You'd think the portable version of a movie game would be a quick hack job slapped together to coast along off the fumes of the console version, but here's yet another nice surprise from developer Amaze - the DS version of Eragon offers up yet another combination of events based on the Christopher Paolini book, which allows for a brief but challenging overall experience. If you're looking for a nice companion piece to the upcoming film then you're going to like what's on offer here.

The game is an action RPG rather than the turn-based affair on the GBA, with nice looking 3D environments and enemies. While not as lengthy as the GBA version, you get great usage of the touch screen in the game's magic system and a quest that's fun enough to recommend to those not familiar with the book series or upcoming film. The interesting thing about all the portable versions of the game is that playing them one after the other makes for decent enough introductions to the world of Alagaësia to forgive a few storytelling and gameplay issues.

Before we get underway, here's a bit of editorial musing on licensed games. For the record (and to address those that automatically bash anything that's not 100% accurate), it's both impossible and impractical to make a game or film exactly like the book it's based on. That is, unless you want to bore the casual audiences with every single bit of dialog or add unnecessary padding between plot points. Here, you get the basics of the story in some stylized cut scenes that segue into gameplay before moving onto the next area. In the end, Amaze has done a good job in condensing events from the book into portable playable form. Considering they worked on the GBA and PSP versions simultaneously (and all three titles feature drastically different gameplay), you have a set of programming jobs that should be commended. Another thing to consider is the simple fact that anything based on a literary source, be it a film, game, or even a piece of music, is merely a tease. If the product is a good tease then you'll be more inclined to seek out the source material. If it's a bad tease, you're going to walk away disappointed and pick something else up instead. Even the best licensed games, movies and soundtracks are merely shorthand, even if they add elements not found in the original work.

In the game you play Eragon, a young boy who discovers his identity as a Dragon Rider after he finds a strange blue stone in a forest. That stone turns out to be a dragon egg that hatches and brings a female blue dragon named Saphira into the world. The gameplay is familiar third person action with plenty of sword, bow and magic combat, with a few puzzles here and there for good measure. You can also control Saphira in brief flight sections, using the touch screen to gain her assistance at certain points during the game, and later on to warp to areas you've already visited. The combat is well done, with strong and weak attacks, blocking, dodging and jumping coming into play. You can also use the A button with strong or weak attacks to deal out additional damage during combos. The game uses familiar elements from the genre, such as collecting health and magic upgrades (Dragon Teeth and Dragon Scales) to extend your life and magic bars, as well as weapons, magic and combat that level up with usage.

You begin with a cheap dagger and a few basic battle moves, but as you slash and slay you level up and live to fight another day. You need to use the L button to lock onto enemies, tapping it to swap between multiple foes. Arrows can be fired in either first or third person mode using the touch screen, depending on whether you're locked onto a target or not. If you're wounded, items such as small herbs and gems can be collected and used automatically while larger herbs and magic restoring gems can be collected and stored for later use. Here you need to draw out symbols in order to use inventory items, an odd touch that works quite well nonetheless. It takes a little while before you get to use your first spells, but once you get them that touch screen gets even more of a workout. You eventually learn seven spells, from Lightning Strike to the aptly named Bone Break, which offers up a twisted way to bump off enemies weak or strong. The spell symbols are easy to draw out and activate in real time, but you get an additional edge thanks to the option to freeze time briefly. This makes taking on multiple foes in tight areas a bit less overwhelming and adds a nice bit of strategy to the game, since the magic timer needs to recharge between spells.

Amaze have created a solid 3D engine that shows off some nice looking characters and environments, although the color palette tends to run toward rustic shades of brown or green with a bit of blue and gray mixed in for good measure. It's not a bad choice considering how well it works, but some caves and outdoor areas with dense foliage may seem a bit dark. Character animations are very well done, with Eragon having a nice set of offensive and defensive moves. The camera behaves decently unless you're trapped in a corner by enemies (never a good thing) and have to watch it wig out briefly while you try to work your way out of danger. That stylized hand drawn and colored art used for cut scenes has a sort of storyboard look to it that lends a nice feel to the presentation. The game's audio is very well done, with solid sound effects and a memorable, wonderfully effective soundtrack that could have used a few more tunes piping out of the DS's speakers. If you're not playing the game on the road then it's worth finding a nice comfortable chair at home and using those DS headphones you have stashed somewhere.

While it's pretty linear and you can get through the game in about six to eight hours, younger players and those who don't go the walkthrough route will find it enjoyable to tackle the game at their leisure. Since it happens to be part of a longer overall storyline, the ending may seem abrupt to those who want complete closure before the end credits roll. However, given that Paolini''s tale has at least one more book to go, it would be nice to see more games coming out of them, provided they're a bit longer and add a few more features. I've been dwelling in the land of Alagaësia for the last two weeks or so, playing through no fewer than five versions of Eragon and I'm surprised and pleased at how the games have turned out. While not 'game of the year' material, there's definitely enough here to pull you away from the real world for a stretch, and that's exactly what gaming should be all about.

Reviewed by Greg Wilcox for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).