Game Review: Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince

Harry Potter is the goose that laid the golden snitch for JK Rowling and Warner Brothers – will it be the same for EA Games.

By Charlie Brown

Well, for someone who hasn’t read the books, but seen the movies, I expected the game to be a ripper due to the hype surrounding the whole franchise. So does the game stack up? Yes and no….

First of all, the Wii motion aspect of this is really cool, especially as you fight against the likes of Crabbe and Malfoy in duelling, and when you are flying during Quidditch.

The game is a little confusing and if you don’t know much about Harry Potter, so you might wonder what’s going on half the time, and the game doesn’t explain itself too well.

As you go through the different levels you collect 150 crests, and once you get all 150, you win. These crests also open up mini games.

There are basically three games to be played – making potions, Quidditch and duelling. To be honest, from an adult point of view, these get a little bit tedious, but I thought it would not be fair to judge a game from just an adult’s perspective, so I called in a couple of young mates, Oliver (8) and Elliott (7).

So what was their verdicts?
Oliver: Playing Quidditch is really cool. You chase the Golden Snitch through hoops while a member from another team chases you. I also really liked how I could duel against Crabbe and Malfoy, too. Once you get used to it, it isn’t hard to play, but if you are a beginner and you haven’t read the instructions you might find it hard.

Elliott: I really loved duelling against Crabbe and Malfoy, and I really liked making the potions. The hardest potion is the love potion antidote. It makes you stop falling in love, which is good.

So while this game may not be for the older generation, it may supply hours of fun for its core audience – young kids.

Charlie: 3 out of 5
Oliver: 4 out of 5
Elliott 4.5 out of 5

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