Beautiful witches, armoured bears, zeppelins, your own personal daemon... sounds like a lark, eh? This is the world of The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights, to us Brits).

Based on the film of the first book in Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, The Golden Compass takes players to an alternate reality where they'll join Lyra as she goes in search of her friend Roger on a journey that takes her from the comfort of Oxford to the frozen wastes of the far north. To help her, she' ... more >>

Beautiful witches, armoured bears, zeppelins, your own personal daemon... sounds like a lark, eh? This is the world of The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights, to us Brits).

Based on the film of the first book in Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, The Golden Compass takes players to an alternate reality where they'll join Lyra as she goes in search of her friend Roger on a journey that takes her from the comfort of Oxford to the frozen wastes of the far north. To help her, she'll have the company of her daemon, Pan, and Iorek Byrnison, king of the armoured bears, along with the mysterious alethiometer (the device for which the game is named).

Switching between the three characters, players will utilise each of their strengths. Iorek will come in handy for combat, being a bear and all. Pan, with his shape-shifting abilities, will be useful for manoeuvring around obstacles and hazards that cross your path. Lyra, meanwhile, can be used for cracking puzzles thanks to the alethiometer.

SEGA has taken great pains to ensure the game is as close to the film world as possible. The company has been down at the set, taking footage and passing it back to the development team to ensure authenticity, and the game even expands on areas barely seen in the film using content from the book. << less