Magic, flying dragons and copious amounts of swordplay tend to work well in videogames, but how do you put it all together in a nice package that makes for a compelling adventure game? You go to Hollywood, silly! Of course, this begs the question; where does Hollywood get most of its stories from in the first place? Books!

Stormfront Studios' latest title, Eragon, based on the upcoming movie by the same name, which in turn is based upon the best selling novel by Christopher Paolini is a perfect example of this cross-medium pollination. It would be a crime if fans of the book weren't able to watch their favorite characters battle monstrous Urgals and evil kings on the big screen and then not be able to go home and live the adventure for themselves on the small screen.

Little Boy, Big Dragon, Super-Sized Adventures
For those of you new to the land of Alagaesia, Eragon is the story of a young boy, Eragon, who stumbles upon one of the last dragon eggs in existence. Chosen by the dragon within the egg and with training from Brom the mysterious storyteller, Eragon becomes the first new dragon rider in the last 100 years. Together, with Brom and Saphira (Eragon's dragon), Eragon sets out to on a course across the land of Alagaesia that will change his life and the world around him forever.

Clocking in at just over 400 MB, the Xbox Live Marketplace demo of Eragon gives us our first glimpse of Alagaesia. Hardcore fans of the novel will want to keep in mind that Eragon the game is based on the movie, not the book. Naturally, a fair amount of liberty has been taken in making the transition from book to film to videogame. It's almost inevitable that certain embellishments will be made upon the original plot of the book, but the overall story seems to remain intact. The demo puts Eragon and Brom in the midst of an ambush by the King's men as they try to get supplies at the village of Daret. Fans of the book are probably shaking their heads right now, but they had better get used to it. This type of plot compression is to be expected when making the book to movie to game uber-transition.

Sharpen Your Blade!
In Eragon, you'll fight alongside Brom as you make your way through the ambush, occasionally summoning Saphira to take care of some of the nastier obstacles in your way. Unfortunately, there's no dragon riding in the demo, but look for several levels in the game to focus on it. Sword combat at first seems like little more than a mash-fest, but a little patience will yield a satisfying move set that will give Eragon a variety of attacks including kicks, grapples and devastating jumping attacks. Besides his sword attacks, Eragon's skill with the bow allows him to fire off quick weak shots or take the time to pull his bowstring far back and loose a powerful, skilled arrow.

Brisingr!!!
Of course, you've probably read Eragon, and by now you're wondering, "where's the magic!?" Don't fret; Eragon has that covered too. At the beginning of the demo, Eragon has the ability to push/pull enemies a few feet, allowing him to either send an enemy falling off a ledge or better yet, throw a giant off balance before unleashing a combo attack with his sword, ending with a grapple that has Eragon latched onto the giant's back, pummeling his head with the hilt of his sword. Sound exciting? It is.

By the end of the demo, Eragon will have learned how to use magic to move objects to form bridges or uncover weak points in structures. Of course, every time Eragon uses his magic, you'll hear him utter a word of power, a nice touch by the developers to stay true to the novel.

Unfortunately, Eragon does little to make use of the power of the Xbox 360. Visuals are on par with last generation systems and do not compare favorably to other games on the 360. Although, if you're a fan of Eragon that shouldn't dissuade you from getting your hands on the 360 version. According to Vivendi producer, Tim Ramage in an interview with FiringSquad, the 360 version will contain two exclusive levels, based on the book that will not appear on PS2 or Xbox versions. Also, fans should know that the 360 is the only console that will allow you to battle the dreaded uber-Urgals; the Kull.

Mount up!
Eragon is shaping up to look like a satisfying hack and slash adventure game in the style of the award winning Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (also developed by Stormfront Studios). Add in a co-op feature that lets a friend jump into your game at any time to take control of Brom (later in the game they'll get to play as Murtagh) as well as the opportunity to take control of Saphira and you've got a title that should have Eragon fans primed for their own adventures in Alagaesia.

- Teal