SecondWar

User Score
3.8

Presentation - 3.0
Gameplay - 3.0
Value - 4.0

In the current generation, Harry Potter video games have had by far the most sales on the Wii, due partly to the more interactive gameplay, which allows you to use your Wii Remote as your very own wand. This is the main reason I chose to buy the game for the Wii instead of the Xbox 360, even though there would be several other features that would be limited de to the Wii technological capabilities. When I first got the game, I did enjoy the different style of play as it lived up to my original expectations. However, these features, the game itself offers very little, with the storyline (adapted from the movie, not the book) being rather simplistic, repetitive and unimaginative.

Most of the gameplay involves you exploring Hogwarts and engaging in wizard duels, usually with Crabbe and Goyle. A sign of the game’s simplistic nature is shown here, they are as easy to defeat at every attempt. The duels themselves, regardless of the opponents, have only minor differences, generally amounting to new spells which have been unlocked since your last fight; thus making it relatively as easy to defeat Bellatrix Lestrange as it to win against Crabbe.

The main hazard of these duels is getting the Wii Remote to correctly interpret the spell you are casting. Each spell is cast by moving the Wii remote in a different direction, and without the game being MotionPlus compatible, it regularly fires off random spells, often hindering your attempts at victory. EA also altered the way you are guided round the castle from OOTP, replacing the Marauder's Map with Nearly Headless Nick, which again is a step-down. This is mainly due to the fact that Nick can only take you to a destinations assigned by the games storyline and not anywhere you please, as the Marauder's Map did in the last game. Also, he has a tendency of abandoning you when you get close to your destination, which is rather frustrating when the entrance to the area is more concealed than usual.

The level of difficulty throughout the game is also rather mediocre. Aside from the random duels, other aspects of the storyline involve wandering around the castle, playing Quidditch, solving puzzles and brewing Potions. Most of these puzzles are extremely easy to solve apart from one in particular, which more irritating than challenging. This is where Crabbe and Goyle lock Harry in the Astronomy Tower with seemingly no means of escape. The solution to this is far from obvious and may cause many gamers to abandon the game at this point out of frustration.

The Quidditch games are also a letdown. Although it is understandable that the game cannot be as well built as it was in the Quidditch World Cup game, it is still rather unimaginative in that both training sessions and matches consist merely of you playing as the Seeker, flying through hoops after the Snitch, whilst being carefully to reach the next hoop in time and to avoid various obstacles. One irratating thing about Quidditch is that a training session is always held right before every match, so as soon as I caught the Snitch once you are forced to do it all over again.

The most enjoyable aspect of the game is the potion making, which was well thought through and much less temperamental than the wizard duels, and far less repetitive that Quidditch. With many different potions to chose from it is able offer you several different levels of complexity, and it is fun to brew up several mixtures that are remembered from the books, as well as a few that you have probably not heard of before. However the concept starts to get old pretty quickly; plus a mini-game such as this shouldn't be allowed to be top aspect of the game.

The game's storyline mirrors that of the movie, meaning the Battle of the Astronomy Tower that was the climax of the book is missing, something which made the movie rather anti-climatic but served to rob the game of a finale, and making the last level no different to the rest of the game. Similarly, the encounter between Harry and Snape is a prime example of the lack of realistic emotion shown by all the characters throughout the game. Harry's horrified screams from the movie are turned into a feeble shake of his head which is really rather pathetic. Another good example is Hermoione's delayed reaction to Ron and Lavender's kiss, where she barely changes her expression and doesn’t even shed a tear.

Overall, the game is a big let-down. I know that in the UK, EA increased the price of the game on the HD consoles to £45, the same of what Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be on its release. But while MW2 will no doubt deserve this price, Half Blood Prince does not even come close. I managed to get it for the typically cheaper price that comes with most Wii games, with an extra discount provide by Amazon, but I still rushed to trade it in order to recoup as much of my loss as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if even some of the most fanatical Harry Potter fans see past their love of the series to find that EA have just ripped them off big time.