Booting up the Xbox 360 version of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, I must admit I was understandably skeptical, as any discerning gamer would be of a piece of software released in tandem with a summer blockbuster film. But upon seeing the Traveller’s Tales logo my spirits were somewhat lifted at the thought of playing another game created by the people famous for making enjoyable LEGO versions of various movie properties. Unfortunately, once the incredibly repetitive combat and puzzle solving began I wondered if perhaps that faint hope was merely naivety towards the strain that a big movie license can inflict on any developer, and so it was with Prince Caspian.

The game is of course based on the second film of the Chronicles of Narnia, which is in turn based on the second book of the series. The story encompasses the Pevensie children’s return to Narnia in order to aid Prince Caspian, whose evil uncle Miraz has seized the throne from its rightful heir. My knowledge of this fable was not gained from the game, as the storyline is told in a very confusing clip show, without any real narration or explanation of the events and characters encountered. However, one who is interested in playing this game has probably either seen the movie or knows the story inside and out, as a fan is literally the only type of person Prince Caspian will appeal to.

Once you begin playing it will be quite evident that this title was made by the guys behind LEGO Star Wars, as it features a mix of puzzle solving and action that does feel familiar. Sadly, the one thing not carried over from TT’s previous titles was the fun. Players will definitely be swimming in shallow waters when it comes to the combat, which even by hack and slash standards is quite rudimentary.

The X button serves as your light attack, A is used for abilities that varies by character, B is for interacting with objects, and the Right Trigger blocks. The controls just listed are as simple as the combat itself since there are no combos to learn and no power ups to unlock save a few weapons that will temporarily increase your damage potential. As the player’s abilities remain static so will the rest of the game, with the same basic type of enemy cropping up throughout the entire campaign. If that wasn’t exciting enough, a lack of increasing difficulty causes the combat to feel like not only trudging through shallow waters, but agonizingly thick mud, making the magical journey a painfully tedious one.

Caspian attempts to throw in some variety with the inclusion of more playable characters besides the Pevensie children, such as dwarfs, Fauns, Giants, and even a tree. No, I don’t mean a sentient kind of tree like the Ents seen in Lord of the Rings, I mean a tree as in the ones those hippies love to wrap their arms around. Getting back to the gameplay, these other characters all posses the same types of skills that the Pevensie children themselves have, such as ranged attacks, fitting in small areas other characters couldn’t, and throwing grappling hook. Cookie-cutter PC’s such as these make any expansion of characters one can play as pretty pointless, as the only real difference is a new 3-D model.

Where these varying abilities do come into play is in sections of the game where the action slows down (well it was always felt slow, let’s just say where the action stops) for some puzzle solving. As the game progresses it soon becomes evident that 95% of all the puzzles merely consist of running off to find a switch or lever to open a door, and it’s the same set of items throughout the entire game. Not only do you know what to look for, but the location of the pieces, and where they belong, are clearly pointed out on the in-game map. This makes solving Caspian’s puzzles feel more like playing pin the tail on the donkey without a blindfold, while at the same time having orders barked at you through a megaphone.