The Fedora is Back

The man with the Fedora hat and bullwhip is back as Dr. Indiana Jones returns in an all new adventure. In Indiana Jones and The Staff of Kings, Jones is tasked with locating the Staff of Moses and as usual the Nazis and all manner of enemies are hot on his heels and dangers abound.

The opening segments of the game on the Playstation 2 version I played deftly combined a gameplay tutorial with an exploration of a dark and foreboding underground chamber that was complete with traps, puzzles, and a valuable artifact.

Just when I thought I had matters in hand, the Nazis and a sinister rival arrive and force Indy to flee. Surrounded by a Nazi Camp, Indy is forced to battle his way to safety. It is during this segment that the game shows the myriad of combat options at your disposal which range from combo moves, using objects to hit or throw at an enemy, or the trusty whip.

I love using the whip as you can disarm your opponent, and then draw them to you to finish off with a well placed blow. You can also use the whip to topple objects down on an enemy such as a case.

The game also is not afraid to mix things up, as just when I thought it would play as a traditional adventure, game, I had to take the controls of a plane and weave my way through a canyon maze as I attempted to avoid fighter planes.

As the game unfolds, locales such as Chinatown in San Francisco, Sudan, Istanbul provide a setting for the game, which offered a fun mix of story, action and adventure.

The game is set roughly a year after the events of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and the Wii version of the game allows players to play a co-op version with Indiana and his father Henry.

Graphically the game is a bit dated by the standards set by the X-Box 360 and Playstation 3, but squeezes everything it can out of the Playstation 2 system and provides plenty of enjoyment and challenge.

The voice acting of the game is solid and while it will not make you forget Harrison Ford anytime soon, it does provide a passable facsimile.

The only real issues I had with the game were that at times the controls became a bit tricky due to camera angles and some clipping issues that arose, and that use of the revolver was mostly limited to a mini game style of use.

There was also the checkpoint style save system that I despise as I do not like having to play segments over in their entirety should my character succumb.

That being said, I found the game to be a pleasant surprise and despite the issues, found this to be the most fun I have had with any Indiana Jones game.

3.5 stars out of 5.

You can read more of Gareth's articles at Skewed and Reviewed.

Read Alan's review of the PSP version over at the [OC]ModBlog.