Welcome to DS on DS. This is where I'm going to be taking a look at the Nintendo DS and all of it's games. And when I say all, I mean it. We will be going from Metroid Prime: Hunters to Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends. From Tetris DS to Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses. Yes, I said Barbie.  Every Friday, I will write a review on the game I have chosen for the week.

This week I am going to be taking a look at Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings.

Ever since Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, we have all been waiting for another good Indiana Jones game. There was one that was shown using the Euphoria engine and that one was looking amazing. Then word came that it had been canceled but it was also made known that there was still an Indy in development for the Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and the DS.  The question remained of whether or not they would actually be any good though.

Well I am here to tell you that the DS version turned out to be a big disappointment.  There is very little about this game that turned out good.  In fact, probably the best thing about this game is the mini-game that is included.  Honestly, there isn't much to praise here.

The graphics are pretty standard for 3D graphics on the DS, with the figures looking blocky and not very defined.  The environments are all pretty bland as well, with not too much going on.  Sometimes, you can get stuck in an area because you really can't tell where you need to go.  I got stuck for five minutes in a spot because you can break crates open, but not anything else, and I didn't know this, so I was trying to break some barrels that I thought were blocking my path.  That didn't work, so I tried climbing up on small ledges like the one you climb over in the tutorial, but that didn't work.  I finally went to the right spot on the screen to trigger the camera movement and saw a path to take.

As I just mentioned, I had to walk somewhere on the screen to get the camera to move.  There are absolutely no camera controls in the game.  There is absolutely no excuse for this in a 3D game.  Having something like that is usually essential.  That's not the only problem when it comes to the controls either.  Everything aside from holding down one of the shoulder buttons so you can fight is handled via the touch screen.  You can move Indy with either the d-pad or the ABXY buttons depending on what hand you use, but they don't tell you that in the tutorial.  Attacking is handled by holding down a shoulder button and then swiping in different directions on the touch screen to punch, or you can tap the touchscreen to hit with your whip.  Shooting Indy's gun is done by holding the shoulder button, tapping the gun icon on the screen, and then tapping what you want him to shoot.  It's all very cumbersome.  There is also the "Indy Meter" that you fill up, and when it is full, you can activate it for a special move that is usually just a grab and some punches or kicks.  Interactions with most objects in the game world is also done using the touch screen, like climbing ladders and picking up shovels, but there are some times when you use the system's mic.  Everything usually works like it is supposed to, but it is extremely counter-intuitive.

The best use of the game's controls come in the aforementioned mini-game.  The game is called Cipher Mode, and it's a lot like Mercury Meltdown.  You have a bead of water that you must maneuver through a labyrinth full of traps.  You do so by simply touching the screen in the direction that you want your glob to move.  You need to avoid sand, fire, and a bunch of other stuff that will destroy your water droplet.  There are parts where you need to split your droplet in two and maneuver both beads through parts of the maze, then rejoin them back together.  It is very smooth, and they get rather challenging.  These ciphers are also used in the main game: you have to beat them to open different things, like chests.

The other shining spot for the game comes in the music.  This game has all of the classic Indy music, and that is a big deal.  I mean, what would Indy be without the Raider's March?  Probably Alan Quatermain.  Aside from the music, the rest of the sound design isn't anything great.  All of the sound effects are very generic.

I had some decent hopes for this game, and as soon as I played it, those hopes were crushed like a still beating heart by Mola Ram.  Just stay away from this one, lest you feel like Mola Ram has ripped out your heart and burned it.

Final Score: 4/10