Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince *Wii *£29.99 (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince *Wii *£29.99

5:13pm Thursday 9th July 2009

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The latest Harry Potter videogame is based on the sixth novel in J.K. Rowling's series about the boy wizard and it retells the story of the his life at the Hogwarts School during his sixth year.

The Nintendo Wii version is very different to the game on handheld consoles, with players becoming Harry as he helps headmaster Dumbledore retrieve memories about a young Tom Riddle, learn new potions, play Quidditch (a flying game played on broomsticks), duel other students in dueling clubs and fight the evil Death Eaters by using magic.

Most of the game is spent accomplishing tasks, some as simple as travelling to a different part of the castle to do something or retrieve an object, while others involve solving puzzles presented by different physical environments.

The game provides you with the ability to openly explore the breathtakingly spectacular Hogwarts castle and grounds. While exploring this medieval playground, the story unfolds and in between various challenges, such as learning new potions and practicing your magical abilities during dueling matches, the plot is revealed in short video sequences.

However, this is a complex story. If you have never read the book or seen the movie, you might not completely understand what is going on. The story feels compacted, and at times, somewhat disjointed. One minute you are flying in the air in a Quidditch match, and the next you are sauntering down the halls of Hogwarts.

Thanksfully, the navigation here is easy. Nearly Headless Nick, a resident ghost, can always be summoned to lead you to where you need to go. Plus the passwords to use with the portraits to activate the shortcuts through the castle are introduced early on.

While the variety of tasks seems small and most are pretty easy, this is a fun game to play, especially for wizard wannabees. The detail in the castle is amazing. Staircases move, pictures animate and talk to you, and as you explore, you can find 150 hidden crests that unlock new content and bonus material. Thanks to the use of body scanning, the characters in the game really do look like their counterparts in the movie, and for the first time in a Harry Potter game, their faces show emotion.

The game does a good job of incorporating dueling, potion-making and broomstick-flying into the story line. In addition, you can join clubs to further perfect these skills, and you can unlock two-player dueling.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is simply a good game for fans of Harry Potter, but it is not a game for hard-core gamers. It creates easy game play for kids and casual gamers. Fans will appreciate the original voice talent of many of the actors from the movie and they will love the musical score.

4/5

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