Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch & Wardrobe

Well worth a trip through the wardrobe

Tags: Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews

Posted by Jake McNeill on Dec 7th, 2005

Title Players
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch & Wardrobe (title page) 1
Developer Publisher Genre Online
Adventure No


I don’t think I’ve ever before reviewed a game based on a movie that wasn’t yet out in theaters. It’s so strange for a publisher to release a tie-in title early in this manner, and often the situation is quite the opposite, with the publisher making the developers scramble to rush the title out the door to benefit from the film’s popularity while it’s still fresh. It’s not the first time it’s happened, but it’s so rare it’s really hard to know what to expect.

In this case, I can only imagine it means the folks at Traveler’s Tales (who most recently brought us the surprisingly good Lego Star Wars) had more than enough time to polish this game up, and it shows. While most licensed games have a pretty bad reputation in the world of videogames, this title stands out as one that actually does justice to its source material (at least… I assume it does), and while most of the game seems to follow in the footsteps of EA’s terrific Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the game actually does have quite a few original features of its own to set it apart, too.


As far as the story goes, I should say I’m very familiar with the book both the game and film are based on, and I can say that the videogame takes some liberties with the book’s story (largely out of necessity – the book doesn’t really have any fighting until about halfway in), but I can’t honestly say just how far the game strays from the film, because I haven’t seen it yet. However, I can say with good certainty that those who haven’t read the book or (upon its release) seen the film will be getting a disjointed story and a lot of spoilers. In other words, this game was made for those who have either seen the film or at least read the book.

The rest of the presentation, though, is absolutely marvelous. The graphics are wonderful, with plenty of really nice-looking snow and great-looking environments, and the game naturally shows brief scenes from the movie (which often fade out to the in-game graphics, much like EA’s Lord of the Ring titles). The only real sore spot in the graphics is the character models, which are pretty ugly, although this is only apparent on the rare occasions where the camera zooms in close enough to give you a good look at them.


The part of the presentation that really shines here, though, is the sound. The game’s soundtrack is absolutely beautiful, most likely using the same soundtrack as the film. In addition, all of the game’s characters are fully voiced by the film’s cast, who did a pretty good voice acting job. Also, every action in the game, from the swinging of fists and swords down to grabbing coins and selecting menu options, is made a little more special with well-crafted sound effects.

As for the gameplay itself, as previously mentioned, the game borrows heavily from the EA Lord of the Rings titles, and like those games Narnia is a linear action-adventure with multiple characters whose abilities can be upgraded over the course of the game. However, unlike EA’s titles, Narnia has plenty of puzzle-solving spread throughout the game, and as often as possible the game tries to throw something new at you to keep the combat from becoming too repetitive.


Another gameplay feature that adds a lot to the mix is the ability to switch freely between the title’s four young protagonists, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Luf-cy… er, Lucy (sorry, had to get in a joke about the old BBC special in here somewhere). Not only does each have unique abilities to use in combat and for puzzle-solving, but in addition any two characters can pair up for specialty moves. In particular you’ll undoubtedly find yourself using Peter and Susan’s team-up ability quite a bit, as it lets you use Susan’s arrows while moving.

As you switch between the four children, those you aren’t playing as are more or less invincible, but at the same time they aren’t very useful, either. They generally won’t seek out enemies to fight, and sometimes may not even fight back when an enemy attacks them. This might not be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that the enemies in the game seem to know which character you’re playing as, and will usually direct most of their attacks on whomever you’re in control of, to the point where you can see them lose interest in the character you’re fighting as the second you switch to another.


This often makes the other three children you’re not currently playing as seem really worthless, not even good as meat shields to hold back attackers while you try to complete a primary objective. On the upside, the game supports two players, but bringing in a second player means one more person who can take damage, so it’s a bit of a trade-off. Still, the option to be able to bring a second person in on the action is much appreciated, as this is the type of game that really works well with multiplayer co-op.

There is one other thing that concerns me about the game, and that is that the challenge level seems a bit high, especially considering the younger audience the title is sure to attract. Still, I’m glad Traveller’s Tales didn’t go the opposite direction as so many developers do and make the game mind-numbingly easy like so many games with a younger target audience.

For the most part, this is a fantastic game that defies the standard rule about licensed games being crappy. Fans of the film are sure to enjoy it, although those who haven’t seen the film (or at least read the book) might be a bit disoriented by the way the game presents the plot. However, that’s a small complaint for a title that otherwise vastly exceeds expectations.

What Works Score
+ Great gameplay with a good mix of combat and puzzle-solving
+ The team-up mechanic is original and works very well
+ The graphics are mostly very good
+ The game's soundtrack is phenomenal 		8.5
What Doesn't
- Character models are ugly
- The narrative is disjointed for those unfamilliar with the story
- The challenge level may be a bit high for the young audience the game will attract
Under the Shrink-wrap
Fans of the film shouldn't hesitate to get a copy of this game. This is one of those rare licensed titles that truly does justice to the movie it's based on.
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