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

Narnia stands as a near perfect example of how to make a movie-based videogame the right way. Everything from the combat system and level design to the game’s visual presentation just scream quality.

A refreshingly good -- albeit a bit short -- movie-based game with a dose of ingenuity and plenty of memorable game-play moments for fans and action-adventure gamers alike.

A beautiful, action-packed game that fans of the genre will find very interesting.

It’s impossible to deny this title’s appeal, with its excellent use of an excellent license, adept implementation of team combos, and picturesque scenery. If you’re a hardcore gamer, you’ll notice the flaws and lack of depth, but even then, Narnia is still likely to weave a spell on you.

If you are a big fan of the movie, your enjoyment of the game, regardless of its weaknesses, will probably be good. However, if you know nothing of the plot of Narnia, the game may very well become a tedious and confusing encounter.

What's here is good -- better than you would expect -- and yet it all feels a little to cookie-cutter at times, and the gameplay tends to deteriorate towards the end. It's a solid licensed game, but minus the license, it's just too average.

Things start off a little dodgy, but in the end this is a fitting game for a film that has so very much to live up to. [Dec 2005, p.64]

There's plenty of puzzling-out what to do next but it's never too basic or too complex. You get a good sense of achievement out of completing chapters and get to regularly unlock new moves for your efforts.

I don't give it my highest recommendation, but fans of the film should be delighted with the game, and the rest of you may be pleasantly surprised by it.

Kids with better patience than adults will marvel at the great visuals and probably forgive any of the shortcomings we have picked out. For starters it’s immensely frustrating in places and perhaps a little on the short side.

A Lord of the Rings clone that's a bit like an ice sculpture: solid and pretty, but doesn't last long. [GamesMaster]

Has a good feel of the world of Narnia in it, but as a game it is rather dull and average. Good fun for the fans of the movie. [Jan 2006]

It’s small on action, has a restricted camera angle and is pretty weak in the challenge department, but the act of working with four different characters to help them save Narnia (and themselves) is pretty fun.

Children might not be too critical of the game's smaller blemishes such as the mind numbing collecting of coins and an often unfair camera that is completely fixed in position.

I can happily recommend Narnia to people who really enjoyed the films, particularly the younger 9-11 age group, but if you really are a fan of the licence and you are older than my recommended age group then just ignore me, because I'm sure you'll love it - and I'm sure you'll really appreciate the snowy adventurous levels, complimented with those classic clips from the film.

The Chronicles of Narnia does have its problems but it also succeeds bringing the movie across to a fairly decent and playable game.

Narnia is a slay ride with Santa Claus level of novelty for big fans of the books and/or movies, but a simplistic, repetitive but sometimes fun fantasy-action game for anyone else. Who are you gonna be?

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.

With its varied mission objectives, well designed co-operative gameplay and highly impressive graphics, it's a joy to play - most of the time.

In spite of all these problems and all the times I threw my controller at the screen while yelling at the fellow Pevensie children for being such dolts, I kept coming back to play. It is engaging, and in parts quite enjoyable.

This console and PC trip through the Wardrobe is a mostly run-of-the-mill action adventure that might hold some measure of appeal to fans of the film, but not so much anyone else.

Narnia makes for a decent adventure title on both systems, but it fails to do anything new or astounding. The game is also on the short and easy side, even with some of the unlockable extras.

As the game wears on, the simple pleasures of the gameplay fade, and the incredibly frustrating boss battles mount in aggravation, leaving us with nothing more than another unsatisfying licensed game. [Dec 2005, p.159]

The incredibly stupid AI is unforgivable and is something that shouldn't be an issue in any game these days.

The game is visually appealing but does also suffer a few problems such as poor AI for your team mates, this is alleviated in multiplayer mode.

A faithful recreation of the world of Narnia, which frustrates and delights in not quite equal measure, but avoids being whiffy. [Apr 2006, p.98]

While The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe does have some issues with the A.I. not being smart enough to help you out when you most need it, it's not bad enough to make this a totally horrible game.

While somewhat interesting in parts, most players will be only marginally amused by the effort, while those who grew up on the source material will be more inclined to come away feeling sadly disappointed.

But while there is enjoyment to be found in co-operative play, the single player aspect ultimately suffers immensely as a result.

A decent start to what will inevitably be a games series.

While the outdoor and indoor locales making up the game’s 15 stages are beautiful to behold, they are limiting in what you can and cannot do, which is disappointing.

I don’t think you can fully appreciate the game without experiencing it in its other incarnations. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some reading to finish.

The melee combat is competent, but when many enemies are onscreen, things turn into a bit of a button-mashing clusterf***.

The four Narnia kids all have skills which complement one another, and they can be upgraded by exchanging the many tokens that can be found around the levels.