Was hoping the official review was being overly harsh....
Well, I am a total sucker for a hack-n-slash, level-up while questing RPG, that's why. So, figuring GS was erring on the side of snidely dressing down another film-based game, I found and bought a copy of it used.
Now, again, I love this type of game. I spend hours happily levelling up to uber-strong, in order to face the big boss that is bound to be around the next bend. So....why is this one that I cannot seem to get into?
It has all the correct trappings for the genre: traits that increase as you level up through experience, numerous quests that span numerous areas in Narnia, various weapons and armor upgrades available from the squirrels....I should be spending day and night playing this game.
Instead, I pick it up, play for about a half-hour, then get bored and put it down again. Most of the quests are either extremely simple and obvious (get rid of the baddies at these coordinates), or completely unclear as to what you need to do ('rescue my brother from some unknown place'). The fighting is basic button-mashing for the most part, so that if you have levelled sufficiently you should have no trouble getting through. Saving the game is a touch-screen away (no need to find save points or anything), and a log book keeps track of stuff you've done or still need to do. It has all the mechanics, but is lacking in terms of enjoyment. It's kind of like eating what looks like a pizza, but turns out to be a cardboard cutout with a picture of a pizza on one side. Looks good, but as bland as it can be. What with the repetitive fights, and constant backtracking to complete quests (returning to the person who handed you the quest, which involves remembering exactly where said person was, and hacking through the same baddies to get to them),the entire time felt like it was spent doing chores for characters...necessary, somewhat mind-mushingly dull, and repetitive.
In actual fact, I think this game will likely appeal to younger audiences (at least younger than me), while us....'mature'....gamers are left high and dry.
So, if you are reading this review and thinking 'who's this old fart?', then you will probably like this game.
If, on the other hand, you fondly recall playing the first Diablo when it first came out, you will not be impressed.