The bow, in all its various forms, has a variety of arrow types. The standard arrow is the most common, and may be picked up in the tried and true fashion of running into it as it’s rotating over the landscape. All the other arrows are acquired the same way, but many of the others do more than just cause damage. Fire arrows, for instance, are used to burn down bramble walls, while explosive arrows can blast weak walls apart and clear various other obstacles. For particularly tough battles, there’s also a trident arrow, designed specifically to fire in three directions, or inflict grievous harm up close, not unlike a shotgun attack.

Early on in the story, Vikki meets up with her ally Leonardo the Lion, who is something of a weapon himself. When you first encounter the lion, it is wounded from an attack at the hands of Brigitte’s right-hand droid, Rage. After nursing him back to health, Vikki teams up with this gigantic cat and the two explore the various worlds together. Most of the time Leo accompanies your character, wandering around and leaping to her defense when necessary. You can still control Leo by telling him to stay or come, and this technique often allows you to solve puzzles or access otherwise hidden areas of the terrain.

Other times, you’ll find that Vikki rides on top of Leo, or that you can control the beast by himself. In these cases, your control options expand greatly, since Vikki can still shoot her bow, while Leo has special leap and claw attacks that deal massive damage. If an enemy lands a lucky blow, however, a rage meter located above the lion’s health bar will start to fill up, and as he becomes increasingly angry, his movements speed up and his attacks do even more damage. When enraged, Vikki will have a hard time controlling the rampaging cat, so she must often take a second to calm him from a fit of anger.

As the story plays out, Vikki’s quest will take her from world to world, changing the rules each time. In the giant chess board world, she has to avoid the massive pawns and bishops moving about, while the prehistoric world is rife with lava flows, acid spitting pterodactyls and hungry raptors. Even more exotic are the medieval worlds, complete with black knights and disturbingly accurate crossbowmen, and later our heroine will move into outer space where she’ll be menaced by Martians, and even into a candy-land, where the gingerbread has an attitude.

About the only universal aspect of this adventure are the gems and vista points. As a photo-journalist for the Green Army, Vikki lives for a story and accompanying shots. Usually located in out of the way places, the vista shot locations are special images that unlock extras after the game’s been completed. During the game, gems are the order of the day, since they translate into points and every ten thousand points gives both Vikki and Leo another bar on their life meter.