Trouble-prone Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of school - but that's the last of his problems. The gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters seem to have walked out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology texts and into his life - and they're not happy. Zeus's lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now, Percy and his friends must embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true thief, save Percy's family and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves...

Based on the first book in Rick Riordan’s best-selling series, and the forthcoming film from 20th Century Fox, Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief is a tactical role-playing game that puts players in command of Percy Jackson and his fellow demigods as they battle for survival in a contemporary world ruled by powerful Greek gods.

You play as Percy, and his friends, as you uncover the truth about your father and the gift you were given at birth. The game starts at Percy's school where he discovers that he's actually a demigod. He finds this out when one of his teachers realises who Percy is and then she changes into her true monster form to attack him. This sets you up for the game's first battle and acts as a basic tutorial for the battle sequences.

The game itself is quite simple and can be a little repetitive. It's a pretty standard turn based RPG, but without the hassle of spending ages walking around trying to work out what you have to do. There is a map page with areas you can travel to. By quickly glancing at the map you can see where you have to go and it's up to you whether you go the most direct route (which may involve passing over points where enemies are waiting) or avoiding the points where your enemies are and heading straight for your goal. Of course avoiding the enemy is not always an option.

The battle sequences are of the standard turn based variety, and as you progress through the game you get to add additional members to your team. There's no real skill in choosing who to use in battle. It's pretty simple to beat your opponent as long as you include a healer in your team - just keep an eye on your team members health bars.

As you level up you can add new abilities and upgrade your skills - nothing that will come as any surprise to fans of this genre.

There's also a story that starts to unfold - this is told in text form with images of the characters who are talking. It's worth reading through these segments to get the background story, but you can quickly skip through them if you just want to get on with more fighting.

The graphics are above average and the background music and sound effects during the battle sequences are also more impressive than I was expecting.

For the more seasoned gamer this holds little in the way of challenges, but for the younger gamer, and fans of Percy Jackson, this is a pretty entertaining game.

8

Nick Smithson