Scourge of Worlds

Subtitled "A Dungeons & Dragons Adventure," this not-quite-Final Fantasy-level CGI 'choose your own adventure' takes viewers on a quest full of decision points (choices are made with the "enter" key on the DVD remote) which affect both the course of their journeys and the final outcome. Boasting over 200 unique story combinations and four different endings (I only found two, but hey, I already have a life), the tale is set in one of those indeterminate long ago and far away magic-and-beast-ridden lands where a hunting party consisting of Regdar (human warrior), Lidda (mischievous teenager-like halfling) and Mialee (elf wizard) go after (in my storyline) a guy named Barathion who is being manipulated to steal the Aryx Orthian (a.k.a., Scourge of Worlds), a weapon that will "destroy all enemies and end all wars." My first time through I made the apparently stupid (in any case, fatal) mistake of trying to reason with Barathion rather than attack him (either way, Barathion still dies, but if you talk with the bugger first, most of your party bites the mortal dust in a completely unrelated sequence a while later--I've no idea why). Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo, Scourge of Worlds features a bit of hack and slash, a few stabs at humor, and a whole lot of missing backstory and character development (one of the bad things about multiple story paths is that you need to keep potentially conflicting details to a bare minimum). Unrated, the film--which is more of an interesting experiment than an unqualified success--would probably merit a PG-rating for its animated violence and mild curses. Optional. (R. Pitman)