The International House of Mojo

Amazon has the cover art for the Staff of Kings Prima strategy guide up:

It seems to me, based both on the quality of the design and precedence on Prima's part, that this could be the cover art for the actual game. I'm guessing that release date is equally revealing.

Update: Online retailers now feature the cover art for the game itself.

Tingler Updates: We've got the large version in our gallery now. We might be the first to do so.

JediMudkip of the LucasArts forums promised a few more gameplay-related answers for us today, and delivered. You can find them all here. I had a couple in there, including most importantly for anyone who played and got fed up with Emperor's Tomb:

Is there a checkpoint system in the game?

Yes, there is a checkpoint save system in the game. Again we've tried to be very careful so that if the player fails a puzzle or combat section that the checkpoint places them back in a position that is fair.

And about damn time too!

There was also good news for UK Indy gamers today (like me), as NGamer magazine published the first decent preview for us Limeys. You can see hi-res scans of the two-page preview here and here, but I'd advise you to pick up the mag if you can, because we're all good people really.

Of particular interest is that it's the first preview to be honest and mention the awful state of the graphics and the dodgy resumé of A2M. This doesn't put off their enthusiasm for the game though.

Oh, and they also mention about the Staff of Moses being in Birmingham. Obviously. That's about as crazy a theory as the idea that you can find Atlantis on Google Earth.

UPDATE: MCV, a videogame trade site and so fairly reliable, has said that Activision has dated Staff of Kings for a May 22nd European Release. This is exactly one year after KOCS, so we need a good SOK this time.

Starting today, Nintendo has added the Commodore 64 to its list of platforms with classic games available for download through its Virtual Console service. The "launch games" are International Karate, The Last Ninja, and Pitstop II.

Why is this relevant? Well, because the original versions of Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders were released for the Commodore, and they are undeniable classics of the system's library, so maybe we'll see them offered at some point? Of course, it's not like any LucasArts game for the NES, SNES, or N64 have been made available, but maybe that Fate of Atlantis bonus feature in the new Indy game bodes well for the future?

Or not. But let us also not forget that the entirety of LEC's pre-Maniac catalog was ported to the C64, including PHM Pegasus, Labyrinth, Koronis Rift, The Eidolon, Rescue on Fractalus!, and yes, even the immortal Ballblazer. The company's earliest development efforts were considered state of the art for their time, and it would be really cool if they found their way to the homes of Wii owners 25 years later. It's also kind of really weird to be reminded that there was actually a time when LEC did nothing but develop original games, and merely licensed the Star Wars and Indy brands to other publishers for quick, risk-free money. They at least seem to be coming full circle in the latter regard.

No, it's not the title of a new game: Eurogamer writer John Walker is re-experiencing the original Knights of the Old Republic and is telling you about it (only first part is up). It's very spoilerish, and also very evil.

Source: Eurogamer

Some site that isn't in English has posted three screenshots from the Nintendo DS version of Staff of Kings. I know nothing about the DS version except that it's presumably going to be a good deal different from the console versions, but based on this incredibly limited first glimpse it actually looks pretty decent.

As pointed out by Brutal!, an interesting rumor by GoNintendo indicates that a Wii port of Brutal Legend may be in the words. Mmm, okay.

The blog also has some info on some LEC games from the same source. The claim is that we will get a LEGO Indiana Jones II by the end of the year. They also report that Battlefront III is in the works, though we of course already knew that, albeit with some confusion about who the current developer is. Hopefully such a lightning fast development of a new LEGO Indy game doesn't translate to a re-release of the first with a Crystal Skull themed bonus level.

Update: GoNintendo have been asked, presumably by one of the many parties involved, to take down the news reported. They've done so. Conspiracy!

Thanks to EvilDevo at TheRaider.net's forum, the official preview of Indy Sok is now scanned and available online in a readable resolution.

There's not that much new information barring how the controls are going to work, but it does strongly hint about the identity of the co-op character on the last page.

"... fans of the franchise can look forward to some senior moments."

Henry Jones Snr perhaps? If so, what LucasArts said about him never being playable before is wrong - Indy's dad was playable in both Last Crusade AND Lego Indy.

For ease of viewing, I've stuck the scans up at IndyJones.net's Previews page.

Pfft, the hacks at Double Fine wish they conceive imagery as artistically pleasing as that boasted by Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, some new screenshots of which are available in the form of some scans of a German magazine preview that a fan over at The Raven (TheRaider.net forums) graciously posted.

Actually though, these screenshots don't look nearly as bad to me. That blurry scans of some tiny magazine pictures do the game more justice than any kind of decently close look isn't exactly a good sign, but, we'll see I guess!

Tingler Updates: Scanner tocksic has very kindly translated the whole thing! Wow!

From this, we can gleam a couple of new points of interest:

The love interest will be journalist Maggie O'Malley, who apparently accompanies Indy throughout the game.

The game will contain new original music compositions. No idea whether it will be a full soundtrack like previous Indy games, or just a few new tunes like The Force Unleashed. We've also no idea who's doing it either.

There will be encounters with characters from previous Indy adventures. Yay!

The article also treats the Fate of Atlantis unlockable as a big, mysterious secret that LucasArts didn't happen to give up last week. It does say that it "won't be too hard to unlock" though. Phew.

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I have no idea what this even means;

The mid-20s growth rate… projected for our direct digital business… Really what it is, it is Pogo, it is Mobile, it is MMOs, it is a series of MSGs, it is ultimately a new MMO that we are going to be launching in joint partnership with LucasArts. And so it is a series of businesses that feel like they have gotten good tailwinds that are growing, Pogo and Mobile in particular.

It's from here.

Update: Ahh, neon_git in the comments has waded through all the gobbledygook and figured that the LucasArts thing being mentioned is just the PC version of The Old Republic.

However, in actual LucasArts news, they won a Writer's Guild Award for the writing in STFU.

Source: Seeking Alpha

Reader "lagomorph" gave me a heads up that a handful of game sites have received a few more screenshots from Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. Check out the seven new gems over at WorthPlaying.

In what is to my knowledge its first public acknowledgment, LEC has offered to gaming site DarkZero the excuse explanation for why the in-house Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings received the business end of a splitting axe:

"We want to bring consumers an Indy experience in 2009 following the successful launch of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008,” comments a LucasArts spokesperson. “The next-gen skus would not be ready for the 2009 window so we made a strategic business decision to end development on PS3 and Xbox 360.

While I've no doubt that the development of Indy was extremely troubled (what else can you really conclude based on the fact that it was announced in 2005?), it's hard to imagine that the team being transferred to The Force Unleashed and the suits' apparent desire to fire everyone and stop internal development ASAP might not have possibly played a role in the game's fate.

Look out for an explanation about the next-gen versions (which could very well turn out to be identical to the one quoted) that is said to be included in the upcoming Nintendo Power preview. The issue of the magazine in question hits American newsstands on the 17th.

Dear LucasArts,

Every so often in life you see that special someone that you think is the one. Maybe you noticed that special girl or boy at your school and always wanted to ask them out, but thought you just were not cool enough. Symbiote Studios is taking the chance and asking you at LucasArts to give us a try. We made one great statue for Sam and Max and now we would like to make one for The Curse of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion.

I think if you guys and gals at LucasArts gave us a shot we could make magic. No other company will treat you like we would. Sure Hasbro might have money and Sideshow might have attractive sales reps, but none of them know more about you than us. We grew up playing your games. We spent hours trying to finish Maniac Mansion only to have our disk corrupt on the last part.

So if you are out there and you get this request please give us a shot!

Sincerely,

All of us at Symbiote Studios

They also ask if fans would email LucasArts about it. I'd tell you to go ahead, but apparently Symbiote Studios's crush is now old and ugly and lives in the dark ages, because after half an hour of searching I can't find their email address. If you're going to have to talk to them, you're going to have to send a regular letter.

Unless someone in the comments knows how to email them, that is.

At damn last, LucasArts have (SHOCK!) updated their website with stuff about Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings.

While the screenshots look a bit... well, you can probably form your own opinion, of most interest is the Fact Sheet for the game. And of most most interest is that (GASP!) Fate of Atlantis will be unlockable!

This is the first time since Maniac Mansion with DOTT that LucasArts have ever given away one of their adventures for free. And with the point-n-click joy of the Wii too!

Also of note is the (WONDER!) Co-operative mode, "with a familiar character never playable before in an Indy game". Dare we guess - Sophia?

Update by Jason: While it really contains nothing not already covered by LEC's long overdue announcement of this game, Nintendo Power has released a scan of the first page of their exclusive preview as a tease.

Update by JP: Joystiq have confirmed that Fate of Atlantis is unfortunately only unlockable in the Wii version of the game.

Source: LucasArts

In conjunction with LucasArts' announcement of the game, Amazon.com has put up new product listings for Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, complete with placeholder box art. The Wii version is listed as costing $49.99, and all other versions as $29.99, with a suggested simultaneous street date of June 2nd.

This being the product listings of an online retailer it should by no means be taken as gospel, but nothing about Amazon's info seems particularly fishy so that date is probably a decent estimate (even with the "Spring 2009" claim appended to the end of the new trailer).

After subjecting your eyes, which had never hurt anyone, to those absolutely god-awful Staff of Kings screenshots, you were probably thinking "Now wait, surely these aren't accurate. Maybe those screengrabs are from the DS version, or maybe photographed from a TV screen? After all these supposed screenshots don't merely look bad for the Wii (which is capable of this), or even the PS2/PSP. No, these look subpar for the Nintendo 64." (Proof: Infernal Machine N64 screens).

So, there's nothing to worry about. Mistakes happen. There's no way in hell that after a six year wait for a new Indiana Jones 3D action/adventure, that LEC would deliver something that looks, to put it charitably, half as good as Emperor's Tomb. Hmm, but wait, did I just see a moderator on the official LEC forums address this when a fan voiced his surely misplaced concerns?

While the Wii isn't the uber-powered system on the processor side of things, I actually thought the screens looked good. They are very indicative of the final game, however.

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings: a $50 Wii port of Fate of Atlantis with an extra feature in the form of whatever shoddy mess we're looking at on LEC's product page.

Didn't manage to nab one of those cool Maniac Mansion posters Star Wars Shop was selling recently? Would you instead like to pick and choose your poster from some of the best cover art to ever grace computer games (and the best games too)? Steve Purcell, William Eakin, Drew Struzan?

Well, intrepid community member extraordinaire Laserschwert has been busy creating a line of dreams downloadable posters to allow you to do just that.

Check it out right now, and weep openly. Is it too late for a calendar?

Gamers Hell have posted a 100MB video of footage from the forthcoming LucasArts / Bioware Star Wars MMO Game 'The Old Republic'.

The first Developer Dispatch: The Making of Tython, with developer interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and breathtaking, never-before-seen concept art. Journey through Tython, the planet where the first Force users assembled and the Jedi Order was established. Discover how writers, artists, designers, and other developers came together to create one of the most essential planets in Star Wars: The Old Republic (5:14).

Click here for more info and the download link. Alternately there's a flash-video version here on the official swtor.com site for the bandwidth conscious.

Source: Gamers Hell

Gamedaily has decided to do one of those lame video game related lists, this one titled "Ten of Video Games' Most Lovable Lummoxes." And who should make the cut but everyone's favorite Department of Death driver Glottis? Maybe it's not so lame after all!

There's been some rumblings (which indyjones.net has picked up on) that the reason LucasArts remains mum on Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, despite its imminent Spring release window, is that the next issue of Nintendo Power is set to reveal all in an exclusive preview of the recently confirmed to still be alive in the form of low-end ports of a cancelled PS3/360 project announced game.

The cover for the March issue of Nintendo Power would certainly seem to corroborate this suspicion. Ignore the implication that Indy will throw an octopus in this game and get excited!

Tingler's Update: It's also worth noting for UK Indy fans that as Nintendo Power is the official Nintendo magazine, the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine may well get it too (just like the recent Brutal Legend preview in both Official Xbox Mags). Indeed, the current issue of ONM is promising 'a very exciting game exclusively revealed' for their next issue.

Update 2: Official Nintendo Mag unfortunately says nope, it's not their big exclusive. Bugger.

I'd like to shove my face into this thing and eat it out. And then I want to come-up for some air, gasp and say "Cake".

Mm, cake.

Thanks to MurraytheChao for the heads-up in the forums!