Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- May 10, 2007 11:05 AM PST
- Email this!
Harry Potter goes Zelda in The Order of the Phoenix.
I would designate past Potter games as movie-licensed write-offs, but the Order of the Phoenix has several Zelda-like qualities that give it a unique look and feel compared to run-of-the-mill exploration games prior.
Spell it Out for Me
The basic premise is adventuring through the massive, castle-like Hogwarts that now has a dungeon-style presence that actually make you want to venture. The real "magic" in the game comes by way of gesture-based spell casting.
On the Wii, it's most interesting, where specific Wii Remote movement patterns activate corresponding spells. On the other platforms, the analog sticks emulate wand movement. In general, though, you can pretty much use magic pick up anything in the huge environment to move around or stack up to solve puzzle or reach high areas.
Built exactly from the sets of the movie castle, this game strives for an authentic feel. Obviously that can hamper a game's success, but this one does a nice job in validating it as its own property.
I wasn't entirely sold on the Order of the Phoenix as a mega-captivating adventure game, but that's not to say the game won't be intriguing for the Harry Potter audience. Recruiting Dumbledore's army gives Harry some firepower, and once he's acquired and learned the more complicated spells, he can get in some very involved one-on-ones and more.
The Wii version is fun for its motion-based spells, but on the PS3 and Xbox 360, the virtual world of Hogwarts is a work of art. Choose your weapon wisely
