The Lion King succeeds where most others have failed.
The Lion King follows the story line of the movie. As such, it should come as no surprise that you will visit many places the movie took you.
This is a platform game which takes you to many places you saw in the film, like the Pride Lands and the Elephant Grave Yard. These places all have their share of interesting enemies, which are all killed in different ways. Some are easy to kill, like lizards which only take a jump, and others are hard to kill, like the many hyenas you will encounter. Gameplay is generally varied. Platform jumping is the main focus, but there is also some puzzle solving. There is alot of interaction with other animals, like giraffes who will let you jump on their heads to gain some extra height. Finding certain insects will let you play a mini game with Timon and Pumba, which can reward you with extra lives.
The key moments from the movie have all been brought into the game. The stampede is even here, in an intense 3D level. Simba gows up after the "Hakuna Matata" level. And last but not least, you fight Scar at the end of the game.
What may be the most surprusing thing here is the difficulty. Though it may seem like it's aimed at children, The Lion King can be very challenging, as it requires precise jumps and good timing.
Many of Simba's buddies make appearences here. Timon and Pumba, Rafiki ans Scar are all here to help or hinder your progress.
The Lion King looks very much like its movie counter part. All the levels are colourful, and every one is well animated. Simba is especially well done. His facial expressions even change depending on the situation he's in. The backgrounds has the same look as the movie, and all other characters are well drawn. The only thing holding this back from a 10 is the frame rate, which sows down a bit during the stampede level.
The sound holds up very well. Most of the songs from the film are featured as background music, and they all sound great. There is also some original music written for the game, which is great too. The sound effects are good, but are fairly simple. What's most impressive is that there are some voice samples from the movie. There aren't many, but what's there sounds excellent.
It's hard to imagine The Lion King as a better game. It's not the most original game ever made, but that's easy to forgive because it's so much fun. Platforming fans should have some fun with this, even if they didn't like the movie.