Percy Jackson & Olympians: The Lightening Thief
Percy Jackson & Olympians: The Lightening Thief is trying to position itself as the new
Harry Potter - a book, a movie, a soundtrack recording of the music, and a game on the DS.
Plotting the story around ancient Greek myths is a great idea - the myths abound in
exciting adventures and contain a slew of interesting heroes and villains.
The hero is a twelve year old with dyslexia and ADHD.
These handicaps along with his discipline problems has caused him, one again, to being bounced out of school.
The book begins with curious happenings which indicate that something/someone is after young Percy.
The game takes the story directly from the book.
Percy and his friend/protector Grover must fight continuous attacks from ancient monsters such as harpies and Minotaurs.
Turns out Percy, whose name is really Perseus, is a demi-god, his father being Poseidon.
After meeting up with other demi-gods, Percy find out that he is accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt.
The story nicely melds locations in the States with those of the myths - Hades, Olympus,
while taking an irreverent swing at the gods.
The basic story is revealed in abbreviated dialogue, the main focus of the game is fighting monsters.
Percy Jackson & Olympians has the potential to be another Harry.
It has a hero with disabilities that many kids might identify with,
plenty of educational/cultural value, a deep repository of good characters and some of the best plots to draw from,
plus Rick Riordan has plenty books up his sleeve.
If the movie and game wants to compete with Harry, they will have to include more of the story telling that made the Greek myths popular for centuries.
Reviewed by: Editor - Mar/10
Rating: E - Everyone
Fun Factor: A rip roaring ride from Olympus to Hades
Female Factor: The secondary character, Annabeth - daughter of Athena is the smart one
Player Friendly: Team management is easy and world map shows paths and goals