AMN's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
The Golden Compass follows the story of the book and newly released motion picture. You play as Lyra Belacqua who is out to save her uncle. She isn't alone because she is accompanied by Pan, her animal daemon, and Iorek, an armor wearing polar bear. You explore different locals in the game that follows in the footsteps of the movie.

What's Hot
Fans of The Golden Compass are sure to recognize how the video game takes cues from the movie. Lyra, Iorek and the lot all look like their movie counter parts. Truth be told, The Golden Compass is a game aimed at youngsters. Children under 10 years old are sure to find a lot to enjoy in being a spunky young hero and a giant polar bear.

There are also some instances where you have to complete mini-games to progress. While there are many of the overused button timing sequences, some of the original mini-games, like when you first start trying to "deceive" others, actually break-up the action nicely. The pratfalls some of the enemies will take will give kids a chuckle here and there.

The musical score that plays in the background fits the feeling of the game nicely. The soundtrack is really the shining star of the game. Actual movie footage was a nice bonus to see.

What's Not
The Golden Compass falls where other game-movie tie-ins fall: the rush to meet an impossible deadline. It is obvious from the beginning that corners had to be cut and care was not taken with the license. The dialogue and script for the game is downright laughable, no emotion in the voice overs and the writing is plain bad. The sound effects "clink" and "clunk" their way through your speakers, which will have you cringe. When text appears on screen, often there will be a number of boxes overlapping to make the screen look like a jumbled mess.

Gameplay and control fall in the same trap. Platforming and exploration sections are cookie cutter affairs. Controlling the polar bear Iorek is like flying a dragon in Lair – large, unwieldy, and not fun, plus the combat is repetitive. The visuals were made for the lowest common denominator because it looks like a PS2 game with slightly better looking textures.

Final Word
The Golden Compass, the book, has received more critical praise than it can count. Unfortunately, the same doesn't hold true for the movie or the video game. The reason why the game didn't come out well is simple, movie-games usually forced to agree to an impossible deadline. Corners were cut everywhere and it shows. With a book so full of imagination, it is disappointing to see the game turn out the way it did. Youngsters are sure to thoroughly enjoy the game and not care or notice the negative aspects all that much. All they will care about is when can they beat up more wolves as Iorek.