metacritic.com: Golden Compass, The (Nintendo DS)

Golden Compass, The (Nintendo DS)

The Golden Compass follows the screenplay adaptation of the first book in the acclaimed trilogy, capturing the fantasy adventure set in a parallel world where giant armored bears rule a kingdom, beautiful witches fly through the frozen skies, and human beings' deepest essence is manifest as talking animals that remain their faithful companion for life – their daemon. Players can assume the role of Lyra, a young girl, along with her daemon Pantalaimon (Pan), as she journeys through the frozen wastes of the North to rescue a friend kidnapped by a mysterious organization known as The Gobblers and winds up on an epic quest to save not only her world, but ours as well. Gamers can also take on the character of Iorek Byrnison, a great armoured polar bear who joins the quest. As Lyra, players use their daemon and collaborate with in-game characters, collecting special items in order to explore, evade, and deceive their way through confrontations with the Gobblers, the Magisterium, and the horribly dangerous spy fly to find her friend. They can also do battle as Iorek with special attacks and a riding mechanic as he protects Lyra during the journey. Gamers can unlock secrets and mini-games using a mysterious, truth-telling golden compass device called an alethiometer. Players can explore 13 vast locations, including all-new breath-taking environments not seen in the film, on this massive journey of collaboration, exploration and the eternal struggle between good and evil. [Sega]

Sega
Action, Adventure
Players: 1
E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)
Developer: A2M
Released December 4, 2007

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

43 / 100

Critic Reviews

68	Cheat Code Central As a children's game, The Golden Compass offers hours of fun with controls that aren't too complex, yet tasks that are challenging. With its 10+ rating, the game does offer some educational value and enough fun to keep kids interested.
50	Worth Playing It is a great disappointment that The Golden Compass for the NDS should be so sub-par.
50	Pocket Gamer UK A side-scrolling adventure based on a great book, with platforms, fighting and puzzles to negotiate. Some levels are fun, as is the touchscreen alethiometer, but a few good puzzles aside it's nowhere near as good as it should have been.
41	n-Revolution Magazine UK Something so workmanlike out of something that was so very inventive. [Issue#19, p.88]
40	PALGN Not even the most dedicated fans of the movie will find this game to be of any interest. Children's game or not, The Golden Compass is well below par and not worth your money.
40	IGN Since the story has to be read through terrible talking heads, it would be far more enjoyable to just pick up the book. Then the reader can use their imagination to picture characters that don't look deformed, environments that aren't even blander than real life, and action that isn't repetitive and unfulfilling.
20	Games Radar Can’t Sega even be bothered to finish making the game before trying to pawn it off on us? Placeholder graphics, unfinished textures and sloppy physics are just a few of the sadistic treats this game has to offer - and the suck doesn’t stop there.

CLOSE THIS WINDOW