Gamezone: 'The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road'

L. Frank Baum's original Oz books (many authored while he lived in Chicago) have been reinterpreted frequently, but I dare say they have never been adapted quite like this. I don't know what's in the ruby slippers this time, but Dorothy kicks some righteous butt in this game that takes enough of the elements of Baum's original work and sets everything in its own imaginative RPG world.

The Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion always seemed to be a little too eager to join Dorothy on her adventures to get to the Emerald City. This time, they only reluctantly join her after she bests each of them in combat. (I can only imagine what would happen when she makes it back to the Kansas farm: "Feed your own dang chickens, Uncle Henry!")

Of course, the four witches of Oz are your chief advisories here. Each represents a season. (The Wicked Witch of the West is an autumn, by the way. I always though she was more of a spring with that green skin, but I digress.)

You control Dorothy with the stylus; the touch screen is a big, green track ball. Combat is turn-based and you select which characters you will bring into the skirmishes before the battle begins (like many RPGs, your characters and your foes have elemental strengths and weaknesses, like fire, water, earth and air). Fortunately, both you and your foes are color-coded, making match-ups particularly easy.

"Beyond the Yellow Brick Road" is a wholly original take on the Oz myths. Baum would be proud.

(Rated E for mild fantasy violence)