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Leaving much to be desired

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ah Hogwarts... so much has changed in the gaming world over the years. Technology has come along was since the days of Pong. Unfortunately, maybe a little too much emphasis was placed in the graphics this time around. Because although they were simply stunning, compared to the imagery, the plot was left in the dust. The storyline was not clear or well developed, in fact, I would say it was pretty much all over the place. If you had not read the books or seen the movie, you would probably be sitting there scratching your head. That being said, I will give both the pros and cons to the game:

PROS:
-The graphics were splendid! Although the characters were slightly lacking, Hogwarts really seemed to come alive. It was very beautiful and realistic. Maybe a little too realistic... it took me a very long time to get from place to place to complete the tasks. At first I wasn't bothered by this, but it became tedious.
-The voices were completely true to the movie. They used the voices of most of the actual actors: Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, etc. This makes it seem more believable and gives it an edge over other games. The only voice not quite spot on in my opinion, was Professor McGonagall.
-The music is very pleasant and does not get repititious whasoever. I recognized some scores from the older games, but apparently, new songs were incorporated as well.

Cons:
(I am sorry to report there might be more of these than the pros...)
-Everything you do seems like a chore in this game. When you have to round up Dumbledore's Army, it gets old pretty quickly. You basically follow footprints and solve the characters' mindless tasks that do not aid the story whatsoever. Its okay the first few times, but after person number twenty eight, I was pretty relieved it was over.
-I found the different spells unnecessary and slightly difficult. Especially since the controls you use for dueling are the same as the spells you use for everyday use. This makes it a challenge to remember them all. In addition, it was nearly impossible to get anything better than a "Troll" (the equivalent of a failing grade) in Professor Flitwick's charms class. Casting wingardium leviosa on specific objects was frustrating due to the fact that Harry couldn't really focus on just one object without the focus switching to the other.
-Despite being true to Hogwarts, the changing staircases were quite a nuisance. Just as you are about to step on one, it moves and you have to wait a minute or two for it to come back. Sometimes I fervently wished I could just avoid that staircase altogether.

Overall, it might be better than Goblet of Fire, but you may want to avoid purchasing Order of the Phoenix unless you are an avid Potter fan with sentimental feelings about what it might be like to be in the (not-so-homey) Hogwarts.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is OK it has a few flaws and it can be a little slow, Also when you are to do something it doesn't always do it. But it is OK.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: July 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Kids would really like this game. I like that you can use magic that isn't introduced until a later book. It is really fun and I enjoy playing it a lot.

Fun game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: July 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Lots of fun. Great views of the Hogwarts. A little predictable in parts but overall a great game.

A MUST !!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: September 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

They sure have made a powerful comeback from the Goblet of Fire! This one, you are able to explore Hogwarts. Yes, just like the Prisoner of Azkaban. There are better graphics, and you no longer have to wait for the game to load when you are going through the rooms at Hogwarts. When you're playing the game, it truly feels like you are there with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. If you liked the Prisoner of Azkaban, and only liked some of the graphics from Goblet of Fire, expect this to be the best one yet!

So-So

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: August 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have all the other games, my favorite of the 5 is the second one. This game, although Hogwarts Castle was AMAZING! to run around in and explore, there was not.... plo, so to speak. You couldn't loose either, or you could! Any duel that was initiated that you were supposed to lose, you lost. Even fighting Voldemort in the end, all I did was press random buttons, even put the controller down, and I still won. Because I was "supposed to". In the other games, you could fail, get game over, win the house and quiddich cups. This had none of that. All we did was run around 50% of the game, find DA members and complete their silly, easy quests. All of the other games were more challenging, and much more content filled. I beat the game at 70% of the way thru. It seems like the main point of this game was for the "Room of Rewards" to show you scenes from the movie/video game creation. Yes, that's always nice to see behind the scenes stuff..... but cmon give me an interactive experience.

!Great! for a HP fanatic, but. . .

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This isn't a game for someone not too into the books or the movies.

**PROS**

Hogwarts is a sandbox. You have free-reign to roam all over the castle and some of the grounds, and they are extensive and extremely detailed. They made it from sketches and maps made by set directors and Rowling herself. It can take a while to get to places you need to go - even with the numerous secret passageways you'll uncover. But it's not a bad thing for a HP fanatic such as myself. 7/8 floors of corridors, rooms, and classroooms. Then you can go to other areas of the castle like the library and the greenhouses. Then you can get away from the castle to Hagrid's hut and beyond or the owlery. Dungeons, the Great Hall, numerous court yards . . . The way the place is put together makes perfect sense, transcending the confusing changes and diffrences you see in the movies.

There are some minigames like Gobstones and Exploding Snaps here and there as well as dozens of portraits and students needing you to fulfill some task or another. You even take a class or two and revise for the upcoming Owls.

The game has a few treats especially for the fans of the book. Ron and Hermione are prefects and they even mention Ron being Quidditch Keeper. In one mission you lend Fred and George a hand in setting off swamps around the school.

There's also the wandwork: All your spells are cast with various movements on the joystick making you really feel a part of the action. You can lift things at will or repulse/pull them, and you can ocassionally pick fights with some Slytherin for some pretty fun duels.

Graphics aren't bad for PS2 and like I said before, there's a whole lot of detail.

NO LOAD SCREENS. You flow effortlessly through the large map. It's as easy as pushing through a door to immediately keep walking. Makes it feel very natural.

**CONS**

The gameplay, graphics, and free-reign over the school are awesome, but the game's plot and storyline are TERRIBLY done. The cut scenes are weak and jumpy. It really feels like the developers were in a hurry and didn't put much into making it very coherent or interesting.

There could have been some more features at the castle. You only get to actvely practice three subjects. They were fun, but it would have been great to do more.

THERE'S NO QUIDDITCH. What the hell? I don't think it would have been too hard to at least throw some leisurely broom riding in there. No Quidditch Pitch and no Quidditch.

**CONCLUSION**

The sandbox style, vastness, and detail of Hogwarts is a fanatic's wet dream. So much to do. It's fun to use your wand to levitate and move objects as well as jinx schoolmates and Slytherin enemies. Walking around and exploring a place you always wish existed is simply magical.

If you're looking for a good, solid, coherent plotline - or are otherwise not into HP to begin with - just forget it and play Bully.

Me, being the fanboy that I am, would gladly plop down twenty or thirty bones for this.

26 year old harry potter fan

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

i got into the harry potter books when the fourth movie came to theatres, from then on i have read the entire series 1 - 7 3x over, then this game came out, i was already a gamer. so i tryed it and loved it from the first second i played. not only can you cast spells in corridors at students to start a fight, then theres the portable swamps you set off, then the best sidequests for book fans. alltogether its a good game, a re-explorable game for harry potter fans.

I liked it....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: July 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Overall, this *is* a good game. yes there are a few things that they could have improved, like at times its hard for Harry to move around the other characters, and it could have been a bit longer (we beat easy in a day), but its still a good game. Much better then Goblet of Fire.

I got this game for my daughter and we both love it. I've played video games sense the old old days of pong. People excepted way to much from this, its just a video game! Granted it's not worth the $[...] you have to pay for it now but after Christmas it will go down and then will be worth getting.

I have heard alot of bad things on this game and how awful it is and how disappointed people are with it, so it just goes to prove that just because some one doesnt like it doesnt mean that other people will agree.

Waste of Money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: July 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is by far the worst version of the Harry Potter games series so far. It was boring, but we persevered through to the end of the game because we kept hoping that it would get better. It didn't. The camera angles are tight and inflexible. The challenges take no imagination and the spells are awkward. All spells are controlled by a series of directional moves on the "R" directional button and many of the combat spells use the same moves as the non-combat moves which leads to some confusion. Having Ron and Hermione trailing after him throughout the entirety of the game leads to endless occasions of becoming stuck in tight places because you can't get past them. There is virtually no interaction between Harry and many of the major characters such as Dumbledore, Hagrid, Professor MacGonaghall, etc. We were VERY disappointed with this game.

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