Reviewed by David J. Gralnik

*Note* Images in this article are from other versions of the game

Video Games based on feature films are a very special, common, and (more or less) hated breed. Despite the fact that they have seemingly infinite assets at their disposal, they seem to constantly fall short of the films that they represent. On a completely different (and lower) tier rests the handheld film-to-game adaptation. With even more microscopic budgets, and with half the retail value, these versions typically get the developmental short end of the already stubby stick. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, somewhat transcends the unfortunate pattern of mediocrity by at least having aspirations for something better – a true RPG with interesting combat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do any one thing particularly well, and it is obvious that all of the focus went into the combat system while – on many levels – completely ignoring the other integral part of an RPG – exploration.

Prince Caspian follows the feature film’s two parallel stories – Caspian’s escape and the Pevensie’s (the kids from the first film) return to Narnia. That is all that will be said of that – go read a book.

The game’s combat attempts some interesting mechanics. The best way to describe it would be the perspective of a turn-based RPG fight, but it is in real time. The player clicks on one of his/her party members and selects the enemy that will get the business end of a bow, sword, etc. What is unique is that while that character initiates their attack, the player can simultaneously select another character and create overlapping attacks. Each attack prompts a mini game that will have the player doing various touch screen antics. This is actually pretty neat and makes combat more tactile. Now, after each attack, there is a waiting period, and this adds to the strategy because time management becomes a factor. The potential of this combat system, while pretty high, is squandered by the fact that the game is both too easy and not programmed particularly well for the touch screen. I consider myself somewhat of a touch screen wunderkind, and I had trouble selecting a specific character on more than one occasion, and, naturally, this wreaked havoc on my battle plan.  The battles are in 3D, and they look reasonably good. This is pretty much where the positive aspects of this game cease.

The rest of the game is rendered in an isometric, two-dimensional perspective. If you have played Diablo (the first one), you will know what to expect from the graphics, and that is not a joke. Granted, Diablo holds up remarkably well, but it also looks better than this game. The biggest problem is with the collision detection. The game loves to force the player to navigate through forests. If getting stuck on every bit of flora and fauna weren’t a very serious concern, then this would not be a problem, but, unfortunately, it is. Adding to the navigation concerns, the characters walk entirely too slow, and there is no run button. The game is already pretty short, but artificially elongating an already short game by throttling the player’s movement speed is unacceptable.

Many of the game’s “cut-scenes” (if they can be called that) are told by rotating the DS vertically. Get it? It’s like a storybook. I cannot find the example now, but there were grammatical errors – buyers beware! Maybe if they would’ve taken a couple of people off of storybook detail they could have fixed the over world navigation and maybe, just maybe, added a run button.

Prince Caspian is a game that apparently aims higher than most film-to-game translations, but aiming is not hitting. If the next game in the series can make the necessary changes (and add a run button), then the future may hold a legitimate RPG for Narnia fans. Until then, all that stands is a below average patchwork of RPG tropes without any real follow through.

5/10