Zathura: Adventure Is Waiting E3 2005 Preshow Report

You'll definitely be hearing a lot more about Zathura: Adventure Is Waiting in the coming months, as this upcoming console and Game Boy Advance game is based on the upcoming motion picture from Columbia Pictures. The movie, directed by actor/director Jon Favreau (Elf, Swingers) is based on the best-selling children's book by Chris Van Allsburg, and it's about the intergalactic journey that two brothers undertake after they discover a mysterious board game.

Evil robots are your friends.

Naturally, as with any movie-related game, you can expect Zathura the game to correspond fairly closely to the movie. You will play as either Walter or Danny (the brothers), or as a rampaging robot, and each character has unique strengths and abilities. Your ultimate quest is to find your way back home. In the book, this required the brothers to put aside their sibling rivalry and work together, and the game should offer a similar mechanic where each brother must use his unique ability to help them survive each challenge.

The game has 15 levels spanning the book's universe, including some that are only hinted at in the movie and book. There will be more than 36 enemies in the game, including the lizardlike Zorgons, menacing robots, and other space creatures. Zathura will ship for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance in October.