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Depends on What Type of Gamer You Are

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 17
Date: July 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I just got this game today, and one for the first things that struck me was that this game's "fun factor" greatly depends on what type of gamer you are. If you prefer games with a clear storyline, then mabie you should consider other Harry Potter titles (I would suggest Prisoner of Azkaban). But if you LOVE to explore, especially Hogwarts, then BUY THIS GAME! I like exploring a lot, and have been waiting for a game where they make Hogwarts as accurate to the movie/books as is possible, and now they've finally done it! The Hogwarts in this game is big, it's accurate, and honestly a bit confusing. I find myself lost at times in Hogwarts, saying "I don't think I've ever been here before." The graphics for the enviorments are very good, the floors are shiny in parts, and if you look closely, you can actually see parts of the rest of the castle through the windows (it's hard because a lot of them are stained glass). I was however dissappointed with the graphics for the people. They aren't very good compared with the castle. DO NOT GO BY THE VIDEO ABOVE FOR GRAPHICS! The video on this page is a preview of the Wii version, and the people in the PS2 version DO NOT LOOK LIKE THAT! I agree with other reviewers, so far as I've gotten the story isn't very obvious.

Pros: ~Hogwarts is big and confusing, as it should be
~The enviornment graphics are fantastic
~Hogwarts is an explorer/Harry Potter fan's dream!

Cons: ~Story not very good/clear
~People graphics aren't that good
~Navigating Hogwarts can be time-consuming

Overall: This game is pretty good, Hogwarts is fun to explore, though fun at first it can be time-consuming to go to places (but a good marauder will find that there are many time-saving passages ;) ). The music is pretty good here, though much of it is recycled from old games, however, whatever music has been newly composed (about 40% of it) is beautifully done. I like the new way of spellcasting much better, I think it really makes the whole magic experience more authentic.

If you are a true explorer, or one who has always wished to explore Hogwarts, BUY THIS GAME! For everyone else, atleast rent it.

NOTE: If you are worried about the complexity of Hogwarts, don't be. By pressing "select" you bring up a very simplified map of Hogwarts. The map has a function that allows you to select a specific location/person, and the map will lead you to it (little Marauder's Map footprints appear in-game, and you follow them down stairs and through halls to your destination).

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.

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.

Brings Hogwarts to Life

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: July 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Overall: Being a huge Harry Potter fan, I naturally loved the game. This one really brought the characters and the settings in the books to life. It even refers to things that happened in previous books. Whoever wrote the script for the characters must have really studied the book. They are all so true to their personalities and the game has witty conversations between all of the characters that are very humorous (particularly Collin Creevy bugging Harry and also Ronald & Hermione's constant bickering). The portraits talk to you as you walk by and the students shout their greetings (although they're not always pleasant ones). Along with the characters and dialougue, the castle makes you feel like you are really at Hogwarts. You can freely explore the grounds from the owlery to the gryffindor boys dormitory. There are many passages and other secrets to discover as you learn more spells to help you find them!

Graphics: When I first popped in this game, I was immediately dissapointed by the awful graphics of the characters. They just look so flat. Perhaps this is becuase I just got done with Final Fantasy XII and the graphics were beyond brilliant. Hogwarts castle, however, was beautifully done and I soon learned to look passed the strange looking characters when I got into playing the game.

Game Play: Like I mentioned, you can freely roam the castle and do the tasks pretty much in whatever order you feel like. You have tasks you must complete, but you can do them in your own time and take a breather whenever you like to play wizard chess or work extra hard to get an O in all of your subjects. The only thing I missed from the GOF game is being able to switch between characters and having the option to play with two players. The spells can also be a bit annoying to cast (especially Wingardium Leviosa which you use the most) but once you get the hang of it, it's quite fun to control the magic. The combat spells, on the other hand,
drove me absolutely insane and seemed pointless in battles (I aways just used Protego) but it's fun to pretend they actually do something.

Storyline: The main story was hard to follow (and I've read the book twice!) as it left a lot of details out and what it did include went by incredibly fast and it was hard to catch everything that was going on. If you've read the books, you will find the character's comments throughout the castle familiar, funny and true to character (that's the best part of the game in my opinion). But once you're done with storyline, you are still able to freely explore the castle and complete any side tasks that you desire.

Price: I rented this first and completed in within a few days. I can't see paying full price for something I may only pull off the shelf a few times and be done. So I reccommend renting first and if you really enjoy it, purchase it when the price goes down and take Harry on one of his most exciting adventures again and again!

Great game !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: August 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'm a great Harry Potter fan and I think this is the best Harry Potter game. I was disappointed by the Goblet of Fire game but I was really satisfied with this one. Hogwarts is so beautiful, so realistic, it really looks like the film's Hogwarts ! It is so immense you get lost in the many corridors and staircases at first, but you can also use the Marauder's map to find your way ! There is no load time between rooms, so you feel that Hogwarts is real. You have to fix things with your spells, you interact with the objects : armours, portraits, carpets, and even the golden snitch ! It's really nice to discover Hogwarts as if you were there ! And you earn points and rewards ! The storyline is OK, it's not great, but I think it's enough to understand the story. Spellcasting is really fun. You get to learn moves with the controller to cast spells.
It's definitely the best Harry Potter 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.

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.

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.

!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.

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