production of 2D and 3D action/adventure games for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3,...
(the exception being the PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
version, which was instead developed by Amaze Entertainment
Amaze Entertainment
Amaze Entertainment was a video game developer from the United States that sold over 100 games in its ten-year history , for several video game platforms, with headquarters located in Kirkland, Washington. Amaze’s primary focus was licensed games based on movie franchises, comic series, and...
) and had not faced the same delays.
The game's story was inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark and is a collaborative effort of the design and management teams at LucasArts, with one of the writers being Peter Hirschmann. It was created a few years before the release and received some input from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
A novel also titled Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings was going to be released as a tie in for the video game, but because of the numerous delays the book was never released. A finished version of the book does exist, however.
Reception
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings has received average reviews from the critics, holding a 55% average on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Some critics of the Wii version believed that the motion controls were not implemented well. Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
gave it a 7.5/10 praising the variety in gameplay and voice-acting. It received a 69% from NGamer
NGamer
NGamer is a British magazine which mainly covers Nintendo video game consoles and software, and also to a much lesser extent, Sony and Microsoft consoles. The first issue was released on 13 July 2006...
, criticizing its "frequent remote-waggling quick-time events" and being "sometimes frustrating and dull". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave it a 5.0/10 praising its interface, graphic effects, amount of extras, interactive levels, and varied gameplay, but criticizing its "stupidly implemented motion controls". The Onion (A.V. Club) gave it an F (an 0 on the Metacritic scale) calling the motion controls "inexcusable" and stating the game's best aspect was the inclusion of the point-and-click adventure Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a point-and-click adventure game by LucasArts originally released in 1992. Almost a year later, it was reissued on CD-ROM as an enhanced "talkie" edition with full voice acting and digitized sound effects...
, further adding it surpasses Staff of Kings in everything, but the "GameCube-like" graphics. GameSpot gave it a 3.5/10, criticizing its "terribly laid-out checkpoints", "out-of-date" visuals, and "atrocious, annoying motion controls". Game Chronicles praised the "solid" Wii controls adding "never once did the game feel gimmicky or the actions forced." and that "On any other system this game would be just another average adventure but the Wii adds so much with intuitive and responsive controls." It gave the game a score of 7.8/10.