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

17_1Based on the fantasy book by C.S. Lewis and the 2005 movie with the same name, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is immersive, fast-paced, and filled with action and cool imagery. The action takes place during World War II, and you join several children – Peter, Edmund, Wendy and Lucy – as they are whisked away to a remote mansion for their own safety. Amidst the numerous empty rooms, a large wooden wardrobe is found, and through this wardrobe lies a magical gateway Narnia.

In essence, Narnia is a third person action adventure game where you get to play as several characters. Peter is the eldest and is certainly the best fighter of the group, utilizing swords and tree branches for melee attacks and combination strikes. Edmund is also a melee fighter who has access to all of Peter’s abilities, but he just never seems to be a strong as Peter. Wendy is the ranged fighter of the group, using a bow and arrows to attack enemies from afar, as well as using her horn in certain sequences to aid your party.

While you will certainly use all four members of your party, many levels will force you to make use of only one, or perhaps two of the children, which certainly forces you to make use of everybody’s abilities. The abilities are implemented in a fashion similar to Fantastic Four, whereby little icons appear on the screen with the proper child’s picture, giving a hint as to how the child needs to act in order to pass an area. For instance, Edmund is the only child capable of climbing, and in certain areas his climbing is necessary to advancing in a level. When this happens, his portrait will appear, along with which button needs to be pressed in order to activate his ability. Wendy’s horn ability is needed in various areas in order to unlock hidden items or perhaps to help put surrounding enemies to sleep. Knowledge of where each button is located, as well as the ability to use them swiftly is needed to advance.

6_1The combat of the Narnia is certainly one of the most prevalent and important parts to the game. The boys both utilize the same melee attacks; a standard attack and a more powerful attack which drains an energy bar. In addition, there are a number of combination moves which can be bought and range from a spinning attack to a series of attacks which kill an enemy in one strike. There are also teamwork abilities which require assistance from one of the other children and some of these abilities are actually required to advance in the game and range from powerful combat moves, to destructive throws that remove obstacles from your path.

Narnia is definitely a game which requires you to pay attention to your surroundings. From the various destructible barrels or statues, to the icons which appear indicating you need to use a certain character, this is a game which relies on fast timing and some decent reflexes. In one sense, this game can feel a bit of a throwback, requiring multiple replays as you die again and again until you finally attain victory.


System Requirements: Pentium 133 MHz, 32 MB RAM, Win95


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