The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe Review (PC) By Wriggy

8 / 10
19 May 2006 at 18:52

Review by: Wriggy

When CS Lewis first wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, I bet you anything he never thought his marvellous creation would later become a film at the cinema. But he would never have even thought in a million years of it becoming a game which people play on at home for enjoyment.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe may not look like one of those games which you would go out and buy on the release date but now it is below ten pounds I honestly think it’s worth buying.

The main story is that Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy have been evacuated to the countryside because of World War II and they come to live with a Professor and his wife. Then, suddenly the youngest (Lucy) comes across a wardrobe while the four of them are playing hide and seek. Through this wardrobe is the wonderful place of Narnia. In Narnia there are lots of different creatures to meet and fight against as you help defend Narnia from its everlasting winter.

Good things about the game are that the levels are around 10 – 30 minutes long depending on how good you are which makes the game last a while. You can also play the game with a friend with the touch of a button making it easier and funnier (especially when your friend is bad at the game). Also, each of the siblings (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy) has their own special characteristics. Lucy is small so she can get through smaller areas. Lucy and Edmund are also light so they can walk across thinner surfaces (like ice). I also like how there are things to collect during the game which gives the game more life span. There are also things to unlock which include the recordings of the characters and the making of the film and game. The graphics are also quite good for a game based on a film.

Bad things about the game are that the controls are hard to get used to, especially if you’re trying to remember both Player One and Player Two’s controls but after a while you do get used to them. The basic controls are Movement (A, D, W, S), Activate (U), Normal Attack (H), Power Attack (J), Form Team Up (K), Target/Block (Space Bar), Character Select (Left CTRL Key) and Start/Pause (Enter). This may not sound a lot but it takes time to get used to the Activate, Normal Attack, Power Attack and Form Team Up buttons. It is also annoying that you can’t save your progress when in the middle of the level without leaving the game so you need to make sure you have enough time to play on it. Another bad thing about the game is that once you have finished there isn’t much else to do apart from collect the remaining things and to watch the videos you have unlocked.

The levels on the games go in order of the film with the “Air Raid” and “Glimpse of Narnia” being the first levels and “The Great Battle” and “The White Witch” being the last so it basically goes along with the film and barely goes onto any made up bits by the games developers which is great for fans of the films.

Overall, I would recommend getting The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe if you loved the film or the book as it is well worth playing. I wouldn’t particularly buy the game for the PC as the controls are harder to get used to than the XBOX, PS2 and Gamecube versions but it will probably cost you less.

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