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| The Entertainment Review |
| Developer: EA Games Publisher: Electronic Arts |
For those who were lucky enough to get a chance to play the last Harry Potter game, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” they
may be in for another surprise this time with “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Anyone that is interest in playing the game has
For those who were lucky enough to get a chance to play the last Harry Potter game, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” they
probably already read the book and is waiting for the release of the movie. For those who don’t know anything about this book: Harry,
Ron and Hermione are back for their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lord Voldemort is wreaking havoc again
and Draco is up to no good. Of course this sounds like every other Harry Potter story, but this time things are really bad.
Those who have already read the books already know what is going on, and for those who haven’t, this game isn’t going to explain
what is going on very well. Rather than players working their way through the events of the movie, this game uses the scenes as a
waypoint for players to get their bearings. They will participate in the big battles and see cut scenes depicting key moments, but these
events won’t really be explained. Players don’t want to play the movie, but instead to be a part of the universe of Harry Potter.
This means that, just like in the last game, players can pick up the controls and become Harry in Hogwarts again. If it can be seen in
the movies, it can be seen in the game, from the hallways to the great hall. At the beginning of the game parts of the map are locked,
but completing the game’s events as they come quickly unlocks the place so that players can run around and do what they want.
Making potions is the best mini game and gives players sixteen different potions to create. While most of the game is played from a
third person perspective, the potion mini game is played in first person with invisible hands. Icons appear on the left side of the screen
and players need to perform the corresponding actions. Though it sounds like it would be an easy mini game, but as players get further
into the game the potions get more complicated. Players will need to bring the cauldron to a boil, wave away smoke, make ingredients
bubble before adding to the potion and stir the contents. It comes down to being a game of Simon Says, but it is actually more
challenging. The nice thing is that if players fail to create a potion, they are able to redo a potion as many times as they need.
Just like “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” exploration is a large part of the game. The stuff that is related to the story can be
finished in roughly four or five hours, but there will be a lot of extra things for fans of the series to do, especially for those who are into
collecting Achievements. The game has 150 Hogwarts crests that are hidden throughout the school grounds. Players who may have
trouble with finding them will enjoy that hint that 25 of them can’t be found, but instead earned. Players could be walking around the
hallway and see an object that has a sparkling glow around it and with a wave of a wand at it to get mini crests to explode out of the
objects. When players collect enough of the mini crests, a meter fills up and players are awarded with a full crest to add to their
collection. Aside from having to search through every single room in the school, the crests begin unlocking additional options for
players. Sometimes it comes in the form of new people to duel with and sometimes it is the ability to create a Love Potion. If crests
aren’t something that don’t seem worthwhile there are a ton of different badges for players to earn by creating potions as quickly as
possible, being the best wizard on a broom and so on.
Of course, like any other game that is based off of a movie, this game is far from perfect. While Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry looks amazing, players are going to be a little disappointed by the facial animations in the game. When the camera is close
up on the talking Ron and Hermione, the faces seem to look a little bit too creepy for a game in this series. Also, none of the voice over
acting is very good, although the musical score is outstanding and then players will have to hear the voices of the terrible voice over
work again. Again, players shouldn’t go into this game hoping to play the movie’s story line, but these little issues won’t take players
out of the experience that the game offers. Luckily, some issues have been fixed, such as the moving staircases, the Herbology
classroom and so much more that will keep players immersed in the world of Hogwarts.
For those players who don’t know anything about the story found in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” this game is not the place
to start because it rarely brings up any of the facts of the original story. However, if players are looking to pick up a broomstick and take
Hogwarts by storm, this game should be a great addition to their gaming library. While it isn’t a groundbreaking game and it isn’t the
most engaging experience in the world, but there is something fun about mixing a variety of potions and spending time searching for
the 150 Hogwarts crests.
may be in for another surprise this time with “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Anyone that is interest in playing the game has
For those who were lucky enough to get a chance to play the last Harry Potter game, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” they
probably already read the book and is waiting for the release of the movie. For those who don’t know anything about this book: Harry,
Ron and Hermione are back for their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lord Voldemort is wreaking havoc again
and Draco is up to no good. Of course this sounds like every other Harry Potter story, but this time things are really bad.
Those who have already read the books already know what is going on, and for those who haven’t, this game isn’t going to explain
what is going on very well. Rather than players working their way through the events of the movie, this game uses the scenes as a
waypoint for players to get their bearings. They will participate in the big battles and see cut scenes depicting key moments, but these
events won’t really be explained. Players don’t want to play the movie, but instead to be a part of the universe of Harry Potter.
This means that, just like in the last game, players can pick up the controls and become Harry in Hogwarts again. If it can be seen in
the movies, it can be seen in the game, from the hallways to the great hall. At the beginning of the game parts of the map are locked,
but completing the game’s events as they come quickly unlocks the place so that players can run around and do what they want.
Making potions is the best mini game and gives players sixteen different potions to create. While most of the game is played from a
third person perspective, the potion mini game is played in first person with invisible hands. Icons appear on the left side of the screen
and players need to perform the corresponding actions. Though it sounds like it would be an easy mini game, but as players get further
into the game the potions get more complicated. Players will need to bring the cauldron to a boil, wave away smoke, make ingredients
bubble before adding to the potion and stir the contents. It comes down to being a game of Simon Says, but it is actually more
challenging. The nice thing is that if players fail to create a potion, they are able to redo a potion as many times as they need.
Just like “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” exploration is a large part of the game. The stuff that is related to the story can be
finished in roughly four or five hours, but there will be a lot of extra things for fans of the series to do, especially for those who are into
collecting Achievements. The game has 150 Hogwarts crests that are hidden throughout the school grounds. Players who may have
trouble with finding them will enjoy that hint that 25 of them can’t be found, but instead earned. Players could be walking around the
hallway and see an object that has a sparkling glow around it and with a wave of a wand at it to get mini crests to explode out of the
objects. When players collect enough of the mini crests, a meter fills up and players are awarded with a full crest to add to their
collection. Aside from having to search through every single room in the school, the crests begin unlocking additional options for
players. Sometimes it comes in the form of new people to duel with and sometimes it is the ability to create a Love Potion. If crests
aren’t something that don’t seem worthwhile there are a ton of different badges for players to earn by creating potions as quickly as
possible, being the best wizard on a broom and so on.
Of course, like any other game that is based off of a movie, this game is far from perfect. While Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry looks amazing, players are going to be a little disappointed by the facial animations in the game. When the camera is close
up on the talking Ron and Hermione, the faces seem to look a little bit too creepy for a game in this series. Also, none of the voice over
acting is very good, although the musical score is outstanding and then players will have to hear the voices of the terrible voice over
work again. Again, players shouldn’t go into this game hoping to play the movie’s story line, but these little issues won’t take players
out of the experience that the game offers. Luckily, some issues have been fixed, such as the moving staircases, the Herbology
classroom and so much more that will keep players immersed in the world of Hogwarts.
For those players who don’t know anything about the story found in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” this game is not the place
to start because it rarely brings up any of the facts of the original story. However, if players are looking to pick up a broomstick and take
Hogwarts by storm, this game should be a great addition to their gaming library. While it isn’t a groundbreaking game and it isn’t the
most engaging experience in the world, but there is something fun about mixing a variety of potions and spending time searching for
the 150 Hogwarts crests.
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