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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.

This game Sucks!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 12
Date: June 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is the worst ever. The graphics are bad, the story is completly stupid! I wouldn't buy this game, if I were you I'd buy Custom Robo now that game is SWEET!

SO BORING!!!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: July 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is bad. You have to do stupid tasks like find the spellbook. Also it's annoying and hard. The only fun thing is hitting other Hogwarts suudents with spells.

Another Trap for HP Fans

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: August 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game looks and plays like it was made for great screenshots and nothing else. Of course, the ability to control anyone in your group is nice, but what do you think happens to them while you are not controling them? They are running into the middle of the pack of enemies getting themselves killed instead of staying back and casting spells. Then, when you go to fight enemies that only one spell can harm, like Lomos Duo, the only person who can hurt those enemies happens to be dead! I still wonder why EA chose to go with such a stupid AI.

The graphics of the character are nice, but the scenery is 2-D, which takes away from the splendor of the graphics. The pitiful graphics make the game lag considerably. You would think that because every Gamecube is the same EA would have made the game not lag.

The puzzles seem to be made for mindless 7 year olds with very little common sense. They just take a long time to complete because it takes forever to manuver the crates, boxes and ice cubes which are all plentiful in the puzzles. I also must comment on the tiny list of spells.

There are not many side quests at all. There are only about three: Find the Statues, Find the Cards and the minigames. The minigames are short and easy and do not make up for the fact that QUIDITCH IS NOT INCLUDED. Flying Buckbeak does not make up for the good old broomstick.

The game world is very small. No floors or dungeons to explore as an extra. Just 7 floors, a dungeon (Potions) and the outside that makes the small inside seem even smaller.

The action part is way too easy. I can count on one hand the number of times I was hit by an enemy. There are also about 7 different varieties of them, so you need to get used to hitting the same thing over and over. Also, the NPCs are as lifeless as heck. They don't help advance the plot at all. The plot is very confusing if you havent read the book. I don't even think they ever mentioned Sirius Black had even escaped from Azkaban.

Overall, this game is the second worst I have ever played. Bad planning and a heavy profit motive ruined what could have been a very good game.

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.

This game is okay...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: June 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is not that great... The loading takes forever and the challenges are annoying and repetitive. It doesn't really follow the book or the movie. I wasn't really impressed. The Chamber of Secrets game was definitely better. Controlling the three characters starts out being fun, but soon grows to be very annoying. I wouldn't recommended this even to a fan (i am one).

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?

Harry Potter and The Prisoners of Dullsville

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: July 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I was so excited when I got this game...I expected something far more challenging, complex, and more spectacular in the graphics department than the former two games. Well, my expectations fell short, at least for the first two. Instead of focusing on the plot, the designers instead focusing on every little detail, from the hemming on the characters' robes (which brings me to ask...is that underwear that Ron wears outside of his jeans?) to the fact that when you gallop Buckbeak, he actually sets down his feet accordingly to the pace (as people who ride horses will see).
POA is probably the flimsiest Harry Potter video game on the market. It has a murky, incomplete story line that will leave people who haven't read the book and haven't seen the movie thinking, "What? Didn't Sirius, like, kill thirteen people? Why is Harry so eager to help him escape?" Along with this, it is so short that you could rent it, beat it, and return it that very same day. It literally took me five hours to complete it. Another downfall is that the expansive, breathtaking Grounds make the little space in the Castle seem even littler. Even though I didn't want the same old repeatitive puzzles like in the Chamber of Secrets (for PS1), I still wanted the get-yourself-lost feel that the predessesor had. Don't even get me started on the pathetic excuse for mini-games. And: WHAT HAPPENED TO QUIDDITCH?!?!
It might seem like I hate the game, but don't get me wrong, it is still fun while it lasts. Among the pros: You can play as Harry, Ron, and Hermione (my favorite is Ron, as he can open up hidden doors and rummage through the bookshelves) but sometimes the frequent, repeatitive advice from your other shadows can get annoying (EXAMPLE: When you have completed your tasks for the day your friends will nag you and nag you, "I'm really tired. I think we should turn in" and "It's getting late. I think we should turn in"); you get to fly Buckbeak around the Grounds, which is fun the first couple of times but wears off; um...
Final Verdict: Rent it---You'll play it through once and forget it.

The dementors r coming. BOO!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: June 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is fun to play I really liked it. But there are pros and cons. Pros- Fly Buckbeak, Many spells but ur 3 characters can all use diff ones, Pretty good missions.
Cons- graphics are sometimes better sometimes worse, no quidditch, slow loading and movement reaction, bad replay value,
bad aiming. But all in all its a fairly good game it doesnt follow the movie and book very buch but oh well. My advice rent dont buy.

Fun can't last 4-ever, but it could've been longer than this

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: January 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
game on Gamecube systom four days ago. I am a horrible game player, and yet, I beat the game in two days. Not because it was easy, (even though some parts were,) but because it was
soooo SHORT. It was VERY fun, but I was quit dissapointed on not facing a boggart on the first day of term, and how you get the patronus charm spell book, and you don't get to save Buckbeak, and don't do as much as SEE a broomstick. However, the parts that were in it were very enjoyable. I was also pleased the makers of the game took notice of other creatures such as Redcaps & Hinnkypunks. I LLLLOOOOVVVEEE Harry Potter, and I think the game could have been better, but I would advise buying it.

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