The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe - The Game follows the storyline of the movie, playing as the four Pevensie children, but interjects extra scenes that give the kids obstacles to overcome. The actors are recreated in pixelated glory, along with many of the Narnian locations that they visit in the film. Though there's not a great deal of variation in the appearance of these outdoor scenes, the game provides enough fun to keep you coming back.

Each of the four kids has his or her own unique abilities. Peter is the great swordsman and fighter, with Edmund nearly his equal. Susan can use her bow and arrow, as well as Mr. Tumnus' panpipes, which allow her to put various beasts to sleep at key moments. And Lucy can heal all of the children, as well as "tame" various creatures -- allowing her to ride on them and control their movements, including their attacks. At various times, you'll have to team up two of the children to overcome gigantic obstacles, and in a nice touch, the game allows you to choose which of the four children you want to play at any time -- and you can switch between them freely.

The levels range from challenging to almost impossible, with very little balance between the two. In one gaming session while trying to finish the game, I went from one level where I only had to play it once to defeat it, to another that had to be played at least ten times before I could get the hang of it.

The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe bears hallmarks of Travelers Tales' last game, Lego Star Wars: loads of unlockable content via replay. Collecting coins and other special objects unlocks additional levels and "making of" featurettes. On the downside, also like Lego Star Wars, there are many cut-scenes that cannot be skipped, no matter how many times you play through them. It's a small qualm, but endlessly irksome.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe - The Game follows the storyline of the movie, playing as the four Pevensie children, but interjects extra scenes that give the kids obstacles to overcome. The actors are recreated in pixelated glory, along with many of the Narnian locations that they visit in the film. Though there's not a great deal of variation in the appearance of these outdoor scenes, the game provides enough fun to keep you coming back.

Each of the four kids has his or her own unique abilities. Peter is the great swordsman and fighter, with Edmund nearly his equal. Susan can use her bow and arrow, as well as Mr. Tumnus' panpipes, which allow her to put various beasts to sleep at key moments. And Lucy can heal all of the children, as well as "tame" various creatures -- allowing her to ride on them and control their movements, including their attacks. At various times, you'll have to team up two of the children to overcome gigantic obstacles, and in a nice touch, the game allows you to choose which of the four children you want to play at any time -- and you can switch between them freely.

The levels range from challenging to almost impossible, with very little balance between the two. In one gaming session while trying to finish the game, I went from one level where I only had to play it once to defeat it, to another that had to be played at least ten times before I could get the hang of it.

The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe bears hallmarks of Travelers Tales' last game, Lego Star Wars: loads of unlockable content via replay. Collecting coins and other special objects unlocks additional levels and "making of" featurettes. On the downside, also like Lego Star Wars, there are many cut-scenes that cannot be skipped, no matter how many times you play through them. It's a small qualm, but endlessly irksome.

The biggest thing the game has going for it is that it does evoke the spirit of the story. Voiceovers from the cast of the film help set the tone, and a surprising amount of the movie's footage appears in the game. While the music leaves much to be desired (it's repetitive and sounds nothing like Harry Gregson-Williams' masterpiece), the game itself has an epic scope and feel. There's a terrific sense of discovery, as the game allows you to act out some of the story's most iconic moments, such as when the four children enter the Wardrobe together for the first time.

Most of Narnia's blemishes are forgiveable, but one that isn't is its ultra-steep learning curve. Frankly, without a walkthrough guide (found online), I doubt I would have had the patience to figure out how to defeat the most difficult levels. Getting the hang of many of the various gameplay mechanics -- which vary as the game progresses -- might just leave you scratching your head in frustration.

The graphics are well done, utilizing the production designs crafted for the film. Whether far away or up close, the characters look fairly realistic. The only downside to this is that the color schemes used for the kids (particularly when they're wearing their fur coats) proves so similar that in a huge melee battle, your character can become swarmed by lots of enemies, making it to lose your avatar amongst them.

Ultimately, Narnia displays all of the usual clues of a too-quickly-created game made to release simultaneously with a movie. It could've used more polish and testing, but it did provide this reviewer enough moments of challenging fun to justify playing it. Purists might wonder if Lewis could be spinning in his grave at the additional material that's been injected into this game, to stretch its gameplay experience, but this is a common convention of the movie-to-game genre and without it, there just wouldn't have been all that much for players to do. (Though the thought of a free-roaming game that gives you the ability to go anywhere you like in the land of Narnia, holds tremendous appeal.)

With a good walkthrough at hand -- and a lot of patience -- The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe: The Game can be not only fun, but a good way of extending your movie-going experience. Players willing to invest re-play time into it will get the most out of it.