Glitches appear like ants at a picnic, and they are every bit as annoying. The character will sometimes get stuck in the scenery, causing you to take unnecessary hits. The auto-lock targeting system might seem like a good thing but at times it's almost impossible to get unlocked from a target, especially when that target is an enemy engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

Enemies will swarm you in seemingly endless waves, and if you can't get yourself free, you'll take a lot of punishment. At times, the camera will also lock onto certain objects and not afford you the best look of the environment. This is often the case when the camera should widen out but stays too close to the immediate action, not allowing you to see the enemies attacking from behind and beside you.

Amidst some of the more exciting aspects of the game there are some redundant and just plain annoying elements. Fighting the same hordes of enemies gets tiring after a while. The boss battles are something to look forward too, as here you'll get to use your weapons in more interesting ways. There is an annoying balancing task that requires you to tap both the right and left shoulder button alternately to maintain your character's balance while navigating obstacles on a beam or ledge. It quickly becomes apparent that this is a default, make-work scenario developed to bridge the more interesting content such as running from a giant boulder, shooting at moving motorcycles, and shooting from a moving streetcar.

The Staff of Kings is a good-looking game. It's got colorful visuals with a great blend of 2D and 3D graphics that always maintain convincing spatial depth. Environments are impressive, and although they aren't entirely interactive, you still get to cop a good feel of the more immediate items. The cutscenes are well produced and manage to convey the ham-fisted storyline. The music is epic, but the voiceovers lack authority. Indy is not voiced by Ford and the lack of charm is obvious. The sound effects are movie quality, but like many of the gameplay elements, you can expect a lot of repetition.

Due to the relative lack of replay value, the Staff of Kings will make a good rental, but it's not ready for a serious commitment.

By Cole Smith
CCC Senior Writer