In the last two days, I’ve written about the return of the Sam & Max and Monkey Island™ series as part of a revitalization of the point-and-click adventure genre of video games. Now we turn our attention to…

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

One often overlooked entry in the world of LucasArts point-and-click adventures is Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. It is one of the few Indiana Jones games that has actually been good. On top of that, it’s a great point-and-click adventure. Screenshots:

Unlike the Sam & Max and Monkey Island™ series, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis has not been remade in HD, 3-D, or any other D. However, you can still enjoy this incredibly fun game on your Nintendo Wii by way of the new Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings game.

While Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings is a clumsy game crippled by unnecessary Wii motion controls (too much waggling and flailing for my tastes), it comes with the bonus feature of the entire Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

When you first launch Staff of Kings, you’ll see the option to play Fate of Atlantis tucked away in its menus. Unfortunately, you’re required to unlock it by playing Staff of Kings. I tried and became too frustrated with the controls to even get past the first 15 minutes of the game. Fortunately, the generous programmers at LucasArts included a code you can enter to unlock Fate of Atlantis without ever playing Staff of Kings. Here’s the code:

While holding down Z on the Staff of Kings Main Menu, press A, UP, UP, B, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, B

That will instantly make available for playing the full game of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis where you can help guide Indy through a fun adventure filled with artifacts, Nazis, and a few snakes. Unfortunately, you’ll need to enter the code every time you start up the game. Fortunately, it’s easy to memorize.

Playing Fate of Atlantis with the Wiimote is a natural fit and a ton of fun. Staff of Kings is available for purchase for just $37 and, in my opinion, Fate of Atlantis is worth that price alone. You can simply consider getting Staff of Kings as a bonus feature.

What are your thoughts on Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (and all of the other terrible Indiana Jones games ever made)? Comments!

Next up in tomorrow’s post… My wish-list for the future!