Off the Shelf: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

So, you're 28. Why would you want to review the latest Harry Potter game? Perhaps in this case, my curiosity has got the better of me. Can EA really make a quality game based on the Harry Potter licence? The answer was three shakes of a Wiimote away.

After making my start, I could imagine the game becoming boring or repetitive on the PS2. Wii owners get to immerse themselves in a slightly different experience, thanks to its unique control system. I think that it does make a difference to how quickly you become bored.

The menu screen is easily accessible, offering point and click simplicity, which means you can adjust in game options and begin your adventure without too much fiddling about. Nice that, considering first impressions is everything.

After the intro movie sets up Harry's near expulsion from Hogwarts, the player is given a tutorial level, allowing them to practice with the controls, instead of just being told which buttons to press. A nice touch though not terribly original, but this has worked well for other adventure type games. Initially you're taught how to operate or select your wand, how to move around and how to interact with environmental objects.

The game story then places Harry and his friends back at Hogwarts. It's within the school's grounds and corridors that the player really gets to sink their teeth into Harry Potter's world. Initially I'd have to report that I didn't have a clue where I was supposed to go or what I was meant to be doing (who reads game manuals these days right?) but the game corrected this as we went on, leaving me with a fairly reasonable learning curve.

You have an overall map which details specific locations around Hogwarts School - after about 15 minutes I was using this confidently. When you've discovered where you need to go next, you can set a waypoint marker, whether your destination is the owlery or the boathouse. A set of vanishing footprints will then appear in game, which leads Harry to his current objective. This idea works brilliantly, because it prevents the player from ever becoming lost. A nice touch for the younger or less experienced gamer.

What game would compare well with Order of the Phoenix? Only one comes to mind; Canis Canem Edit (Bully) on PS2. Although both games utilise a similar sandbox style which allows the player freedom to explore, Canis Canem Edit has a greater level of interactivity with non player characters.

Graphically HPOOTP is very impressive; all of the main characters have been faithfully recreated and look a lot like their real life counterparts. By the same token, Hogwarts isn't all dark and dingy; there are plenty of secrets waiting to be discovered and every area on the map is different from the last.

Other nice touches include; replacing portraits to release ghosts in the walls, restoring statues and ornaments, levitating objects with your wand and practicing new spells. As good as all this sounds I doubt whether Order Of The Phoenix will appeal to older teenagers; puzzles are kept simplistic and tasks involving recruiting students for Harry's Defence Against The Dark Arts army, quickly become too repetitive. Too much of the game is also spent running around from place to place in order to meet progress objectives. Unlike Canis Canem Edit - a game which pulled off interaction with NPCs flawlessly - players aren't given the option to turn Harry bad. There's little imagination behind set objectives, which are fun for a while but offer no real replay value.

So what's the verdict? HP:OOTP isn't the worst game I've ever played by a long shot, but it's also not one of the best. Instead EA have settled for the middle ground, neither squandering their licence rights nor creating what could be called the best Harry Potter game so far.

-- Ben Daniel 2.5 / 5