How twisted can you make “The Wizard of Oz?”

Fans of the classic books and legendary 1939 movie starring Judy Garland are about to find out. Warner Bros. Interactive is releasing what it calls a “twisted new take on the Oz legend.” with “The Wizard of Oz — Beyond the Yellow Brick Road.” The basic plot of the game follows the classic story. players play as a Kansas farm girl named Dorothy who gets whisked by a tornado to magical land “somewhere over the rainbow.” Once there, they discover Oz is being occupied by the forces of four wicked witches that the player must defeat to get home. Along their journey they’ll get help froma Tin Woodsman, a Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow and little Hellhound name Toto. Play will proceed in classic turn-based RPG fashion similar to the kind of “you go-I go” system in the Final Fantasy series.

This should actually be an interesting product to take a look at. For all it’s reputation as a sickly-sweet universe for little kids, the world of Oz has inspired some delightfully unusual takeoffs. The best known of these, of course, are the “Wicked” books written by Gregory Maguire that inspired a hit Broadway musical.