The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is a video game based on the just-released film of the same name, which is, in turn, based on the classic book series from C.S. Lewis. The game is a basic fantasy adventure with plenty of puzzle-solving and some light combat. It closely follows the events of the movie and actually uses quite a bit of footage from it to set up and close each stage of the game. As a result, you might not want to play this game until after you've seen the film, lest you run the risk of spoiling the plot. Even if you haven't seen the movie or read the books, you'll still be able to appreciate some of the interesting and varied levels, each of which present unique challenges that require you to utilize the special abilities of each of the four playable characters. This isn't a basic hack-and-slash platformer, as it actually requires a bit of critical thinking, which is a nice change of pace from the usual game based on a movie license. That said, there are still plenty of better, family-friendly, action adventure games available, and unless you find the Narnia license to be especially appealing, there's no reason to go too far out of your way to play it.

Oh great, another game based on a family film...

If you're interested in the game, then you're probably already familiar with the basic storyline. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is based on the Disney movie of the same name. The game follows the events of the movie and actually uses quite a bit of footage from it to set up and close each stage. Even if you haven't seen the movie, it doesn't take long to get the gist of what's going on. You can play as any of the four Penvensie siblings: Peter, the older brother; Susan, the older sister; Edmund, the younger brother; and Lucy, the younger sister. One day, while playing hide and seek, young Lucy wanders into a magical wardrobe that transports her to the fantasyland of Narnia. Eventually, all of the children end up in Narnia, where they embark on an epic adventure to save the world from the evil White Witch. The story is filled with your basic fantasy standbys like ogres, Minotaurs, dwarves, and talking animals.

There are 15 levels in the game, although some are fairly small. For example, one entire level is a boss fight. Depending on which level you're playing, you'll be able to play as at least two of the four children, although some levels require you to use all four. This is because each character has special moves and abilities that are required to overcome certain obstacles. Peter is the strongest of the bunch, so you can use him for fighting off enemies or breaking through barriers. Susan is your ranged attacker, and she can throw snowballs and tennis balls, as well as use a bow and arrow. Edmund is a decent melee fighter, but he's also light and athletic enough that he can climb trees or posts and walk on delicate surfaces like thin ice or weakened floorboards. Lucy is small, so she can crawl through small passages to reach areas that the other children can't. Lucy can also charm animals and use them to attack, and she can use a first-aid skill to heal all the children.

But wait, this one is actually pretty decent.

You can switch between the characters at any time with a press of a button, and you'll often have to do so to complete various challenges. In one boss fight you'll have to attack the boss with Peter, then use Lucy to climb on the boss' back to distract it, and then have Susan take out the dwarven archers that attempt to shoot Lucy off the boss' back. It sounds complicated, but once you figure out what you have to do in a given situation, it's fairly easy to manage all of the characters.

There are also tandem abilities that require two of the children to team up. When you move close to a character you can press a button to initiate a cooperative attack. You can team up with Susan and Lucy to slide Lucy through breakable barriers or to fire a volley of flaming arrows into the air. Also, Peter can grab Edmund and swing him around to inflict radial damage or to break down tough barriers. There are multiple different cooperative attacks for each combination of characters, although most of the challenges don't require you to use cooperative attacks at all.