User Reviews (1 - 11 of 38)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

It's going to be great!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 43
Date: May 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game should be awsome.I've played both sorcerer's stone and chamber of secrets and they were great.The best thing i think will be the character changing ability,so instead of just playing as harry you can play as ron,hermionie,and harry!!The game has kind-of good graphics but the gameplay totally makes up for that!! Anyone who loves harry potter will definitly love this game and the other two games that are out too!!!
P.S.: dont forget to try out harry potter quidditch world cup!

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

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 65 / 74
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 run 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?

Great, but too short

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: June 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game expecting something hard and challenging but instead I got a good game but too short. Don't get me wrong this game is still challenging for little kids but it's just that I'm very good at games so it was easy for me. I beat it in one day. It was fun while it lasted but I think that this game was shorter than the other games. Thats why I think it's only $39.99. I reccomend this game for everyone but if gamers are like me think about renting it. If you're a true Harry Potter fan or like Harry Potter a lot then I would buy it because even through it's short it's still a good addition to your collection.

BY FAR NOT THE BEST GAME IN THE SERIES!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I was eggerly awaiting the arival of this game only to be extremely disappointed. What was EA doing? The game is terribly short and is just not as good as the other two preciding it. Yes, you get to play as Harry, Ron, and Hermonie which in itself is fun but it lacks the depth of the previous games. The game is lacking something, besides not being able to play Quiditch. What was EA thinging, not letting Harry play Quiditch. Don't get me wrong, the game is alright and parts of it are really challenging but it needs more, alot more. In the end all I have to say is don't waist your money on this game, rent it or buy it used.

Disappointment....

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 14
Date: June 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This product is sub-standard. Don't be fooled by the current inflated customer rating--one of the two 5-star reviews was written back in early May (long before the game's release), probably by one of the EA Games executives who knew that they had produced a very mediocre game (notice the shameless plug at the end for the Quiddich World Cup game, to help ease the sting of its ommission from Azkaban, and to boost Quiddich sales). Generally, it's best to judge a game by its own merits, but in the HP series, you have to consider the progress made in the previous two versions. Common sense should have driven the EA people to continue to make improvements in every area possible, not just in the graphics/eye candy. You'd think that with all the attention and $$$ that HP generates, the EA people would have made Azkaban a top priority, instead of a, "Holy Cow! The movie comes out in four weeks--freeze the code and ship it, now!!!" kind of thing. In terms of game play and adventure, this game has failed to hit the mark. Hopefully, this review will help balance the total customer rating for this disappointing offering.

fun but short

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: June 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

we rented this game yesterday and from what i saw in magazines and on tv, this game looked really awesome. i was a bit dissapointed once i started playing it. the control is pretty different, and the camera angle just gets on your nerves. The graphics are great too but i dont know if this happened to your game, but the game froze once and my file got messed up, and at some points the disc would make a weird noise, then whatever someone was saying on the game would be repeated. This game is fun, but shorter than the others. Thats why i give it 4 stars.

super

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

i got this game 3 days ago and i absoultely love it. it was a little challenging but reall really fun. u get 2 fly buckbeak, hedwig, and be harry ron or hermoine. i admit i wasn't sure about buying it but maan i am really glad i did. it took all of my money and i wouldnt have wanted to spend it any other way. a must buy for sure. if u like harry potter at all u will love it. so go buy it today u will be happy u did. and personally i didn't think it was 2 short at all but really fun my favorite parts are flying buckbeak, fighting off malfoy, fighting dementors but their are a lot of other cool parts also and its adefinetly not just for babies but for older kids to i say up to about 15 to 16 a must buy its great so buy it today

Best Game out of the 3!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: June 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game was awesome! The graphics were better, you can go anywhere in Hogwarts, ANYWHERE being the key word. The whole game was just so real and you really felt like you were at Hogwarts. Ok, so there was no quidditch, but I played the pc version and I have to say if you play that version and than the one for Gamecube, you'll think this one is 100 times better. My favorite part of the whole game would either be flying Buckbeak or fighting the dementors. Buy it as soon as possible, it's no waste of money! And I'm not just saying this b/c I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, but b/c it was truly a phenomenal strategy, and challenging game!

The Dementers are comming....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just wanted to say that I have had this game only 2 days and absolutly love it. The graphics are the best and the game is cool. This is a must have for any Harry Potter fan or anyone who is just looking for a cool game.The movie diddnt follow the book to well but the game did!!!!!!!! The only problem is on my third day of playing it I beat the game so it is kind of easy but that is a goodthing in a way because it still had some challange and if it is too diffulcult then you will give up on it. I love this game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was merely ok

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: June 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The last game in the series was fun to play, I thought, and I eagerly awaited this one. But there really isn't much to this game. There is no quidditch, not a lot of exploring, not many spells, not many challenges, and a boring ending. The plus side is that you can play as all three kids, but really the other 2 characters usually just get in the way, or zap you with spells if they're behind you. Most of the challenges are repititive and boring, like the ones where you just drag someone around. It went by way to fast and could have simply used some more challenges to make it exciting. If you like HP books/movies, then this is a fun game. But after you beat it in a few days, there isn't going to be any replaying. It would definately be better to rent it and then hope the 4th is better.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 Next 

Actions