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Great Challange

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 61 / 83
Date: September 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I got to test drive the game and its great you can do charms and play quidditch and you must avoid getting caught by filtch (the care taker) or you get set back.

Impressive translation from book to screen to PC!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 22
Date: January 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I read all four Harry Potter books when they first came out, I saw the movie less than a week after its release, and I won a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for PC. I read a rather overbearing review that called the game "mediocre" and "suitable for children only." So, after six or seven sleepless hours spent playing "Harry Potter" here is my verdict (please note that I have not yet completed the game so I cannot comment on end cutscene):

Pros:
+ Excellent, detailled graphics (textures, lighting, effects) that bring Hogwarts to life
+ Cutscenes that preserve most of the suspense and humour from the book/movie
+ The game tries to closely mirror important events from the book (Quidditch matches, using the Invisibility Cloak to rescue Norbert, attending Potions, Herbology, and Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, putting Fluffy to sleep, battling Voldemort)
+ Character voice acting is above average and characters sound like their movie counterparts (only the Snape voice was a little off--trust me, I know Alan Rickman's voice when I hear it)
+ Attention to detail (except that they could have made the images in the pictures move like in the book/movie)
+ The Challenges offered a chance to try out new skills/spells and had interesting obstacles
+ The characters: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Draco, the professors....all look, act and sound like their book/movie counterparts
Cons:
- Some sequences are ridiculously easy and then the next minute are impossibly hard--lacks continuity in spots
- Some of the tasks are too contrived--i.e. Hagrid's garden caves collecting Fire Seeds
- Quidditch controls are very awkward
- No background information given, introduction was too little, story skips around in spots
- Saves are automatic and in inconvenient spots
- No way to adjust difficulty level

Final verdict: This is a game worth a look if you liked the Harry Potter books/movie. Has some very good action sequences and beautiful graphics. Medium to hard difficulty level in spots.

This Harry Potter Game Rocks!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 26
Date: November 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was patiently waiting for a Harry Potter game to be released, when I got this game for my birthday. I was hooked as soon as I started playing. The graphics are good, and I noticed that this game is largely based on the movie. Having seen the movie, I think the characters in the game look just like the people in the movie. I really enjoyed this game because it made me feel like I was really at Hogwarts rather than just playing on my computer. This game is fun for the whole family!

Shiny.....shiny good....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 29 / 35
Date: December 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Allright, first off, I'm 17 years old AND a girl (GASP! A Female gamer! FLEE!). Unlike most of my generation, however, I caught on to the Harry Potter phenomenon early and wasn't put off by the fact that it was so appealing to younger kids as well. (which means I'm mocked by my friends, but I can slowly convert them...ah yes, the positive ways of using peer pressure....life is good.) The game is no less; crisp graphics, and a storyline that stays wonderfully true to the book make this a must for true fans. The learning curve is swift enough that even young gamers won't have much trouble playing it, but at the same time it's got enough challenge to it that more experience gamers will like it to. The ONLY reason that I haven't given this a full five stars is because I wish it had been more of an RPGm and I'm not much for level games....but then, I only say that because it's so damn good I HAVE to find fault with it. Bravo EA.....you've done well.

Disappointing Eye Candy

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 26 / 31
Date: January 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First, the good news: the game is visually stunning. I have never seen better bricks in a castle before. The music's pretty good, too.

Now the bad news: the game isn't very much fun. Somebody at Electronic Arts needs to discover that "frustrating" is not a synonym for "challenging." For example, they thought it would be challenging if they limited your ability to save the game to specific points. But I found that this just made the sliding blocks puzzle at the start of the game frustrating. One false move (you have to make a minimum of 10 perfect jumps) and I had to start the level all over again. And again. And again. And again.

The game is very linear. It might be great fun to explore Hogwart's Castle, but you can't. Each section of the game takes place in a limited portion of the castle, and once you've completed that section, you move on to the next section. There's no going back. And you can't re-visit an old section by reloading a saved game, because you automatically save your game 'on top' of your previous game.

If you decide you want to have several games in progress, you'll discover that it's impossible to turn off or skip the cut scenes. The cut scenes are very well done, but if you've seen them once, it's doubtful that you would want to see them again (some of the cut scenes are quite long).

Although the game's graphics are breathtaking, there are a number of annoying 3-D mapping flaws (parts of objects that should be behind other objects are displayed in front of them). This distracts from the game. Another minor annoyance is characters who "speak" without opening their mouths.

The game has some pretty steep hardware requirements: you'll need 500 MB of free hard drive space (and you STILL need to have the CD ROM in the drive to play the game). EA says the game will run with a 256 MHz processor and 64 Megs of RAM, but recommends a 400 MHz or faster processor, and 128 Megs or more of RAM. You also need a modern 3-D Video card for 3-D Accelerated mode (my Voodoo 3 is not supported, although the Voodoo 5 is).

One minor hardware requirement, not listed on the box, is that the game expects your system to have a mouse. I found it very difficult to play this game with a trackball, and I expect that if you have a laptop with a thumb stick or a touch pad, you will also have difficulties. My system has a Trackman Marble+, and it is very difficult to "learn" the spells with it. If you are thinking about buying this game but you don't have a mouse, do yourself a favor and get one.

Some reviewers have found this game to be too short: but I am not one of them. So far, I've learned three spells, and I already wish the game was over. Sorry to be so negative, but Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone isn't very much fun.

Good adaption, Cheap Grapics

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 21 / 23
Date: April 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Okay, so I admit that this game was more closely adapted to the book than the movie, but get real. Some of the lines are just...weird. For example, at the beginning, Ron comes up and says "Hi, Harry. Remember me? Ron Weasley?" Think about this line for awhile. Harry has never had a friend in his life and then Ron thinks that Harry will forget him in about 15 minutes. Judging by his character, Harry Potter does not have a short-term memory. While we're in the subject of goods and bads, here are some more...goods and bads.

GOODS:
1.Characters that don't appear in the movie, like Peeves the Poltergeist and Professor Sprout, appear in this game.
2. Some scenes, like the potions obstacle on the way to the Sorcerer's Stone, that were in the book are in this game.
3. They use items like Chocolate Frogs as energy boosters.
4.They give you easy-to-follow directions for games like Quidditch.

BADS
1.The graphics are very [bad]. I mean, I could make these characters out of Play-Dough and it would still look the same.
2.The voice-overs don't really sound like the actors in the movie.
3. I could think of many ways of putting funny lines from the book into this game that they didn't put in. AND I'M 11!
4.Quidditch was much, much, much too easy for me. The Snitch is easily spot and goes too slow. I caught it in about 5 SECONDS!!!
5. They took ideas that I've seen in other games and put the ideas in this game.

So, I've noticed some goods and bads. I recommend this game to SERIOUS Harry Potter fans.I'm one of that crowd. Maybe the next game(if they make one)will be better.

Yeah! No more violence!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 18
Date: November 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

It is about time the gaming industry put out a game that was packed with all of the spell-binding magical adventure that you get in games like Diablo II without all the blood and guts to go along with it. I have a nephew who is 9 and is obsessed with Diablo II and other games in that genre. He is bored with most games rated for his age. He finally has a game to play that is fun and exciting for him without the blood and guts. We have loved playing Harry Potter. It has kept us on the edge of our seats. The graphics and sounds are wonderful. This game is a must for any child who loves Harry Potter and loves gaming. It's a refreshing change from the typical roll-playing type games. The only thing that would have made the game more fun would have been to make it a multi-player with Harry and his friends. Thanks EA!

Great Game! Just 1 issue...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 15 / 15
Date: February 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I am an adult who loves the Harry Potter books and bought this to see how the story was manipulated into a game. I was extremely pleased and had a great time playing! This game is not just for kids. The game play is designed like a school where lessons are learned and expanded on until the big showdown with You-know-Who.

The only part I found very frustrating was the save game feature. You cannot save at any point you wish; the game has set points where it can be saved (usually after a lesson is completed) This meant that I had to start many lessons over from the beginning if I made a wrong move somewhere. Plus you cannot revisit a prior point in the game. You must start the whole game over.

This is a great buy for people who like non-violent, fun-based, action games. The story line follows the book, and the characters and lessons are very nicely developed. This is not for someone looking for games with high definition graphics and mind bending puzzles.

I hope they come out with a sequel.

Beware if you're short on memory

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 45 / 69
Date: December 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I got this game for my son and have not been able to even get it loaded on my PC, which is only about 3 years old. The game requires at least 500 mb of free memory on your hard drive. Even after deleting enough files to free up the memory, the game still crashes before it even starts. Apparently, unless you have really up-to-date video/graphics cards, you may have problems. Another annoyance is that there is no printed technical support material; everything is online in the Install Guide; so unless you can get the game loaded, you can't read any of the troubleshooting tips.

This game rocks!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 52 / 91
Date: July 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game has everything! It has good graphics, nifty characters, saweet settings, and that's not all! I would love for everyone to own this game!

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