A vast improvement over last year’s Order of the Phoenix game, this latest in the Harry Potter series finds a more welcoming balance between progression and exploration, while also allowing young fans to take part in magic duels and Quidditch matches.
These key action elements were sorely missing from the previous game. Order of the Phoenix was also tripped up by gameplay that sent players running to and fro around Hogwarts, accumulating tasks by the dozen but with little guidance as to which were essential and which were optional. Add in a confusing map which did little to make the labyrinthine Hogwarts layout accessible.
Half-Blood Prince is, by comparison, a much more streamlined affair. The story now moves forward in a strictly linear fashion, propelling impatient players through the important parts without the need for tiresome wandering around.
Navigation has also been fixed. The magical footprints that were supposed to guide you in Order of the Phoenix have been ditched in favour of Gryffindor house ghost, Nearly Headless Nick. A prod of a button and he pops up and leads the way to whichever destination you need. Not only will he help you find objectives, but he’ll also point out collectible school crests along the way and wait around if you decide to dash off to pick them up.
It’s typical of the game’s attention to detail that they’ve hired a John Cleese impersonator to voice Nick. It’s a role that Cleese only played briefly, back in the very first film, but fans value continuity and it’s a nice touch.
The meat of the game revolves around three different disciplines: flying, duelling and potion making. Each is essentially a mini-game, but they’re deployed in such a way that it’s never too repetitive.
Flying, and by extension Quidditch, takes the form of checkpoint races through glowing stars suspended in the air. Flying through these extends your time (shown by the colour of the rings – green means you’re OK, red means hurry up!) and there’s nothing too challenging about this part of the game. It looks spectacular, however, and its simplicity is therefore key to making the coolest bit of the game open to players of all skill levels. Swooping around the Quidditch stadium, and even out into the surrounding countryside, is an experience that Potter’s young fans will love.
Quidditch is simple to play, but looks spectacular. Ideal for younger players looking for a confidence boost.
Duelling is also simple, though requires more skill. You’re automatically locked onto your opponent, thus removing tricky thumbstick aiming from the equation, so it’s more a test of using the correct spells at the right time. Tapping up on the right stick sends a stream of Stupefy spells towards your foe, while more damaging attacks like Expelliarmus require both sticks tugged in different directions. The left and right triggers allow you to dodge incoming attacks.
Just like Quidditch, the game skews subtley towards gratifying the younger fan’s desire to take part in impressive action sequences without feeling out of their depth. They do get tougher as the story progresses, but the difficulty curve never feels unfair.
Potions, sadly, are the games weakest point. In theory it’s a great idea. A series of ingredients scroll up the right hand side of the screen, and you follow along by picking up the relevant bottle and pouring it in the cauldron. For instance, you may have to tip in enough to turn the potion yellow. Add to much and smoke fills the screen and must be cleared, wasting precious time. Having to shake ingredients, or bubble and stir the potion with the sticks, add complications and as the game progresses it’s this section that starts to feel most fiddly.
It’s not terribly precise and, once you’ve picked them up, it can be hard to gauge where your ingredients are in relation to the cauldron. That’s not a problem with pouring ingredients, but for items like rat spleen it’s easy to waste time dropping them on the table instead of in the pot. With strict time limits and harsh penalties, if there’s any part of the game that will cause frustration, it’s this.
It may not be filled with incident, but the sprawling world of Hogwarts is a delight to explore.
On the whole, though, Half-Blood Prince strikes just the right balance. At almost any time, players can wander away from their assigned task and explore the lavishly recreated Hogwarts. Movement can be a little clumsy, and aiming levitated objects to knock down secret crests is a bit of a fumble, but for the most part the game makes good on its promise.
Character-based games like this live or die on how well they allow fans to enter into their fantasy world, and in this regard Half-Blood Prince is perhaps the best Potter game yet. Although there’s less to do than in Order of the Phoenix, the environment looks and feels more impressive. Simply finding familiar locations will be enough to put a smile on many children’s faces.
Although most of the adult roles are performed by impersonators, the young stars of the film all lend their vocal talents to the dialogue and the likenesses are notably better than in previous games. They still have a slightly rigid quality, but they’re instantly recognisable and the moments when these digital mannequins are called upon to recreate comedic or romantic scenes are surprisingly successful.
There’s not much replay value beyond the main plot, but even when the story is completed the ability to keep earning badges in the three main disciplines, or track down those crests, will keep players coming back. To adults they may be simplistic mini-games, but kids don’t really care. They’re at Hogwarts, flying on broomsticks, waving wands and mixing potions! For those who value communal play, a two-player duelling mode also boosts the longevity.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince isn’t a complex game, and older kids may find it too straightforward, but as a companion piece to both book and film it delivers an engaging and polished experience.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is available on Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PC and PSP. Click here to buy it now from Amazon.co.uk
Tags: Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter, Xbox 360
