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Good looking, true to the story, but definitely a rental.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 58 / 61
Date: June 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'm going to start off by coming right out and saying that I played the first two titles in this franchise, and enjoyed them both. I've read the books, seen the movies, and have enjoyed (for the most part) the games. So as you read this review, appreciate that I'm not coming down on Harry Potter himself, nor am I slighting the world that Rowling has created in the books, and Warner Bros. have put to the screen. Nor am I even taking undo shots at the great and mighty Electronic Arts, although they deserve a few for getting a little lazy with this most recent addition to the line of Potter gaming titles.

First and foremost, let me air my chief complaint. You don't play Quidditch. Not once. In fact, you never touch a broom. The Quidditch matches are reduced to a static cut scene, where you're simply holding the Quidditch Cup. The cynic in me suspects that EA left it out to help drive sales of their stand-alone Quidditch title. But none of the speculation matters, it's simply not there.

My second issue is this game is exceptionally short. I'm not sure how long it took me to finish each of the first two, but it was longer (in each case) than the 5 hours or so it took me to play this one from start to finish. That's not braggadocio. I mean, for one, we're talking about a game in the Harry Potter franchise that has to be something that can appeal to, and be completed by, a wide age and ability range of gamers. So 'easy' isn't an issue here, particularly since a game like this isn't so much something you get for a challenge, but rather an opportunity to sort of live a little bit of Hogwarts. For another, I enjoy getting off the beaten path a bit in games. So this wasn't a case where I just raced through, I collected the pages, cards and beans (although there was really no point to it -- in the last title you spent beans on trinkets Ron's brothers had for sale, not so here). I played the side games, made sure I had A+ in each of the 3 'minigames', Buckbeak's bat chasing, owl racing, and dueling club. The point is, even if you allow yourself to be sidetracked, there will quickly come a point in the game where Dumbledore tells you to speak to him when you're ready to hear who won the House Cup. Make no mistake, that's the end. With no final cut scene, save a grimacing Snape as confetti falls, and some jumping around by the winning house, the game simply drops you out to the main menu. I'm not sure I've ever seen a more abrupt ending, it's a bit like the developers meant to do more, and simply ran out of time.

To wrap up my gripes, the control is a little wonky in this one, some sloppy camera angles allowing you at times to lose site of everything as you stare into the woodgrain of a bookcase, or a stone wall that has blocked your field of view. Games with this perspective have been around long enough that this should have been much cleaner.

I'm not all complaints though. This is, by far, the best visual presentation the franchise has enjoyed so far. There's a level of artistry in this game that really jumps out at you, and there are times when you'll find yourself admiring the composition of different scenes. They clearly went out of their way to make it look good.

So that's the quandary here. The game looks good. It plays adequately, and while brief, it's true to the story. So is it good? I'd have to shrug and say `yes', and I'll give it 3 stars for the sake of this review. It's certainly worth a rental, and while I know some will scoff and flap their Hogwarts robes in outrage at the suggestion that this isn't worth buying -- I think that's an important point to make here, and one that I wish I had considered before plunking down cash for this game. Really, don't buy it unless you're making a point to collect.

I sort of imagine the development team for this game sitting around a table some time ago, in a meeting intended to lay the groundwork for the game. And in my imagination, a lot of great ideas are tossed around, but then someone in a suit with insectile eyes speaks up and says "Look, that's all great, but toss it out. What's important is the cover. As long as it says 'Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban', it will sell. Make it look pretty, but don't spend just a ton of time on this. Create a linear gauntlet of 'Point A' to 'Point B' light puzzle solving, use the voices of at least some of the actors from the movie -- and it will sell, and sell well." I don't know if that's how it happened, but this game falls well short of expectations driven by the first two titles. It's always those people in the suits...

You do play as Harry, Ron and Hermione. There is "new" action, such as flying Buckbeak, and Hedwig. But there's no depth to any of that. Some of the puzzles are clever, the visuals are terrific, the sound is solid. It is, in the end, a Harry Potter title, true to the book and the movie, and for that alone, this game will find its way into people's libraries. I simply hope EA gets its act together and really does something with the next title, so that I don't again feel like the game was merely an afterthought. The first two didn't feel or play like that, there's really no reason the third one should have.

No Quidditch. How could they?

Not a good choice

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 20
Date: October 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I rented this game, my almost 4 year old son wanted it so I decided we'd rent it first and try it. It was too scary to play around him. I even got a little creeped out by the dementors sucking Harry Potters soul out of his body.
If you have small children don't buy this game.

Ok....still waiting for a great Harry Potter game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Too many side quests that had nothing to do with the story, when will one come out when the story is involved in every quest? When will we be able to visit Hogsmeade? It was ok, but the voices were obvious fakes, the camera angles were pretty bad and the audio was faulty. That being said, it is Harry Potter and it was freaking sweet to explore the castle, learn about the other things not in the movies. I would recommend it, also think about getting the Quidditch game, thats pretty sweet too.

Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 14
Date: June 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I personally am a huge Harry Potter fan. This game interested me when I found out you could play the whole gang (Harry, Ron, and Hermione). In the past harry potter games you could only be harry, and it got a little repetitive. This game seems to have improved a lot since the previous game, Harry Potter and the Chamber of secrets. For example you can play multiplayer minigames, where as in the past you could only try to defeat each other flying through rings on a broom stick. Another bonus is a specific map which you obtain during this game that shows you all the secret passage ways in hogwarts. This alone tells you they have spent much more time developing the castle, with more rooms and such. I personally thought the castle was a little under done in the previous games. I would say this game is a sure rent, and a great buy.

thank goodness - no Quidditch

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 14
Date: June 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

OK, maybe we're just not good at Quidditch, but for me, my husband, and our 8 yo son, Quidditch was always the worst part of the games - hard to get through, just really frustrating. So, just to give another viewpoint, we were very glad that there is no Quidditch in POA.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 7
Date: May 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I played my first Harry Potter game on the dreaded Playstation One console when it first came out and at the time I was impressed with the game concept, the graphics, and the overall play of the game. When Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets came out I had the Xbox and I was able to enjoy the boost in graphics, music, and overall game play. Just recently the first game came out on Xbox, and I decided to buy it. To my surprise it was nothing like the original Playstation One game that I remember. So I played it with great enthusiasm. I now await the third game. I have higher expectations than someone new to the game, but I am expecting the same quality of the other games as well as an increase of play and graphics quality. An EA game usually does not disappoint.

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 23
Date: June 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'm a big Harry Potter fan, I've read all the books, I have the 2nd gaem on the PC, and I have the 3rd HP game for XBox. One bad thing.......I don't have my Xbox yet!! IT is killing me cause I got ot play it just a little bit and I want to play it some more. The graphics are unbelievable. The spells, game-play, graphics, and depth have all improved. It is so incredibly awesome. Buy it now!

Best one yet

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 9
Date: May 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have not yet played this game, but i am very exicted about this game. I heard that you can play as Harry, Ron, Hermonie. I read some other reviews and this game looks good. The graphics look real to life and the game play is intense. If you intend to get this game, get it on the Xbox

Im out

HP is da BOMB!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 8
Date: June 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I think that this one is the best of 'em all! I'm a HPn fanatic and I have a mansion-full of merchandise.The graphics and the challenges are awesome . this time you can play as the whole gang and they have mini games. 100000 out of 10;)

great, but could be... better?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I loved the game. My only gripe is that is was quick and easy. OK, so I have 2 gripes. Yeah, the title is 'Harry Potter' but the second part is 'the prisoner of azkaban'... who is Sirus. You really should have been able to play Sirus as well, or he should have been a much more integral part of this game. Over all though, it was really great.

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