The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – PC – Review

For generations the mystical
world of Narnia has been a source of magic in a mundane world. Written decades
ago by author C.S. Lewis, the Chronicles of Narnia tell the stories of an
enchanted land where animals talk, mythical beasts roam the countryside, and
miracles happen. With the release of the recent movie the story of the Lion the
Witch, and the Wardrobe has come home for gamers everywhere. An elegantly simple
game with a variety of options open to players, the Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe is aimed at a younger audience with its limited violence and emphasis
on puzzle solving. Gamers of all ages will enjoy the PC release of the game,
complete with video clips taken from the movie and placed throughout the game.
The voices and music of Narnia are wonderfully done, and if the graphics are not
exquisite the visual effects of the game are still well done.

 

The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe is a fairly straightforward game. The controls are responsive and easy
to manipulate. There are tasks and problems, from combat to navigating mazes,
that players have to overcome. This title has a very distinct feel, much like a
console game. (It is actually easier to play this game when you have a game-pad
style controller for your computer.) Each of the children in the game has their
own role to fill. When the game starts each child has a few talents or skills.
As the game progresses players will unlock additional abilities they can
purchase. Peter, for example, is the warrior among the children. An upgrade so
he deals more damage in combat appears early in the game. There are also
upgrades for all the children, increasing their overall stats. Lucy, on the
other hand, is small and clever. She can squeeze through openings that the
others cannot get past to unlock new areas for your exploration. 

The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe is obviously designed to allow two players to work together. With
cooperation two players can unleash powerful combination attacks using two of
the children for increased effects. Even when playing alone it is still possible
to unlock these moves by positioning your character close to one of the other
children. The AI built into the game is fairly good, keeping the children
together and even helping defend against attackers with a reasonable amount of
skill. When the skills of a different child are required to meet some challenge
the click of a button will allow players to jump between characters. Changing
characters is done “on the fly” without pausing the game, so keep an eye out for
nearby enemies when you swap avatars.

Throughout the game players
will be required to navigate through the world searching for clues and
power-ups. Oftentimes items like coins are hidden inside objects sitting in
plain sight. When players navigate through the mansion early in the game they
can find coins hidden in chairs, end tables, or beds by attacking them. Some of
these objects even hold “secret items,” silver shields with a red lion that are
hidden throughout each of the levels. If you are unable to locate all the hidden
items in a level you can return and explore it again later. Other hidden items
can be found behind puzzles that require specific skills or a little ingenuity
to get past. Ice-covered bushes, for example, can be thawed by a burning branch.
While they are coated with ice they are resistant to damage, but without that
protection they can be destroyed.

 

The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe takes advantage of modern computers’ capabilities to interject scenes
from the movie into the game. If you’ve seen the movie the scenes will be
familiar, some of the most interesting and entertaining pieces of the film.
While this can be a useful tool to pull players into the magical realm of Narnia,
at times it also creates a very disjointed feeling. The video clips are rendered
in high detail. The game itself appears pixilated and polygonal afterwards. The
jarring discrepancies between the two mediums draws attention to the graphics of
the game. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is well rendered, but it is not
visually stunning. The sounds, on the other hand, are very well done. Every line
of dialogue in the game is superb, vibrant with the personalities of the
characters.

The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe is a delightful look into the world of Narnia. Loosely following the
plot of the movie, players can fully explore the mythical country at their own
pace. Each level opens up new challenges, skills, and opportunities for players
to find more secrets and treasures. With scenes from the movie scattered
throughout the game players are reminded of their favorite pieces of the film.
The gameplay is simple, aimed at younger players, with easy-to-learn controls.
While it might not be captivating for hardcore gamers, anyone looking to enjoy
some lightweight entertainment in the world of Narnia will enjoy the Lion, the
Witch, and the Wardrobe.


Review Scoring Details for The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Gameplay: 7.0
The controls are fairly responsive. The camera angle is controlled by the game
and can make things tricky when you go around corners. If you have a gamepad to
hook up to your PC it will make the controls much easier to work with.

Graphics: 7.0
The world of Narnia is rendered in lush colors. The developers have made the
game closely match the movie in terms of style and design. The abrupt shifts
between DVD quality cutscenes and the polygonal game can be a little jarring,
drawing attention to the average graphics.

Sound: 8.0
The voice-overs are done in a large part by the actors from the movie. The
background music and sound effects capture the feel of the world. My only
complaint is that sometimes there is so much going on that some of the more
subtle sounds get lost – and that’s a small complaint.

Difficulty: Low/Medium
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a straight forward, action/puzzle game.
It is easy to dive into the game, including tutorial levels that are
entertaining as well as instructive. The controls are responsive, but there is a
lot to discover in the world of Narnia.

Concept: 7.0
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe doesn’t introduce anything truly new. The
game captures the feel of Narnia in places, but the translation from book to
movie to video game has made for some paradoxical twists. Seeing the children in
combat early in the early stages of the story can seem a bit odd.

Multiplayer: 7.5
Being able to play side-by-side with a friend can be an interesting experience
in Narnia. You can combine your skills with cooperative attacks, but you can
also trip over one another. If you both try swapping between characters at the
same time the results can be chaotic.

Overall:
7.3

Wonderful sounds and a cooperative game-play system help to make the Lion, the
Witch, and the Wardrobe a fun title. The average sound and gameplay might not
help this game stand out, but it manages to capture the spirit of Narnia. If you
are a fan of the books or the movie you will enjoy this game.