The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe stays very close to its source material...but that's about all.

With the holiday season comes the slew of big-time Hollywood films and their accompanying licensed products. For gamers this means wading through a sea of mediocre movie games aimed at making a quick buck. Thankfully, The Chronicles of Narnia isn't one of these cookie-cutter gaming experiences, although it does fall into a few of the dreaded movie-game cliches (like loads of lengthy clips from the film). Based closely on the movie of the same name (which is, of course, based on C.S. Lewis's classic series of children's books), The Chronicles of Narnia is an enjoyable if unremarkable cooperative action-adventure title that takes its cue from other surprisingly decent, multiplayer movie-to-game adaptations--like Shrek 2.

Once Upon a Time
The simplistic and straightforward gameplay is understandably geared toward younger audiences, and probably won't appeal to older gamers who aren't fans of the film or feeling nostalgic about their favorite childhood story books. That said, Narnia sports enough variety in its four heroes and their distinct skills to make it a satisfying adventure.

The aesthetic presentation is appealing enough, with bright, pleasant visuals, a motion picture soundtrack, and a responsive control scheme that only suffers when selecting targets for Susan's projectile attacks. Plus the basic group fighting sequences are punctuated with a few fun segments like hiding from an approaching foe or racing downhill on an avalanche, and help ward off the monotony.

Into the Closet
Despite the overall quality of the game, there are a few problems in the land of Narnia. The difficulty can leap to disproportionate heights in a few odd places, and sometimes it can be difficult to realize what needs to be done in order to advance. The between-level load times are also slow, but the greatest concern is the unhelpful and idiotic friendly A.I. that leaves you alone, fending off hordes of attacking wolves while your siblings stand stupidly by. Although it may not match the majesty of the books, The Chronicles of Narnia is still a solid choice for a group of younger gamers.

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