Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (video game)

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Developer(s)	Krome Studios Tantalus Media (Nintendo DS)
Publisher(s)	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Composer(s)	Winifred Phillips, music produced by Winnie Waldron
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	NA: September 14, 2010 AUS: September 29, 2010 EU: October 8, 2010
Genre(s)	Combat flight simulator

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is a video game by Warner Bros. Games, released on September 14, 2010. It is based on the film of the same name, and includes some elements from the books. The game is available for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 as well as Nintendo DS. It was developed by Krome Studios, except for the Nintendo DS which was developed by Tantalus Media. All versions were published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Plot

Prologue

In the ancient Perrock monastery, the Glauxian Monks honoured the owl god Glaux. They maintain a watchful peace ever since the war with Sutr and his Pure Ones. One day a young acolyte Grettir was on guard duty as the Hagsfiends attacked, ruthlessly eliminating anyone in their path. Grettir fought valiantly but still the monastery was lost. He fled the world in shame having been unable to defend his brethren. He found a second chance in life as he met his mate Lygeia and settled down with her. On a fateful night however the couple and the hatched egg were attacked by the Pure Ones. Both parents fell and only the timely arrival of a Guardian recon group saved the hatchling from the same fate as his parents. The Guardians carried the hatchling to the Ga'Hoole tree, naming him affectionately Shard after a piece of eggshell clinging to his downy coak. Many moon later, Shard studied hard to become a Guardian himself. Grettir's legacy however left a stain upon his son.

A change came during Shard's final year of training. The Ga'Hoole tree is attacked, Shard's teacher Allomere is rallying the Guardians for a counterattack. Shard joins in and they fend of some of the attackers as suddenly Allomere is lethally hit and Shard finds himself surrounded by bats, crows and Pure Ones. Shard hears his name being called and realises he has been "night-dreaming". His classmate Parzival mocks him, that he is as useless as his father. Despite Allomere's presence they start a fight. Then Ezylryb appears and lectures Shard that a Guardian never answers words with talons. He then orders Shard to meet him in his hollow after class to be assigned his flint mops.

The flint mops are lessons such as using hot coals, fighting enemies and generally moving in the air.

Desert of Kuneer

The recently rescued owl Soren mentioned that owlets are being stolen and the bats are working together with the Pure Ones. An eagle ally by the name of Streak has been investigating, unfortunately he himself has gone missing. Parzival and Shard go investigating themselves and rescue Streak who has been imprisoned by the bats and some crows. They try to interrogate some bats where the enemy headquarters is to be found. They succeed however they must flee due to being heavily outnumbered. In a night time mission they prevent bat thieves of kidnapping owlets and bring them to Streak's nest where a battle between the Guardians and the bats ensues. The owls and the eagle are victorious. They decide to take the war to the bats and thus attack the bat's hideout. They succeed in making the bats flee and free owlets imprisoned there. However the bat's chieftain won't give up without a fight. The battle is swift and brutal resulting in the chieftain's death, the bats full retreat and the desert of Kuneer being safe again.

Forest Kingdom of Tyto

Shard, Parzival and their new wingman Streak are sent on an intelligence mission by Ezylryb. Soren said that his home in Tyto was destroyed but something must remain of the forest and the Guardians need evidence. They tail a group of Pure Ones to their headquarters at which other owls are imprisoned. The Guardians free them and accompany them back to the Resistance headquarters. The Resistance headquarters however is struck by lightning and the owlets kept there must be evacuated to the new headquarters. The Pure Ones attack the convoys multiple times but they are unable to deal damage as the Guardians defend the owlet carriers with great effort. As a retaliation the Pure Ones set the forest ablaze, the Resistance moves and begins to fight the fires. The Pure Ones attack the firefighters and again the Guardians are capable of besting the attacking owls. The Resistance believes that now the time for uprising has come and assaults the fortified headquarters of the Pure Ones. The Guardians must destroy the AA defenses in order to get close. The Pure Ones receive reinforcements from Pure One Elites, heavy armoured fighter owls, however the Guardians are capable of turning the tides and defeat the reinforcements. They bring down the fortress and have freed Tyto from the Pure One occupation.

The Glauxian Brothers' Retreat

Following the destruction of Perrock the Glauxian monks retreated up far to the north past the Ice Narrows and the Everwinter Sea. The Guardians assume that the Glauxian monks are capable of uncovering the truth behind the so-called "Flecks" which are collected in large numbers by the Pure Ones. Upon arrival at the Glauxian Brotherhood they learn that the brotherhood has lost the knowledge of the Flecks as Perrock fell. As the Guardians are already about leaving the monks inform them that there is an elderly hermit called Cormac who studied at Perrock not far from them. They tell them to be watchful however as a group of monks left to visit him weeks ago and as they did not return another group of young monks set out to investigate, neither group has been heard off. The trio sets out to investigate and tail a group of bats to the ruins. Here they discover that the Pure Ones are operating even this far up north. They are in league with an ancient menace, the Hagsfiends. These vicious creatures already devastated Perrock, they are wielding dark magic known as Nachtmagen and fire flecks at their enemies. The ensuing battle is fierce, the Guardians are capable of besting the Pure Ones and the Hagsfiends, for now. They move on and encounter an old owl who identifies as Cormac. He tells them to hurry as the Hagsfiends and Pure Ones are on the move with prisoners to the mining facility. The monks are lost if the convoys reach their destinations. The Guardians immediately attack the convoys and free the monks. Their next move is attacking the facility itself to free the enslaved monks and stop the mining for flecks. The Hagsfiends and the Pure Ones put up a heavy fight, the Guardians need to destroy fleck pillars that prevent the monks from escaping. They are quickly disposed of by hot goals thrown at them. As the monks are freed the Guardians learn that all would have been in vain if the Hagsfiend Queen is not defeated. The Hagsfiend Queen is supremely crafty and ferocious, she and the remaining Hagsfiends and Pure Ones put up a heavy resistance. The Guardians are nearly defeated in the battle against the Hagsfiend Queen. With a last effort Shard and his fellows manage to kill the Hagsfiend Queen. They return to the Glauxian Brothers' Retreat. It is here that Shard learns that Cormac knew his father, he was there at Perrock and had seen the Hagsfiends' relentless attack. He shall not believe the lies. His father fought bravely but as he had seen first hand himself now, the Hagsfiends are terrible enemies. Cormac then produces a fine set of battle claws and armour, telling Shard that these were his father's. He shall use them to restore the peace.

The Beaks

As Shard and his companions return to the Ga'Hoole tree, they discover that the other Guardians had taken up arms and a note from Ezylryb tells him to come after them as fast as possible. He also sees that Soren and his friends are departing to follow the Guardians. So they travel to the place known as the Beaks. They are at once attacked by the Pure Ones and Parzival is captured in a fleck barrier. Shard and the others kill the bats holding the fleck barrier in place and then defeat the other Pure Ones. After this incident they continue on their search for the Guardians. The Guardians are meanwhile captured in another fleck barrier. Soren rushes in and destroys the fleck pillars. Shard and his companions follow close behind. Now they need to destroy all the AA defenses the Pure Ones placed all around the Palace. After this Shard encounters Allomere, who is a traitor and was all the time in secret allied with the Pure Ones. He tells Shard that he knew his father, he was there at Perrock. He helped the Hagsfiends enter the monastery and murder everyone. An incoming Guardian however grabs Allomere and brings him out of Shard's sight. Ezylryb restrains angry Shard and orders him to take out the signal tower so the Pure One reinforcements are minimal easing the task. Shard obeys and joins in the battle for the signal tower, destroying it eventually. Yet the Pure Ones do not give up, the Guardians devise a clever tactic: destroying the war forge below the palace would rock the foundations of the palace and thus destroy it. Shard embarks on a one owl mission and enters the forge. He is attacked several times by heavy armoured and well-trained Pure One Defenders and Elites. He is nonetheless victorious and reaches the furnaces of the forge. He destroys them and is re-encountering Allomere who is on the run. Shard chases him down and a heavy battle between the two ensues. Shard capable of throwing Allomere down. In belief of victory he makes for the exit as Allomere strikes him again. This time Shard smashes him against the stone walls with such force that rocks from the ceiling fall down and crush Allomere for good.

Ezylryb talks to Shard after the battle, telling him that he did great today and that he is a true Guardian. Shard rejoices upon hearing his mentor compliment him. Ezylryb tells Shard that the owlets of St. Aegolius still await them to be freed.

Gameplay

According to GameSpot, the gameplay is airborne combat. The player locks on to enemy owls or structures, and the player has the option to attack. If the player chooses to do so, the player-controlled owl will "go zooming toward your enemy and wallop it with your claws" as stated in the review. GameSpot also stated that there are some parts where the player has to navigate through gates in a specific amount of time.^[1] The player can choose between four owl species to play as before the game starts, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. These include barn owl, spotted owl, great gray owl, and great horned owl.

Soundtrack

The original musical soundtrack of the Legend of the Guardians video game was composed by Winifred Phillips^[2] and produced by Winnie Waldron.^[3] The soundtrack was released on iTunes by WaterTower Music, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.^[2] The second track on the album, "With Hearts Sublime", is a winner of the 2010 Hollywood Music in Media Award in the category "Best Original Song: Video Game".^[4]

Reception

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole received largely mixed and average reviews. According to Metacritic, the Xbox 360 version has an average critic score of 66 based on 7 reviews.^[5] While acknowledging its gameplay and other elements as commendable, the majority of critics noted the game's short play time and replay value as a major pitfall. GameSpot gave the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions a 6/10 rating.^[1][6] Game Informer awarded it 7.25 out of ten and said "Though limited in scope and complexity, the game does everything it sets out to do and remains a fun family diversion throughout".

External links

• Official film website

References