Movie-based games no blockbusters

For cinephiles, the summer movie season means crowd-pleasing flicks, buttery popcorn and the spectacle of a Michael Bay-inspired explosion. It's something to get excited about and talk over on message boards. Going to the theater becomes an event.

But for players, that same span turns into something dreary: It signals a new slate of film tie-ins that flood the shelves and disappoint with mind-numbing mediocrity.

Every generation, I hope that the latest batch of licensed projects will be different. I'm waiting for the day when playing a game based on a movie is as enjoyable as watching it in a crowded theater. But each time, I'm disappointed, and this year is no exception.

With "Speed Racer" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," developers Sidhe Interactive and Fall Line Studios take their respective stabs at the category and safely set the bar another inch higher.

That's not saying much given the reputation of movie games. The genre still has a long way to go before it can reach the heights of original fare such as "God of War." But their progress marks a short advance on the long path to respectability. To put it in perspective, these games are just another baby step in an effort to scale Mount Everest.

In "Speed Racer" for the Wii, Sidhe Interactive does a solid job adapting the film to a video game, but that shouldn't have been a problem if you consider the source. The license lends itself

to fanciful courses that loop around like roller-coaster tracks and cars that miraculously stick to the road.

In the campaign, players choose a character from more than 20 different racers that include the title character, Trixie and Racer X. They then pick a circuit in the World Racing League and work their way up, going through three variations of the game's handful of tracks.

The racing is arcadelike and looks like a second or third cousin to titles such as "F-Zero" and "Wipeout." Players have to hit speed strips and rack up boosts they can use to heal themselves or go into the ravelike Zone Mode, which lets the racer travel at 500 mph.

It's a formula that's been tried and works well — as long as fans don't try to perform the fancier, yet worthless Car-Fu moves. Car-Fu, the made-up combat technique from the film, does nothing but slow players down.

The only move worth doing is the shunt, a quick sideways shove, that will help players finish in the top six for racing points.

By far, the biggest disappointment is the lack of online play, which makes "Speed Racer" pale in comparison with the recent "Mario Kart Wii." Putting the two side by side, "Speed Racer's" offerings — the number of tracks, four-player multiplayer — look anemic.

With "Prince Caspian," Fall Line Studios takes a movie based on a novel and molds it into a Japanese-style role-playing game. It's a natural fit for this Nintendo DS title that takes advantage of the handheld's easy-to-use control scheme.

Players move their heroes, talk to characters, use items and check their stats by using the stylus. It's a simple interface, and the lack of numbers and emphasis on symbols makes the game more approachable to the younger set rather than the minutiae-laden "Pokemon." The graphics are on the bland side and don't offer much more than a tiny figure navigating a muddled overworld. It's not until fans fall into battle that "Prince Caspian" separates itself from its other rivals.

When attacking minotaurs and Telmarines, players enter a combat system in which an attack's damage is measured by how well they do in a minigame.

It's a smart way to do real-time combat and makes each attack feel earned rather than a random number generated on a screen.

On top of the decent RPG experience, "Prince Caspian" is also the first game to feature the DGamer service. The program lets players with another DGamer title speak to one another via the Internet or through the PC.

It also lets them create and customize their own avatar and introduces an Achievement-like system linked solely to Disney titles on the Nintendo DS. It's a versatile service that holds a lot of promise for the handheld system.

Reach Gieson Cacho at 510-735-7076 or gcacho@bayarea news group.com. Read his blog at www.ibabuzz.com/videogames.