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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Xbox 360)
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4/5 |
Zizy
(July 11, 2008) |
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This was my first HP game for the Xbox, and I really enjoyed it. The graphics were pretty good and it was great to hear the actual actors voices. The puzzles were fun to work out, but the Gobstones cup was a nightmare to win and it took me nearly four hours to win the last 3 matches - be warned! I did managed to get 100% completion after some serious trial and error and I will definitely get the next HP game. |
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2/5 |
Oh Deary, Deary Me
(February 15, 2008) |
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Oh goodness. Possibly the worst game I've ever owned on my 360. Ok, warning, this is an angry rant, but if you are seriously considering buying this game, I'd still recommend reading it. To try and cut down on the rambling and the waffling, I shall lay it down in bullet points, if you'll excuse it:
-Horrific misquotes from the book and movie
-Embarrasing graphics that clearly shows they don't take younger gamers seriously, and think they can cut down on effort.
-No Quidditch (partly why the sixth movie also disappointed)
-Spells are easy to perform when lifting plant pots, but extremely hard in duels, hence it leads to embarrased 16 yr olds, who are actually quite good at most games, getting beaten by virtual Crabbe and Goyle.
-All the background people look exactly the same- there's an army of lanky dark-haired girls, a few hundred medium height redheads and a few short girls with pigtails.
-The lighting and camera angles are terrible, so when you are searching for a single book in the whole library (even harder than it is in real life with the lack of a librarian to help you), you can't see a thing.
-The missions that take place in the book are scarce in the game and generally short, and to make up for this the game is filled with pointless, extremely hard missions with no real sense of purpose- in the books Harry never has to look through every bush on the Hogwarts grounds to find Luna's missing sock.
-Every character you bump into on your travels, and every painting you need to go through for a shortcut, says exactly the same thing everytime, so their little quotes are permanently scarred on to your eardrums, and now means I personally have a phobia of a painting of an old man on the third floor staircase.
-Oh and if you're a big xbox 360 kind of a person, it will probably annoy you at how ridiculously easy it is to boost up your gamerscore- I got about 600 in a week.
All in all, do not buy this game unless
a) you don't care about anything and just want a big gamerscore
b) you're such a die-hard fan of Harry Potter that nothing you could deter you from it.
c) you really, really hate Harry Potter |
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2/5 |
The magic is missing
(January 02, 2008) |
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I was really looking forward to playing this game. However, I found myself quickly bored. The graphics are really good and the castle looks fantastic but I can't help but feel a lot of time was spent on this and then none on making the game. Once I'd wandered around that castle 5 times I quickly grew tired of it. There was none of the magic of previous games where you cast your spells. One of the challenges involves playing chess and if you can't play chess what's the point. There is barely any game play for the actual story. The teacher challenges are laughable. |
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3/5 |
'Had so much more potential'
(August 30, 2007) |
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As others have said the graphics are really good and the castle is great to explore and easy enough to get around by following the footsteps to where you want to go.
It starts out good, recruiting Dumbledore's army I thought would be the first of many tasks but once you've done it the game is pretty much over. You then have to get Umbridge out of Hogwarts which is also quite fun but much shorter to undertake than the latter.
Then the disappointment REALLY begins....it seems as though one creator 'disapperated' leaving some numpty (lacking enthusiasm) to finish making the rest of the game! It is severely rushed to the finish with cut scene after cut scene and a few fights which don't even feel like you've taken part and then its all over.
There are more disappointing aspects...lighting the torches and mending flower pots becomes a bit repetitive, there are many doors which you cannot go through, you do get to go to grimmauld place and have a wander but there's not much to do there (again many doors which you can't go through), you cannot explore any of the ministry you just get cut scenes and have a couple of (very dull) fights, Hagrid's hut cannot be entered (plus Hagrid himself doesn't do anything), no Dumbledore's office, no broom stick flying (unless you count the ultra pointless Fred & George moment), no entry into the Divination classroom.
Actually the list could be endless, but one thing I found even more annoying than the above is that all you get is a trophy (that does nothing) each time you complete a side task which doesn't give you much incentive to complete the other tedious side tasks.
Overall I would say this is more suited to those wanting to explore the castle than wanting some serious roll play as actually playing the main game can be completed in an evening.
I've given this 3 stars.... 1 for the graphics, 1 for the castle and 1 for the recruiting of Dumbledore's army.
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5/5 |
It's Hogwarts!
(July 28, 2007) |
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O.K., let's start with the obvious. It's Hogwarts and as a Potter fan I was amazed by wandering around the castle (by the way, graphics are astounding). The spell-casting system has been changed much for the better; at first of course it takes a bit of getting used to, but once your thumb gets used to the movement it becomes possible to flick spells this way and that with considerable speed.
Then of course comes the major thing. This is by no means the best game in the world. It's short, the camera can get annoying, but it is worth it for wandering around Hogwarts. Gone are the annoying cartoon visuals of COS.
A must have for Potter fans and general gamers. |
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