The Golden Compass (Xbox 360)

Discuss Review + Want + Have Contribute

Description

The Golden Compass is an adaptation of the 2007 movie of the same, which in turn is based on the novel Northern Lights, the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy by British novelist Philip Pullman.

The game is set in a fantastical parallel universe where the soul of person resides out of the body and lives in the form of animals known as dæmons. The main character is Lyra Belacqua. Her best friend Roger is kidnapped by evil Gobblers and her uncle Lord Asriel is imprisoned when he discovers evidence that proves the existence of Dust particles, much to the dismay of the Magisterial representatives who rule the world as a dogmatic theocracy and do not allow people to contradict their doctrine. Lyra has to leave the safe haven that is Jordan College in Oxford to right the situation.

In typical 3rd-person action gameplay, Lyra needs to navigate the different environments. She excels at moving around with acrobatic actions and when enemies appear she relies on her wit, hiding behind objects or searching an escape route. When she is spotted, she can use one of the four collectibles to escape from a tricky situation. Health is represented as "courage" and a large extent of courage helps solving the puzzles. She can also play a Deception mini-game to outwit characters and gain additional courage.

Two other characters provide assistance her during her quest. The first is Pan, Lyra's dæmon and the manifestation of her spirit. Pan can transform into up to four different forms, gradually discovered during the quest. The basic Ermine form allows Pan to chew through ropes and reveals the areas where Lyra needs to solve puzzles or move around. The Sloth form introduces swinging to grab hold of branches or reach areas hard to access. The third form, Hawk, lets Lyra glide from great heights. She can also send out Pan in this form to retrieve objects at difficult locations. The final Wildcat form has Lyra slide down from special surfaces, climb nets and it provides a dash move to evade enemies.

Brute strength is represented by the second support character Iorek Byrnison, an armoured bear known as panserbjørne. He has most of the physical attacks. Next to health (replenished by bloodmoss) he has an armour gauge, filled up by gathering sky armour. Collected rage orbs fill up a rage meter, which introduces a special attack when maxed out. Pan is always by Lyra's side, while Iorek joins the party later in the game and he is not always present.

Lyra's journal stores her tasks, information about key locations and a section for the Alethiometer, the golden compass. It is a device that reveals the answer to any question when operated by a trained user. It contains four needles - three to construct a question and fourth for the answer. To ask questions and solve puzzles, Lyra needs to play the Divining game. It consists of three sessions where Lyra needs to match symbols to keep the focus (a circle of light) centred on the device, by pressing a key or button to spin a hand in a timely fashion. The meaning of the different symbols is revealed during the course of the game, by interacting with objects and characters. Conversations often introduce mini-games to keep the talking going.

Each of the characters can pick up objects that grant new abilities such as new forms, a slow spell, double damage or more insight into the workings of the Alethiometer.

Screenshots

There are no Xbox 360 screenshots for this game.

There are 50 other screenshots on file for other versions of this game.

Alternate Titles

• "Золотой компас" -- Russian spelling
• "Złoty Kompas" -- Polish title
• "La Bussola D'oro" -- Italian title
• "La Brújula Dorada" -- Spanish title
• "Kultainen kompassi" -- Finnish title
• "Der Goldene Kompass" -- German title
• "À La Croisée Des Mondes : La Boussole d'Or" -- French title

Part of the Following Groups

• Inspiration: Movies
• Physics Engine: Havok
• Protagonist: Female
• Theme: Steampunk

User Reviews

There are no reviews for this game.

The Press Says

Game Chronicles	Dec 29, 2007	7.8 out of 10	78
GamePro (US)	Feb, 2008	3.75 out of 5	75
Cheat Code Central	Dec 16, 2007	3 out of 5	60
Computer Bild Spiele	Jan 02, 2008	3.19 out of 6	56
Jeux Vidéo Network	May 17, 2009	11 out of 20	55
GameSpot	Dec 11, 2007	4.5 out of 10	45
Gamer 2.0	Dec 10, 2007	4.2 out of 10	42
TeamXbox	Dec 12, 2007	3 out of 10	30
The Review Busters	2007	2 out of 10	20
Maxim Magazine	Dec 18, 2007		20

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
The game doesn't sound too much like the books	3	PolloDiablo (16614) Mar 13, 2008

Trivia

There is no trivia on file for this game.

Related Web Sites

• PlayStation Games & Media: The Golden Compass (Official Sony PlayStation UK site for The Golden Compass.)
• The Golden Compass (Official game website)
• The Golden Compass (Article about the game in the open encyclopedia)
• The Golden Compass - The Official Videogame (The official Sega US website for The Golden Compass video game.)
• X360A achievement guide (X360A's achievement guide for The Golden Compass.)