The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe [PS2]

Check out the exclusive movie clips on Yahoo! Movies.

You knew this one was coming -- a video game based on the movie, based on the book -- Buena Vista Games' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is an action-adventure title that lets gamers explore the popular fantasy world crafted by C.S. Lewis and on its way to the silver screen next month by Disney and Walden Media.

As movie-based video games go, especially ones peppered with dozens of cut-scene sequences from the film, Chronicles of Narnia is a surprisingly good game that does more than just rely on its name and convenient timing with the feature film.

For the uninitiated, four siblings -- Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy -- accidentally stumble upon the fantastic but dangerous world of Narnia after climbing into an old wardrobe in a spare room. The portal leads them to the frozen land suffering an eternal winter at the hand of a malevolent White Witch and its legions of followers. Players will face off against a wide range of evil creatures that range from wolves and bats at the beginning of the game to tougher mythological beasts, such as Cyclops, Minotaurs, Centaurs, Werewolves, and armies of Wraiths and Satyrs.

Players who control the Pevensie children must take advantage of their unique skills to solve puzzles and battle baddies. For example, Peter, the oldest and strongest of the siblings, is the best to lead in a fight or when faced with an obstacle that needs smashing to bypass. Susan is better at ranged combat whether it's tossing snowballs (or in their house, tennis balls) or shooting arrows from afar. The athletic Edmund is used to climb trees and poles that his siblings cannot. And the youngest of the bunch, Emily, can squeeze into hard-to-reach places (such as small cave openings or in little nooks in the house) and heal her brothers and sisters when needed.

A RPG-like element lets gamers upgrade each of the siblings' skills (or acquire new ones) once a certain number of coins are collected, which are scattered throughout the many indoor and outdoor locales. This is performed by pausing the game, and then entering the Inventory screen to purchase the new or upgraded abilities for the desired Pevensie child.