SEGA reveals info on The Golden Compass.
Filling this year's obligatory fantasy film slot at Christmas, is a movie based on Philip Pullman's excellent The Golden Compass (a.k.a. Northern Lights for us Brits). SEGA's developing the equally obligatory video game tie-in and has today divulged both platform and gameplay details for the title.
Players take on the role of either Lyra, the young girl at the centre of the story, or Iorek Byrnison, a powerful armour-clad polar bear. Playing as Lyra, the focus is on exploration and item-collecting, as well as evading and deceiving your way through a variety of confrontations. Lyra also has the ability to use her daemon pal Pan to solve certain puzzles and interact with different elements during her quest to rescue a kidnapped friend.
Iorek sees gameplay switch to a more combat-heavy style. Carrying Lyra on his back, Iorek battles against enemies using special attacks. The game features 13 different locations - including all-new environments that don't appear in the book or film - alongside the likenesses of the film's cast.
SEGA's The Golden Compass is currently slated for a December 2007 release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP and Nintendo DS. Development on DS is being handled by A2M, while Shiny Entertainment (developer of Enter the Matrix) is responsible for all other versions.