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So like, there's one staff owned by multiple kings? Do they have share it, or? 04 Apr, 2009, 00:55 / 7 comments

By Jason


Thanks to a tipoff by the devoted (despite repeated misspelling of his name) reader "lagomorph," I can point you in the direction of a bunch of new Indiana Jones screenshots hosted by IGN, whose Brutal Legend preview you're hopefully already familiar with. While I maintain the game looks better than its initial glimpses, the screenshots still depict a game low on detail, high on glow, and obsessed with a muted color palette - none of which I'm prepared to blame on the Wii's processing capabilities. All and all I still say the six year old Emperor's Tomb is more visually satisfying.

Still, graphics aren't everything, as they say, so let's hope the actual gameplay gives us a reason to buy the new Indy game (which should be an exciting prospect to most people) and doesn't force the Fate of Atlantis easter egg to bear the entirety of that responsibility.
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7 Comments

  • Lagomorph on 04 Apr, 2009, 20:50…
    Thanks for the correct spelling. :)
    I think it looks a lot prettier then the first screenshots. Lets not nag too much about the graphics though people. I think the game is going to be pretty playable.

    Oh yeah, in addition to Fate of Atlantis, though its not really Mojo related, I just heard Broken Sword 1 got released on Wii too! (Or am I just really really late to hear about this?)
  • QueZTone on 04 Apr, 2009, 18:56…
    why on earth isn't lucasarts producing quality graphics with quality storylines and quality gameplay...

    because they stink.
  • Udvarnoky on 04 Apr, 2009, 01:06…
    Is anyone with me on the actual visual style of this game? Putting aside any sort of technical observations, am I the only one who thinks that this glowy, foggy, grayish look doesn't fit Indiana Jones at all? There should be color and vibrancy. This looks a little too much like Resident Evil with a whip to me.
  • Capn_Nacho on 04 Apr, 2009, 16:14…
    At this point I'm willing to say the game looks really good for a Wii title. There's pretty nice environmental detail and the textures look pretty crisp, though that buzzy glow is definitely a bit too much.

    I agree, though, that the screens we've seen so far don't exactly scream "Indiana Jones", especially since I can't remember anything in the series ever being this foggy (in the middle of the desert, no less.) Especially with KOCS still so fresh in my mind, the look they should strive for is something with considerably more contrast. While I do kind of equate the franchise with a muted palette, they could at least use some complementary colors to liven things up-- as it is the game looks downright monochrome.
  • Udvarnoky on 04 Apr, 2009, 18:33…
    Before Indy4 I don't think the movies had a very muted palette. Certainly they weren't "candy colored" but they had that comic book look to them which I think Indy4 lost in addition to the grit when they chose to go with that processed look with the insanely over-the-top filtering. I don't know if Staff of Kings is meant to look like the new movie (which I think it does) or if it's just the "hip" style for games (it reminds me a lot of Resident Evil or Twilight Princess, or indeed a lot of modern action/adventure games), but I really dislike it. To me it smacks of using tech just for the sake of using it (in this case bloom lighting and smoke effects) rather than because it's actually appropriate to the license.
  • Capn_Nacho on 04 Apr, 2009, 22:07…
    Yeah, fucking everything has that bloom look to it right now because it was an exciting new post-processing effect something like four years ago. I don't know if they actually think real life looks like that, but I truly can't think of a single moment from the indy movies that looks like that, unless you count scenes that were established to be in smoke-filled rooms.

    And by muted, I don't necessarily mean low-contrast, color-corrected smudginess like in KOCS, but the kind of quiet earth tones used in the earlier films. We'll have to play the game before we really know, but SOK looks like it equates that with making the entire thing a blurry, gold-and-brown haze. Not that it looks terrible, but it doesn't look like Indy and it sure doesn't look "real" like I imagine they think it does.
  • jp-30 on 04 Apr, 2009, 01:30…
    Yeah, it's incredibly drab looking.