Customer Reviews

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This game was developed, in its current incarnation at least, for the Wii, and is also available on handhelds and the PS2. As such, the player's expectation is for good, if not stellar, graphics, and solid or perhaps even innovative gameplay. Combine that with Lucasarts's traditionally excellent game design and the existing strength of Indiana Jones as a premise, and you'd expect a game that provides a satisfying experience. That makes it all the more shocking, then, that what's actually delivered is so far below any possible expectations that it's hard to know where to begin extolling the areas in which it lets the player down. "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings," to be blunt, is a staggeringly sub-par game in nearly every regard. I warn you ahead of time, this is a bit of a long review! But hopefully it'll be worth the read.

The most fundamental issue is that the gameplay itself isn't actually any fun. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there isn't any "game" at all... does something count as a game if the player never has to be involved? Throughout the experience, the game tells you exactly what to do, how to do it, and when. If something needs to be done, an image of the button to press will appear, and you will press it. Then the thing is done. This isn't a tutorial level, mind you, this is quite literally every action in the entire game. You almost never have to think for yourself... Perversely, though, you do have to perform some actions multiple times before they work, as though you were actually exerting some kind of effort. Lighting torches, for instance, will require you to press the button three times (prompted each time), because the first time won't work. Always three, because that's what it takes. In the same thought-free vein, it seems that every trap or hidden door constructed by ancient civilizations can be actived by pushing a panel into a wall. It's all so repetitive that the extremely few times the game actually does throw a genuine puzzle into the mix, the player finds himself so confused as to not know how to proceed.

The play itself simply alternates between four distinct behaviors... in addition to walking your character forward, the following actions are continually repeated: 1.) Edging Along Ledges, which proceeds identically every single time... Indy edges along a few feet, then a stone drops out from under him. He falls, but hangs on with one hand... the screen instructs the player on how to pull him up. Once done, it prompts the player to press an indicated button to hop over the gap. A few steps later, another stone drops and the cycle repeats. 2.) Shooting, wherein Indy automatically takes cover and is provided with several enemies to shoot, very slowly, one at a time. When several enemies have been dispatched, Indy will again be automatically moved a few steps ahead to new cover, where the cycle will repeat. In fact, the dispassionate shooting-gallery nature of this cycle starts to seem like cold-blooded murder pretty quickly, which feels just a teeny bit out of character, to say nothing of inappropriate. 3.) Punching Bad Guys, which ought to be fun no matter what game you're playing... bizarrely, this game even manages to rob this activity of any satisfaction by way of the repetitive nature of the combat system. Punch, punch, punch, duck. Whip, knee. New bad guy. Punch, punch, punch, duck... you get the idea. The player can also throw things at people, which still manages to be boring because, as with everything else, the game shows you exactly what you can pick up and where it all is.

These steps are repeated over and over, mindlessly, ad infinitum. I actually found myself nodding off while playing, I do not exaggerate... What passes for gameplay here completely fails to engage the player's mind in any capacity.

That is, of course, the most fundamental flaw with the game, but it's by no means the only one. The second most notable issue is the inexplicably poor graphics... bearing in mind the consoles for which it was developed, you'd expect at least PS2-equivalent visuals. Instead, the game presents you with graphics that would be perfectly at home on the PS1 or SNES, only a little bit smoother. Again, I do not exaggerate; I cannot adequately convey how bizarre it is to see... the blocky figures, the blurred smudges that are intended to represent faces... Some of the environments' textures are good, but overwhelmingly the graphics are simply appalling, not even living up to the Wii's capabilities. I should point out that I am not a person easily upset by a game's graphics; I will happily play games from the golden days of the 80's and 90's without being in the least affected. This game is simply inexcusable. To provide context, the graphics in the six-year-old game "Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb" are genuinely far superior (as is the gameplay, but I think I've covered that). And don't expect pre-rendered cutscenes to make it better, because you won't find any.

That brings me to the story. What cutscenes there are, made using the in-game engine, are generally no longer than a few seconds apiece. The plot is never properly articulated... while you can detect that there must be a story underlying your endless repetition of the same actions in different places, you don't know what it actually is. Whether or not you believe that the story is the most important part of any game, certainly in an Indiana Jones game it should be at the fore. However, in order to find out what's happening and why, the player must actually *quit* the game, return to the main menu, and open up Indy's journal. There he will find a brief explanation of what's been happening all this time, which would have been handy to know when it was going on. At least it would have helped invest the player in the action... Ah well, better late than never? Then, of course, the game will need to be re-loaded to carry on. In order to actually keep up with the story, the player would have to quit the game approximately every ten minutes to read about what's meant to be happening. There are even tiny snippets of nonsensical dialogue as the game goes along, with Indy muttering things to himself that pertain to facts you don't know. Presumably these were there for the game as it was originally developed and never removed.

What else? An impossible-to-control camera ensures that you never quite know where you are or what's around you. Game-halting glitches occasionally pop up (did you simply shoot the German machine-gunner instead of the hitting box of dynamite to blow him up? Well, you're stuck, then). In surround sound mode at least, the controls that are supposed to allow you to adjust the relative volumes of speech, effects, and music do nothing at all, rendering Indy's mumbling largely unintelligible. Oh, and you're up against the "Germans." Not Nazis, mind you, just "Germans." I can certainly understand the desire to keep such heavy subject matter out of the game, but in that case perhaps it would have been better to change the enemies entirely? As it is, the game seems to take the view that everyone in Germany is dangerous and unpleasant. At one point, Indy actually utters the line, "Germans. Why did it have to be Germans?"

What makes the whole experience more galling than simply owning a frankly kind of terrible game is that you can see throughout the experience hints of the game that was supposed to be. This title was originally developed as a spectacular, in-depth, next-generation game for PS3 and XBox 360. It was supposed to be the Indiana Jones game fans have been waiting for all these years. And as the player trudges through this release, glimpses of that game can be seen... The story that you're not being told seems like it would be really interesting and engrossing, and a perfect addition to Indy's adventures. Set pieces you encounter, like giant spider-webs or elaborate sculptures that do little or nothing clearly evoke to the player the way they must originally have been intended... which makes the process of pressing-a-button-to-make-them-go-away almost painful. The environments and costumes, which you can barely make out in the actual game, still exhibit a lot of thought... in fact, one look at the concept art will illustrate how much care and imagination originally went into the game's development. In the brief cutscenes, you can still perceive really clever, very "Indy" moments through the poor animation, moments that would have been brilliant if they had had the chance to be executed properly. And still left from all this are the game's only two real strong points... first, the voice acting (what remains of it) is quite good. The fellow voicing Indy does a fair impression, and together with the tiny remaining bits of extremely well-written dialogue, manages at times to really capture the esssence of the character. Second, the game's muscial score is spectacular. The composer manages to perfectly capture the feeling of an Indiana Jones film score, mimicking John Williams's style exceptionally well.

So, what does that leave? Well... for the die-hard Indiana Jones fans the game has built-in appeal that may keep them playing 'til the end. That was the case for me... Though even then, it has to be noted that the game as-is even fails in delivering a faithful dose of Indy-ness. The details are all lacking... the jacket only makes a brief appearance, the satchel is perpetually absent, and several moments from the films are simply rehashed, sometimes more than once. And yet, being an Indiana Jones game is still the game's only real appeal. Take that away and you're left with something that wouldn't have made it off the drawing board, much less into stores and people's homes.

So, gamers and Indy fans, I personally advise you not to give in to the temptation. Rent the game, by all means, and see for yourself, but please don't buy this game without trying it first. Lucasarts insists that they're always open to creating to new Indiana Jones games... so don't let 'em think they've fooled the world into thinking this counts as one. It's a strange thing nowadays when a new generation of game can fall so far short, technically and creatively, of its predecessor... but until they make another go at it, I'd recommend getting your Indiana Jones gaming satisfaction by replaying the brilliant "Emperor's Tomb" and trying to forget this was ever released.

If you would like to read a lengthy but informative review, read Jonathan's review. He pretty much nails it.
First, huge Indy fan here. Huge.
This is not the game I've been looking forward to for such a long time. After the excellent Emperor's tomb, this game seems like a two generation step backwards. It's bad enough it's not a X-box 360 or PS3 game, but this seems like they had some neat stuff they almost developed, tossed a bunch of cheap filler in, and called it a game. There is no exploration, no adventure. It's a button masher.
And sometimes even the cue for the button comes up so late you die immediately, wait for the re-load and work your way back to that spot, and then hit the right button that saves you. The game is extremely linear, no wonderfully designed areas to wander around in, just a path to follow. The graphics are sub-par, (sometimes as in: what the heck is that supposed to be) and Indy's likeness is off, but the voice is good.
Unfortunately to me, Lucasarts fails more often than it succeeds in most of it's games, and this one fails pretty badly. It almost seems like a quickie meant to cash in on the movie like so many other 'licensed' games. The only saving grace is that it's half the price of today's normal 'nex-gen' games, so I do not feel as ripped off as I could, but I wish I had rented it and I'm fairly certain one could pick this up real cheap in a few months.
I'm bummed. I really really really wanted to enjoy this game, and it's actually quite painful to be this disappointed.

Don't do it! This is dumbed down gaming...lazy, inept programming at its worst. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the development team were on suicide watch. Don't fall for the pretty box art or screenshots...it's all a lie in the end.

im gonna start off by saying that this is coming from a huge indy fan. ive been waiting for this game to come out for some time now, and its not exactly what i was expecting.

the good

the game is fun. it has alot of cool still like being able to knock things over with the whip and burning spiders with torches. theres alot of puzzles in the game, so its not an all action game, you actually have to think a bit. theyre not hard, but theyll make you examine the situation a bit. the shooting parts of the game are also pretty cool. they have a sort of Time Crisis kinda feel to them.

the bad

the thing i had the most problem with is the lack of variety of abilities. throughout most of the game, the only buttons you'll really use are R1 R2 and X. there arent different kind of fighting styles, its all the same punch combo every time. theres alot of meelee weapons lying around, but theyll hardly do anything at all. at least not where it really counts. another thing is that with certain enemies called "brutes" that you cant hurt them unless you block their attacks and hit them back. you also cant use your gun when you want to. only during the shooting scenes. the graphics arent as great as one would think a game would be these days, but that doesnt matter much. also, the game is suprisingly short. one can go through it in a few hours.


overall, the game is fun and its worth playing, but i dont think its worth the 30 dollars. id wait for the price to drop, buy a used copy, or rent first just to see how you feel about it. my rating of the game is 8/10. if you want a great Indiana Jones game, id go for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb

Indiana Jones stories have always been light adventures that don't really aim to go into deep discussions of philosophy or morality, instead focusing on delivering action and adventure in rapid fire doses, to transport the audience into a world of mystery and danger, to suck people away from their problems for a little while. Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings follows in this tradition...but when playing it, one can't help but wonder if this is one adventure that would have benefitted from slowing down a little.

Taking place one year after the events of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Staff of Kings" follows Indiana as he fights against those vilanous nazis in a race for a famed biblical artifact...the Staff of Moses, which, predictably, carries great power that could prove to be disasterous if it fell into the wrong hands.

Like all the Indy games before it, Staff of Kings has all the elements of a great game...compelling locations, plenty of things to do, an enjoyable combat system, lots of little touches in the levels, and the best unlockables yet. But even with these elements...something isn't quite right. All the elements of greatness are here, yet they aren't used to their full potential.

The Good

Staff of Kings is a standard third person action adventure game where you run around levels getting into fistfights, gunfights, solving the occasional puzzle, and occasionally riding a vehicle. For the most part, Staff of Kings does a solid job on all fronts. While not as deep as "Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb", the combat in Staff of Kings is solid and easy to master, relying heavily on using the environment as a weapon, such as using wrenches, chairs, trash can lids, and even fish tanks as items to help tip the fight in your favor. Fighting is also broken up into the occasional shooting segment, where Indy will be taking cover behind an obstacle and pop out to shoot at your foes.

In addition to fighting, Staff of Kings also features a steady stream of puzzles to keep you busy. From figuring out how to use swinging stone heads to your advantage, to stopping the rolling planets of an ancient planetarium, and even engaging in a life and death game of Myan basketball, Staff of Kings brings plenty of brain teasers to the table.

The most enjoyable part of the game is it's feeling of advenutre. In one stage you'll be in the canyons and deserts of Africa, then in the next you'll be running around San Fransisco during chinese new year, and in one visually gorgeous level, traversing through ancient Myan ruins deep in the Panama jungle. Although linear, each level feels teeming with life, with numerous dark caverns, death traps, collapsing ledges and giant bugs that you'll have to deal with. You never know what's around the next corner, which lends a nice sense of adventure to the game, in constantly wanting to see where you'll be travelling next. And as if that wasn't enough, Staff of Kings also has many quicktime events, where you'll have to mash on certian buttons to avoid dying, getting chopped up by spinning blades, and generally avoiding unpleasant death traps. Because you never know when to expect them, these events are always a surprise, and constantly keep you on edge.

Although rare, Staff of Kings features the occasional vehicle ride to help bring variety to the game, including flying around on a biplane through a canyon, going on a wild river raft ride, and even going around on a stampeeding elephant. Though simple, these segments are a nice change of pace and feature some of the game's more exciting moments, including the final segment of the final level, which is arguably the most creative scene in the history of Indiana Jones games, easily matching, and surpassing, the climaxes from the film.

Finally, Staff of Kings features some great incentives for you to go back and replay it, featuring some very entertaining unlockable content, such as concept art, giving everyone vastly oversized heads, wearing Han Solo's costume...and in arguably the best Indiana Jones unlockable ever, playing as a certain character brilliantly portrayed by Sean Connery.

The Bad

Even with all the great material in it, Staff of Kings is arguably the shortest Indiana Jones game yet, finishing a mere six hours or so after it begins. When the game fades to black and the credits roll, it's really quite a shock to realize that the game is over.

The story, while adequate by itself, is plagued by the fact that it is, like the rest of the game, very short, and as a result, it doesn't have the time to develop itself. While Indy himself is as cool as ever, the overall plot is harmed by a cast of characters that exist only to say one or two lines, then to vanish. It's depressingly common for characters to be introduced out of nowhere, only to leave with no fanfare or influence on the plot. The one exception is Indy's arch nemisis, Magnus, who does have some depth and a backstory that explains his actions, but due to the short running time, he never really matures into a compelling character. However, what is truly depressing is Indy's leading lady, Maggie, who has absoloutly no background and no depth. She just shows up, tags along with Indy, and...well, that's really it. She does have one little twist to her story, but it has no bearing on the plot whatsoever. She is the very definition of cardboard cutout, and is compeltely forgettable, joining Devil May Cry's Trish as one of the most one dimensional video game women in recent memory. So while the story does provide a reason as to why you're going from one place to another, it just needs more compelling characters. Replace Maggie with, say, Henry Jones Sr, or even George MacHale (from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and players would be much more interested in what was going on.

Although not a very difficult game, Staff of Kings does have a few very frustrating moments, and at times, flat out awful design choices. Smashing Nazis with a piano sounds fun, but the mini game is more frustrating then fun, do the fact that you die after a single hit from an enemy (even though you can survive multiple shots in other gun segements). Although fun, some of the quicktime events in the game come out of nowhere, giving you about half a second to react, which often leads to what feels like a cheap death, as the game didn't give you a chance to save yourself.

In a somewhat confusing omission, the game doesn't have a hint system or a map, as at times it is difficult to figure out exactly what you're supposed to be doing. This is especially prevaliant in Panama, as there's a segement with two swinging stones where you're given no instructions, and it took me almost an hour to figure out what to do (Look at the nearby waterfalls very closely). Likewise, a planetarium puzzle is very confusing and doesn't make much sense, even when you have a diagram that is clearly trying to tell you something, but you can't make heads or tails of it (Look at the amount of red dots around the circle markers).

Though minor, it should be noted that there is no multiplayer mode in the game, a big disapointment considering how Lucasarts said there would be one. In addition, a few statements made about the game are incorrect: You don't visit the holiest spot in the world (I have no idea where that's supposed to be), there is no battle on a tank, and the Staff of Kings never becomes a part of the gameplay, as it is only seen in cutscenes. It's baffling that Lucasarts made these statments, only to have the game not match them.

Summary

Staff of Kings does have all the elements of greatness with it...great locations, interesting and fun levels, plenty of combat, a great feeling of adventure, and fun unlockables that give you a reason to go back and play it again. However, it's marred by a very short length, a weak story and below average characters. The whole experience feels somewhat rushed, as if the game was being given second hand in light of the now-cancelled PS3 and Xbox360 versions. One can't help but feel that given a few more months of development time, the game would have been longer and allowed to stretch its wings, so to speak.

However, irregardless of those facts, Indy fans will definitly enjoy the game, but should try it out as a rental before buying.

Recommended? Yes, but rent first.

Being a huge INDIANA JONES fan, this game is a bit of a disappointment. (PS2 version review.)

It's glitchy as hell, as though they released it before it was ready. It's NOT Harrison Ford's voice (and I believe he did that voice in the last game, the EMPEROR'S TOMB, which is far better.) And the game play is frequently awkward.

However, being an Indy fan I couldn't keep from finishing it and the locations they designed are AMAZING. San Francisco's China Town in the 1930's - a sunken pirate ship inside a cave - Peru - all amazingly realized. A shame as much thought wasn't put into the game play as it was the locations.

So overall, a mixed review... But if you're an Indy fan, that won't stop you from owning it.

Well this game is an up and down experience. It has it's moments but does not match up to either the infernal machine, or the emperors tomb. The story is pretty well developed there are many Indy-esque moments and the idea to use Moses's staff as the treasure would look great on a future feature film, but unfortunatly game play is the killer of this story.

The game play is very unimaginative and poorly developed. There are little to no puzzles in this game. You just have to walk around until the game pops a button up on the screen you have to push. Also I had alot of trouble with the joysticks inversing after a cut screen or a change in camera angle. This error led to many cliff jumps. There is also no health that can be picked up. You must wait until you reach a checkpoint. This can be difficult at times. Also the combat is boring. You whip a guy pull him in and punch him. That's about it. It gets really tiresome. There is no way to shoot unless the game decides you can. In shooting situations Indy puts himself behind cover and you kill your enemies like an old arcade game. This is the most frustrating part of the game. Once Indy is hit he has to drop behind cover he can't take a bullet and fire back.Also every time you die there is a moment where your hat lays on the ground and INdy picks it up. That is cool for the first five times, but after that it is just annoying.

Graphics are also very poor in this title. The Emperors Tomb had better graphics than this game. The voice acting is ok but I would recommend turning the sound fx, and music down so you can hear it.
Overall this game is in my opinion a 4 out of five. There are alot of artifacts to find, along with characters and trailers to unlock. The story is sufficient even if sometimes the gameplay is not. It is an 8-9 hour campaign though. I reccommend the hardest difficulty the AI is not the toughest. [...]I do reccommend "The Emperors Tomb" if you've never played it if you want a great Indy adventure, or the Uncharted series which has revolutionized the adventure drama. Bottom line if your an Indy fan you'll enjoy this game, even if it is solely for the main character.

Recieved my replacement copy just before X-mas. My son is overjoyed with this game, hes 10. Extreme fun.

On the same day this game came out I went out and spent $20 on this game. I was so excited for it. Indiana Jones is like a god to me and I honer him. Unlike the Staff Of Kings, Indiana Jones and the Emperors Tomb has it out ranked 100 to 1. This was a very disappointing game because it has okay graphics, confusing storyline, lack of Indyness (The stuff that makes Indy Indy)bad taste of hero vs. bosses battles, and confusing controls. But there are good things (by good "things" I mean two good things) excotics places to travel, and cool puzzles.

I actually felt like writing a review for this game, because I feel people should know whats up with this game. The way this game went down was that they started off making a game for the PS3 and Xbox 360, but then George Lucas decided to turn all his attention to Star Wars The Force Unleashed, and kind of just abandon that project. So they then had to turn around and release something. So they created this game, with the Nintendo Wii in mind and the other systems as just fun after thoughts (as well as a way to squeeze out more money). You can clearly see this as you play through it, since I personally own this game on the PS2. I am doing this review for the PS2 version of the game, but will try and point out why I feel a negative may be a positive on a cross system like the Wii.

GRAPHICS (8 out of 10): The graphics are not amazing (especially in the beginning), but as you go deeper into the game you do appreciate that they really did spend a lot of time on some of the areas (some of the temples look just gorgeous). If there was a way to bump up the resolution, like if it were a PC game, I'm sure the game would look very good., even compared to games of today's standard. Indiana Jones character model looks very well done, and although the face does look just "OK", from behind you do see that they paid attention to detail with putting creases in his shirt as well as wear and even sweat at times. I have seen screenshots of this game on the Wii, and they do look a bit more polished (since it is a more powerful system).

PUZZLES (8 out of 10): The puzzles in this game are typical Indiana Jones type stuff. You enter an area with no ground, so you have to find a way to use the whip to get across, or knock over a giant statue to make a bridge, or completely bypass said area, and find out that you can punch a hole in a nearby wall and just take a short cut (doesn't happen often, but a few times here or there). This game was very focused on the idea that they wanted you to think your way through the levels by putting obstacles in your way, as to give you a more authentic Indiana Jones experience. I found that most of the puzzles were actually fun. The nice thing is, there has yet to be a single puzzle that was so hard that it borderlines annoying (a lot of games have that stuff, luckily this one does not). You will find points where you have to hug the wall and shimmy your way across a ledge, and quickly press L1 and R1 to get back up if you fall, or if being chased by a giant boulder or running down some where that is closing up, you'll have to either quickly press 1 of the 4 buttons, or again L1 and R1 to get through said situation. I feel that this was something that most likely works very well for the Wii, adding a lot of fun for that particular system. I did not find it particularly annoying doing it on the PS2, so I didn't knock off points for it. I did however find it a bit annoying on certain points during puzzles where you have to interact with a specific object, and you walk by the object like 50 times, and nothing pops up for you to click it, then all of a sudden your like 6 feet away from it, and THAT'S when the game decides to tell you that you have to click that particular object to continue on (the have it set up that if the pop up that tells you to press Square doesn't pop up, then you cannot interact with the object even if you have to). If this wasn't such a memorable problem I had with the progression of the game, I would of probably given the Puzzles a 8.5 out of 10. I also reduced a point due to them not being super ground breaking. They aren't bad, but at no point are you going to be like "Oh wow, that was unbelievably clever!"

COMBAT (4 out of 10): Alright so I play this game on the PS2, as such I can only express my opinion on the combat system for the system I have played it on. For the PS2 you basically press X to attack, Triangle to pick up weapons off the ground to attack with, Square to throw things at people, and O to dodge attacks. Sounds pretty straight forward, except for at the end of the day you'll find yourself instead Pressing R2 to snap your whip around the bad guys head, pull him towards you, then press X to kick him in the stomach and kill him with 1 hit. The reason you'll find yourself doing this is because the combat just is not very fun at all, and fortunately isn't something the game puts you through very often (or else I'd of given this game a 1 out of 5 rather then a 4). The parts of the game that have you shooting bad guys isn't as bad in my opinion. You basically hide behind cover, come out of cover to shoot the bad guys, then hide again to reload. Nothing amazing what so ever, but I feel the shooting is far better then the actual hand to hand combat. Also another interesting thing about the shooting parts is sometimes they will place explosives that you can shoot to take out several bad guys, rather then having to shoot each bad guy individually. Perhaps that's why I also semi enjoyed the shooting parts. Now again I am doing this review for the PS2, so I cannot say whether or not the Wii or any other system suffers from this same issue. From what I have read though, on the Wii you use the Wii motion controllers to punch, so it could very well be fun.

SOUND (8 out of 10): The guy that they have doing the voice of Indiana Jones sounds a LOT like Harrison Ford. He sounds so much like him, that some times you'll think that they took a few lines here and there from the actual movies. However when he gets shot or attacked, his grunts and yells sound pretty bad. The rest of the cast did a good job as well. Nothing that stands out above the rest, but nothing bad which is nice. The music is your standard Indiana Jones music that everyone has heard a million times by now, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it is in fact an Indiana Jones game and that is what the character is known for. Perhaps if there were more action scenes of note (as I said the Combats not so great, so how could there really be?) they could of done a sort of climactic score with a little originality mixed with the Indiana Jones theme.

Big question on if this game is worth purchasing? I personally think that if your an Indiana Jones fan, and are more into the wonder of Indiana Jones' experiences getting past life threatening situations, then I say this game is definitely worth giving a shot. This isn't a game that will ever develop a cult following by any means, but it's not as bad as I originally thought it at first glance. I liked it enough that today I purchased the game on the Nintendo Wii off Amazon simply because they had it for like $8 on sale. For that price you really cant beat it, since the Wii version comes with Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. An adventure title released back in the 90's for the computer, which I'd give a 10 out of 10 any day (I own it for PC and have beaten it). I plan on going through the game again on the Wii, and perhaps will update this review discussing how well they implemented everything for that system.