Would have been a great game, on the PS One.
The movie was disappointing. On its own, it was a fun adventure movie, but as an Indy fan, I couldn't help but feeling a little crestfallen. However, much of that was my own fault for building up my own expectations that the movie was never going to be able to match.
Regarding "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings", the above comments would be high praise. I wish I could just say it was disappointing because I'm a big Indy fan and it couldn't rise to those expectations, but at the end of the day, as much as it pains me to say, the "Staff of Kings" is just a bad game.
This game was supposed to come out on the next gen platforms, but the plug got pulled on those late in the development process. At the time, I didn't think that was a big deal. Developers had done some amazing things with the PS2 at the end of its cycle. Just look at the God of War games.
Maybe a PS3 version wouldn't have been any better, but everything about this game screams "primitive". The graphics are extremely blocky. There are glitches all over the place. Much of the gameplay boils down to mashing a single button. The game is short. It is extremely easy, even on Difficult / Hard mode. Most importantly, it's just missing something. It doesn't really feel like an Indy game.
What's most disappointing is that the last Indy game (Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb) was a fine game. It had fun exploration and wonderful brawling sequences. I played that on the PC, not the PS2, but I'm guessing it wasn't that different.
The game tries to latch on to some of the spirit of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", or "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", but it never really works. Game is set in 1939. Indy if fighting Nazis and a rival archaeologist to find the biblical Staff of Kings. Early on in the game he finds a female sidekick, Maggie O'Malley who will accompany him the rest of the game. While there is a slight twist with her late in the game, she's a disposable character. Story isn't deep, but it's fairly standard Indy fare.
Game is split into basically three types of sequences : hand to hand combat, shooting sequences, and exploration / puzzle solving.
The hand to hand combat is poor, which is too bad because the fighting in "Emperor's Tomb" was a blast. Basically you just mash the "X" button to punch. There is a dodge / counter move. You can grapple and pick up objects. You can also whip items out of enemy's hands, or use the whip to pull them to you, or other objects on top of them. That sounds like a lot of variety to the fighting, but it just feels by the numbers. Indy handles stiffly. You quickly learn the differences between opponents and can easily beat them with a single move (some you can just punch / mash, others you have to dodge / counter).
The shooting sequences are annoying. You can't just pull out your gun when you wish to resolve a situation. Rather, you enter certain areas where you essentially play a shooting gallery minigame. Indy will duck behind cover while a handful of opponents keep popping up to shoot at him. It looks like a carnival game. You have unlimited ammo, so it's just a matter of having some patience and learning the patterns of when your enemies will pop up. These were the most difficult sequences of the game. You may have to go through several waves of enemies. The game has no health packs, as it only restores your health at various checkpoints, so you may have to go play through these sequences a number of times.
The exploring / puzzle solving is probably the best part of the game, but those moments are far too few and between. There is a good sequence where you essentially play a game of Panamanian basketball while being chased around by gigantic boulders on the court. There are a couple of good physics-based puzzles where you have to align items in sequence and cause a chain reaction. For the most part, however, these are pretty obvious and easy.
Otherwise, there are a couple of vehicle sequences. One fairly interesting one has you riding an elephant in Istanbul. For the most part, however, these are bland and feel tacked on.
There are a handful of secret artifacts scattered around the game that allow you to unlock movie clips and new skins (like Han Solo). These are generally easy to find. The game is extremely linear, so you never had to wander too far to find these. I found 37 out of 38 in my one play through. The end of the game is pretty dull with no big revelation. You never get a chance to wield the Staff.
Voice acting is OK. Fellow doing Indy doesn't do a bad Harrison Ford impression. The musical score borrows heavily from the great music in all four movies.
If this game and the last movie are the best they can come up with, then perhaps the good Dr. Jones should stay retired.