Almost every year, a new fantasy film comes out around Christmas, and this year it’s The Golden Compass‘ turn with stars like Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman. Sega has announced that they’ll be doing the video game tie-in for this movie and that it’ll be released on multiple platforms which is usually the case with these kind of games.

The game will follow the storyline of the screenplay adaptation of the first book in the acclaimed His Dark Materials trilogy written by Philip Pullman. In the world of The Golden Compass, giant armored bears rule a kingdom, witches fly through the frozen skies and humans can communicate with animals which remain their faithful companion for life. You’ll take the role of Lyra, and along with your pet you’ll travel through the frozen wastes of the North in order to rescue a friend kidnapped by a mysterious organization also known as The Globbers.

You can also take on the character of Iorek Byrnison, which is an armored polar bear who can protect Lyra during her quest. By using a mysterious truth-telling golden compass device called an alethiometer, you can unlock secrets and mini-games to extend the game’s life. The Golden Compass consists of 13 locations which include locations never seen before in the books or movies.

Gamers can also take on the character of Iorek Byrnison, a great armoured polar bear who joins the quest. Iorek battles to protect Lyra during their journey using a riding mechanic and special attacks to fend off enemies, players will also be able to unlock secrets and mini-games using a mysterious truth-telling golden compass device called an alethiometer. The Golden Compass has 13 vast locations to explore including all-new, breath-taking environments not seen in the books or the film, on this massive journey of collaboration, exploration and the eternal struggle between good and evil.

The screenshots you’re seeing are from the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 ‘next generation’ version of the game, at the time there weren’t any other pictures available. The Playstation 2 and PSP version will probably look a lot worse though.

Shiny Entertainment, known from the successful, yet crappy Matrix video game-tie ins will be developing this game while Sega is publishing it. The game will be released prior to the film which is supposed to come out December 7th this year. The game will be released on The Playstation 2, Playstation 3, PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360 and the PC.