Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings is a video game published by LucasArts for the Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, PS2 on June 9, 2009. The game takes place in 1939, following Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and involves Indiana Jones searching for his former mentor Charles Kingston while competing with rival Magnus Völler for the Staff of Moses.

Publisher's summary
''Step into the shoes of the legendary hero, Indiana Jones, in an all new epic adventure! Set in the year 1939, Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ follows the rogue archaeologist on an all-new globe-trotting quest.''

From San Francisco's Chinatown to the lush jungles of Panama, Indy must use his whip, fists and wits to fight through ruthless opposition as he spars with his nemesis, Magnus Völler, in a race for a relic of biblical proportions — the Staff of Moses.

''Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings features completely interactive environments, where players need to call upon their wits and daring to make each spring-loaded environment a weapon in order to dispense of foes in clever and unexpected ways. Also, embark upon thrilling action sequences that remain true to the spirit established in scenes such as Indy's pursuit of the motorcade in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the mine-cart scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the free-for-all aboard the tank in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.''

Characters

 * Marcus Brody
 * Indiana Jones
 * Magnus Völler
 * Maggie O'Malley
 * Charles Kingston
 * Henry Walton Jones, Sr.
 * Archie Tan
 * Suzie Tan
 * Blind Duck
 * Loo Sing
 * Sudao
 * Museum Curator

Locations

 * Sudan
 * Sudan Temple
 * Völler's German camp
 * San Francisco
 * Chinatown
 * Lao Che Lounge
 * Alleys of Chinatown
 * Fireworks Factory
 * Tan's Exotic Exports
 * Archie Tan's Office
 * Secret store room
 * Star of the Orient
 * Panama
 * Jungle Village
 * Ancient Mayan City
 * Mayan combat arena
 * Temple of the Cosmos (Panama Temple)
 * Three Rivers
 * Four Paths
 * Ball court
 * Causeway
 * Planetarium
 * Völler's Panama Camp
 * Turkey
 * Istanbul
 * Sultan's Palace
 * Mosaic rooms
 * Museum room
 * Moseleum
 * Gear room
 * Four statues
 * Sultan's Secret Areas
 * Sultan's Bath House
 * Turkish Gardens
 * Radio room/old library
 * Roman Cisterns
 * Waterways
 * Clock room
 * Nepal
 * Himalayas
 * Jones' Cave
 * Suya Desh (Nepalese village)
 * Temple of the Staff
 * Burning bush
 * Nile room
 * Staff room
 * Odin
 * Paris, France
 * Catacombs
 * German Bunker
 * Treasure Room
 * Bottomless Pit
 * Harem

Artifacts

 * Staff of Moses
 * Jade Sphere
 * Cipher of Meribah

Sudan

 * Gold Ram's Head
 * Nubian Bust
 * Limestone Tablet

Chinatown

 * Chinese Puzzle Boxes
 * Antique Ivory Figure
 * Ancient Alchemical Equipment
 * Ceramic Figures
 * Golden Bowl
 * Bronze Flask
 * Bronze Horses
 * Gold Censer
 * Dog Statue
 * Ming Vase
 * Earthenware Jar
 * Ancient Bank Note

Panama

 * Snake Huacas
 * Ceremonial Arrowheads
 * Warrior Huacas
 * Ceramic Bowl
 * Wooden Figurine
 * Death Mask

Istanbul

 * Khazars Brass Medallions
 * Eastern Empire Official Seals
 * Byzantine Empire Cross
 * Royal Shield
 * Royal Gauntlets
 * Gold Belt Buckle
 * Gold Relic
 * Bejeweled Aigrette
 * Dagger of Topkapi
 * Gold Flask
 * Selim's Water Bottle

Nepal

 * Ancient Lichavi Incriptions
 * Khukri Knives
 * Apocrypha Scriptural Texts
 * Ivory Buddha
 * Jambhala Statue
 * Mask of Bhairava

Odin

 * Orichalcum
 * Fragments of the Mirror of Dreams
 * Solomon's Jewels
 * Germanic Shield

Miscellanea

 * Hip Chen Tong
 * Natives
 * Elephant

Game differences
Each version for the Nintendo DS, PSP, and Wii/Playstation 2 contain significantly different storylines.

The DS version includes Paris instead of Istanbul, while the PSP version includes a level that takes place in Panama in 1922. The PSP version does not contain the Star of the Orient, instead Archie leads Indy to a place in Chinatown where he hid the Jade Sphere after the trolley chase.

The PSP version has more puzzle and action adventure game elements than the Wii version. It has several levels where Indy must defend or fight alongside a partner character. The partner character may help solve certain puzzles.

The DS version includes cipher box puzzles (Cipher of Meribah) & other puzzles that take advantage of the DS microphone feature. The ciphers involve moving a ball of water around a maze to an exit to open a box. The last battle and endings of all three versions are different.

The Wii version includes the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis graphic adventure from 1992 as an extra feature as well as an original co-op mode story.

Game development and release
Previously the game was said to be in development for the PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms as well, and promoted on the LucasArts website to be the first of the franchise to be made under the direction of Indiana Jones creator George Lucas. Also promoted was "Euphoria", an advanced physics engine designed to make objects and characters react in real-time instead of relying on the tradition of preset animations.

The release date of the game was first announced as 2007 before being pushed back to 2008. It was delayed again till 2009 to avoid conflicting with the release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a significant LucasArts project involving George Lucas.

In late January 2009, a trailer for the game was released on the internet, confirming a release date for "June 6, 2009" Nintendo DS, and Playstation platforms. On LucasArts' official mini site for the game, it was revealed that a PS2 release was included for release on "June 6, 2009"

In May 2009, LucasArts released a set of Flash-based games on multiple websites as the Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings Scavenger Hunt to promote the release of the game. Players could complete mini-games on different sites to unlock exclusive promotional content.

Rumors suggested a return of Lao Che from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, including a sign on a wall promoting "Lao Che Cocktails" in the trailer to the game, but Lao himself does not appear in the finished game. Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide was the first source to confirm the game will partly be set in San Francisco's Chinatown area as mentioned in the 2007 trailer and Panama.