For the first time in the history of Narnia, you are invited to take your very own steps through the magical wardrobe of C.S. Lewis’ masterpiece, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Through the intricate works of technology, Buena Vista Games has begun the journey of crafting an interactive adventure for the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft XBox, Nintendo GameCube, and personal computers.
Unexpectedly nestled in the loud crowd of the Electronic Entertainment Expo in sunny Los Angeles, California, Buena Vista Games has recreated a small part of Narnia for eager spectators to travel. The first memorable steps are through a giant recreation of that mystical wardrobe we have all crafted in our imagination. Immediately, travelers are greeted with beautiful pieces of Narnian armor and weaponry (sadly protected behind beautiful curved glass cases), and the grotesque heads of the White Witches minions. At the end of the wardrobe hall, one is ferociosly greeted by Olmin the Minotaur (the actual suit and animatronic used in the movie). Recreated in splendid detail, Olmin is merely a breath-taking distraction of what Buena Vista is really showcasing.
Though in its early stages, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe video game is a wonderful adventure for all sorts of fans. Though very incomplete at this stage, the game immediately puts you into the shoes of Peter, Susan, and Lucy on desperate attempt to rescue their lost brother. Fighting on a frozen creek in Narnia, the player is able to at any moment switch between which character he/she is using, creating some very dynamic gameplay elements. In this first stage, the three siblings needed to fight off wolves and other nasty creatures while attempting to break through iced up dams (accompanied, of course, by beavers). Doing so involved using regular attacks (Peter’s sword, Susan’s bow, and Lucy’s punches), special attacks (Peter has a power strike, Susan sings a song to put creatures to sleep, and Lucy is able to heal the health of the entire party). Players controlled by the computer fight alongside of the human players, but can be rotated at anytime to vary the battle. Additionally, players must also “team up” with one of the sibling to complete objectives. In this first level, Lucy jumps onto Susan’s shoulders in order to reach high enough to break through the dam.
The second level involves only Edmund and Peter in a fierce battle against Ginarrbrik the Dwarf. Apparently, he’s been crossed and now needs to be put in his place. In order to do this, Peter and Edmund must run around, avoiding Ginarrbrik’s attacks. Eventually, the dwarf will become dizzy and the brothers can tie him to a tree. The brothers then proceed to attack him until he cuts through his ropes, and starts the whole party again until his health his drained. In the final version of the game, players will also need to light Ginarrbrik’s beard on fire.
After the dwarf is defeated, Peter and Edmund are confronted with anklebiters and two giant Cyclops. In order to break free of them, Edmund picks up a torch with which to light bails of hay on fire. Once on fire, either Peter or Edmund can kick the bails into the enemy in order to defeat them.
As you can see, the gameplay is quite varied and will make for excellent cooperation modes. Of note, the games graphics are very beautiful. The artists have accurately modeled the children’s faces, make great use of detail and precision. The games environments are also very well crafted, complete with shimmering ice, blazing fires, and lots of movement on screen. One scene that was particularly impressive was an invasion of Minotaurs against the children. The screen was literally full of the giant beasts, all while retaining very smooth gameplay.
Time with the LWW videogame was limited, as a full crowd of Narnia explorers waited to play the game. To add to the sadness, the exit of Narnia required a march past a museum of frozen Narnian creatures, captured in their despair. All said and done, however, the short adventure through Narnia is one that rekindled a passion for the world of C.S. Lewis. Expect big things with this game and, of course, the movie.
I leave you with an assortment of photographs – expect video, more in-game shots, and additional information tomorrow!