So there we are, one evening in New Jersey following up on a snowstorm that came and went quicker than a paycheck in Las Vegas, walking away from the cars and towards the movie theater. Our good administration was treating us to a viewing of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Disney's take on the C.S. Lewis literary classic. If you're not familiar with the plot of the book, let me fill you in. Four kids are shipped away from London when it's torn apart by war. They're shipped to a professor's house, where they find a portal to a magical world through a closet filled with coats. That's odd, really. Last time I looked in my closet, all I found were empty beer bottles Oh, and Jimmy Hoffa.

Anyway, back to the movie. When it was all said and done after about two hours run-time, I looked over at my peers, and immediately they started voicing their disappointment with the film. And, sad to say, I agree. What could've been Disney's chance to make some sort of wondrous franchise felt like to was running by-the-numbers, leaning way too much on special effects and the power of the kids' acting instead of true storytelling. Think of it as Lord of the Rings Lite. Some people may love it (and will probably flame me on in the forums), but, hey, to each their own.

So then I decided to take a casual approach to Buena Vista Games' adaptation of the film, which takes the straight-up action route. In it, you follow the four kids- Peter, Edmund, Susan and young Lucy- as they make their way to the Professor's mysterious home and discover the portal to Narnia. Each kid has some sort of special ability that comes in handy in the game's later stages, which pit Azlan (Aslan?) the lion and his army against that of the White Witch, a devastatingly awful woman who can turn any common folks to stone.

Let me go into a little more details on power. Susan, for instance, packs a mean bow and arrow set, and can get off good distance shots. Lucy works on a smaller accord, working her powers to heal instead of slashing away at enemies. Peter and Edmund pack swords and can rip through enemies with ease. The fact that you can't control Azlan (Aslan?) himself or any of his commanding soldiers is a slight bummer, but, hey, the kids ARE the focus of the story.