I really think there is nothing more awesome than Disney coming through. Sure, they've made maybe a little more than their fair share of boo-boos lately with games like 'The Lion King,' and (it gives me cold sweats just thinking about it), 'Dinosaur.' And sure, kids probably still want the game of the movie of the book of the soundtrack because kids just gobble up everything they can and are usually subsidized heavily. But, through all my griping and complaining about some of the more awful games that have worn the Disney logo during the last 2 or 3 years, I've constantly reminded you that Disney is capable of making good games. And if anyone ever doubted that, they have only to look at Peter Pan to see proof.

I wasn't really up on the fact that a new Peter Pan movie was out, which is always a reason to make a new videogame, print tee-shirts and hire a small army of marketing consultants. But seriously, the game is out to meet demand for Peter Pan and boy will it ever make Pan fans happy. The characters both in and out of the main game show a lot of...well, character. Cut-scenes in computer animation are mixed with some in the game's engine, and the main game carries a completely different style. Basically, Peter Pan the Game is like an old-school side-scrolling flying game. Foregoing the 3D action that has doomed many a Disney game, Doki Denki the developer drew from classic 2D games to produce something that looks and plays simple but delivers, big-time. The voices are great, the sounds are a lot of fun, and the music is straight out of the movie. The sound quality is high, due most likely to the fact that music was re-recorded for the game instead of being lifted directly out of the movie.

I think the line from the soundtrack that goes 'You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!' perfectly sums up the experience of playing Peter Pan. There was a period in arcade gaming where one big thing was to make games built around navigating little planes, submarines and helicopters through mazes full of guns and obstacles. With the advent of 2.5D, Marble Madness came from about the same place. And with full 3D we didn't have much use for this old style of gaming. Some modern examples of the effect would be games like Crash 3, which used it for the underwater levels, and Ecco the Dolphin which also used it for 2D levels that broke up the normal 3D perspective. I'm sure it's cropped up in several other places, but developers seemed to have dropped the idea that a whole game would be built on this concept. Peter Pan doesn't stray far and proves that old ideas can be given new life. You can bet there's a treasure map involved, and in fact it falls to Peter and Tinkerbell to retrieve missing piece of the map to beat Hook to the punch. Along the way, they will face pirates on the ground and above, tackle birds and other creatures, and solve some simple puzzles to finally win the day.

While flying, Peter does only a few things, mostly using the small knife he recovers early in the game. The knife can be used to attack, but it also is good for switches and uncovering secret items in unlikely places. Okay, maybe they're a little predictable, such as objects you'll find scattered around in big yellow flowers. Many little items show up, and hidden items or secret places are out there to be discovered. There's a limit to where Peter can fly, and the course you'll be able to take is laid out in a rather obvious way. Sometimes, multiple options are available, but usually these end up leading you to an item or just a dead end. Peter can't visit all areas in the beginning of the game, so he needs to collect items and earn points to come back and see 100 percent of Never Land. Some of the extras include film reels you can view in the Indian Shop and a special object that lets you see invisible items.

Although Return to Never Land is definitely enough fun for any gamer, it's aimed squarely at kids. The same kids who would be lining up for the movie would feel right at home sitting down to play this one. As you might imagine, the difficulty is scaled down, but many enemies can give Peter a tough time. Big hints are given before a critical fight, so kids who pay attention won't have any trouble beating tough enemies or bosses. Plus, the Indian Shop lets Peter buy everything from extra lives to hints, but isn't a required stop for players who don't need the help. There are times when you need to go there, but those more comfortable with the game may not take advantage of quite as many tips in the Indian Shop. The best thing about Return to Never Land in terms of difficulty may be the relaxed self-paced play style, which allows for careful players to hang back and take measure of a situation before charging in, but doesn't prevent incautious souls from rushing to their doom.

Flight controls are very simple for Peter and Tinkerbell, whom you control at various times for special level challenges. At first, you'll only have your flight ability to avoid enemies, but once Peter finds his knife he can fight enemies. Some enemies and obstacles can't be attacked, so even with knife in hand Peter needs to fly quickly but carefully all the time. The controls were somewhat spongy, but not so bad as to make the game more difficult. Nothing in Never Land seems to attack you so quickly that you can't adjust with ease, but it's easy to get in over your head if you aren't careful. Flying and using the knife is easy, but some timed puzzles or enemies who follow a certain pattern and can only be attacked one way present some coordination challenges. Peter can recharge his health in different ways, by collecting items or even buying health with collected items at the Indian Shop. Over time, you'll learn a few new tricks that make life easier, but good flight skill is essential in this game. Using the (X) key, you really just cause Peter or Tink to move up, and the other option is to glide down by pushing the analog stick down to speed up a landing. On the ground, Peter isn't too fast, so staying in the air is usually advisable. A number of puzzles are present, many timed and all of them very straightforward. In places where you need to move a switch, you'll find a bright target painted up to let you know where to use your knife. In the case of enemies, you'll get help the first few times and never just be thrown to the wolves. Saving is done between levels, and usually a nice cinematic appears around the same time. Levels are short, but you'll have the chance to replay a few of the early levels for special items after you acquire new skills later in the game.

PS2: The load times present for PlayStation were greatly shortened by running the PS2 with its optional PS settings. Graphics were largely unchanged, possibly because the perspective is somewhat small and not completely 3D. Some textures seemed smoother, but not in a major way.

Sure, this is really just a companion product to the newly released movie, but I can say without fear of contradiction that it blows most of the other recent Disney tie-in games away. Not that it breaks new ground or invents its own genre, but Return to Never Land The Game is as much fun as a kid would be likely to have on PlayStation right now. It does a great job of taking something central to Peter Pan and turning it into level after level of creative gaming. The levels aren't always so different and the game itself seems to be gone before you know it, but just as kids like to watch the movie, read the book and eat the happy meal, they love to play their games. License games are often the worst of the worst, simply because companies know they could repackage a game from last year, put the movie's name on it and sell 50,000 copies. But, as Disney has done in the past, Return to Never Land comes through as a game we would have enjoyed playing even if there had been no movie. Say what you will about the rationale for bringing another Peter Pan movie to theaters, but you can't knock this game. It's good, simple fun that kids will love to play.