The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian review

We all know Traveller’s Tales are very good at making whacky games like Crash Bandicoot, Lego Star Wars and recently Lego Indiana Jones - with Prince Caspian they’ve had to reign the sillyness in to make a game that’s got very similar mechanics to the drop in-drop out gameplay of Lego games but also something with the epic feel of the movie.

If you haven’t seen it, the foppish Prince Caspian is helped by the Pevensie family and a menagerie of beasts to save the kingdom from the rule of the evil King Miraz. Cue some fairly long levels set around castles, beaches, caves and forests with plenty of hacking and slashing, simple switch flicking and puzzle solving and switching of characters with the touch of a button.

It all looks very nice and there’s a fair few characters to play as, each with their own abilities. The problem is, being a fully-grown man, the game doesn’t really entertain on a level higher than a ten year old would enjoy - a pity when I know they can do this with Indy and Star Wars. It’s all a bit confusing too - I haven’t seen the movie and the live action cut-scenes almost give you whiplash by rudely interrupting and confusing you between missions.

To progress through the game you have to use teamwork, either with an AI partner or a friend. You have to stand on platforms at the same time, flick switches and keep each other’s torches lit in dark caves. Opening chests for bonus items is a nightmare though with far too much button bashing to get them open. I think they’ve slightly overdone the God of War mechanic here.

It feels like I’m playing just a re-skinned version of the Lego franchise with none of the charm and humour. The game’s functional but not anything to get incredibly excited about - a bit like owning a Ford Mondeo. Prince Caspian gets 6 out of 10.

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