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Am I missing something?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 22
Date: June 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was very excited for this game to come out especially after the failure of 'Goblet of Fire,' believing there would be major improvements in the next game. However, I am very disappointed with the design of 'Order of Phoenix.' There is very little story structure to the point where I just don't feel like I'm *in* the game. Furthermore, roaming around Hogwarts seems like a chore rather than a fun adventure. Other than being able to interact with some objects around the castle, the castle design itself is really rather dull and lifeless, and completely lacking mystery. The controllers contribute to this disappointment because you don't *feel* like you have control over the character (I did not exeperience the same level of frustration with the controllers in Chamber of Secrets or Prisoner of Azkaban). Harry's tasks completely lacks the sophistication seen in the 'Chamber of Secrets.' Normally, I can enjoy playing a game like 'Bully' for hours and hours without feeling like a waste of life-form but the same cannot be said about Order of the Phoenix.

The worst part of the game is that Harry's entourage is constantly following him around Hogwarts and hinders Harry's ability to walk fluidly. As Harry walks around and interacts with objects he collects "points," an occurance that should be fun but is actually stupid because the titles are poorly timed making the "discovery" lack any real intuition. Harry's discoveries seem haphazard and disjointed which resulted in me feeling like I was not part of the experience.

The pros: No game loading time going though doors. That's it!

So, am I missing something?

p.s. Does anybody else think that the 'Behind the Scenes' rewards are kind of ridiculous? I mean, why would I want to be taken out of the world of a video game, while I'm still playing it? Those scenes should only be a main menu option, not a "reward" within the game.

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.

Let-down

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 19
Date: July 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I, like so many others, bought this game expecting something exciting. This is the most boring Potter game ever. All you do is walk around while Hermonie and Ron get in your way. The tasks were incredibly lame. Moving the analog stick for control of the wand was not an improvement. The room of reward was pointless and it drove me crazy everytime Moaning Mrytle showed up. Her voice is annoying.

I think that HP 4 has been the best game so far.

Harry Potter the real experience

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: July 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game was fun but it took a lot of work to cast the spells. Unlike previous games where a person could just press the square, triangle, or circle buttons to cast a spell, they now have to move the left analog stick in the different directions, or a series of directions to cast different spells. This is hard at first and it was hard to remember what ways you need to turn your analog stick, but I have found as I played the game more, it became more enjoyable. Althought I like this game it seems like it was made for the Wii system, because of the way you have to cast your spells.

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.

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.

Just like being at Hogwarts!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: July 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'm a casual gamer, playing games that might interest me only, not really on the lookout for the latest and greatest. I'm also a big Harry Potter fan. In past years, I avoided the Harry Potter games merely because of some of the other movie tie-in games that I've played were basically on the intelligence level of an eight year old and rather silly indeed. But with the new book coming out this week, and the movie as well, I was sucked into purchasing this game, and have been pleasantly surprised.

Order of the Phoenix follows very closely the book and the movie, starting with a quick Dementor attach, to learning spells in Grimmauld Place, to quickly landing at Hogwarts. In the game, you are required to assemble the new D.A. by performing tasks, and to train the army with Defence spells. Along throughout the castle, you are asked to use your wand to repair things, clean up things, and discover many secrets hidden in the castle to earn more magical power for Harry.

Now, as a serious, challenging game, this isn't it. I've been finding it fairly easy to complete the tasks. In some occasions which the game required magic to complete a task, I found it easier to hold the controller with one hand while operating my wand with another. It was great fun to use spells to make things fly across the room, make carpets shake, and set lights on fire. Again, not challenging, but fun.

Let me say that the visual representation of Hogwarts is magnificent. It really is very complex, many leveled and layered. The details put into each room is just like being on the movie sets. The Grand Hall is beautiful, the Gryffindor Common Room has lots of little details, and even the journey to Hagrid's Hut is long and breathtaking. It really does simulate Hogwarts beautifully, and with the amazing ability of having NO load times between rooms, you really feel like you are there!

The pitfalls I've found are thus. You do bump into Ron and Hermione frequently., especially if you are in a small room and need to get out. In several of the rooms. In one occasion, a student was stuck partially through the ground. The biggest issue is the sound. In several rooms, I keep hearing this grating, grinding noise that doesn't seem to have any part in the story. In some cases, it is so loud, I cannot hear the characters speak. Occasionally, characters voices would cut out or sound fuzzy or buzzy. I would restart the game, and most of the problems were solved.

But overall, I do feel like I'm really getting my money's worth. Just by feeling like you are in Hogwarts is an amazing feat. This will be one game, after I've finished the tasks, that whenever I feel like visited the old magical school, I'll return to time and time again.

!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.

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