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GameCube | Adventure | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Boxart for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 9 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.5
  • SOUND: 3.0
  • CONTROL: 3.0
  • FUN FACTOR 3.0
  • AVG USER SCORE n/a
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.5

Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Review by Ouroboros | 11/09/2005 | 17:27:26 PM PST

Harry's latest misses the magic mark.

As the film version of the fourth book in J.K. Rowling's hugely popular series has now hit theaters, the release of a tie-in game seems as inevitable as Harry Potter's march to adulthood.

Magic By Numbers
Harry has been chosen by the peculiar titular goblet to be a contestant in the intense Triwizard Tournament, and so our reluctant hero must face three dangerous challenges. It's a fairly simple premise, but as any fan will tell you, the magic lies in the telling. Unfortunately, just as the films seem content to offer a simple, albeit effects-laden, abridgement of the source text, so does this latest game settle for beautiful graphics while proffering precious little gripping gameplay. There are entertaining experiences: the first trial, which involves outrunning an enormous fire-breathing dragon on your broomstick, is filled with eye-candy, and is thrilling despite being as linear as any rail shooter you can name. However, the bulk of the game is spent walking the ground, not riding the air. The results are lukewarm at best, and tediously repetitive at worst. Even the levels that work reasonably well, like the Hogwart exterior, are at their heart simple box-pushing and button-mashing exercises, enlivened only by the irritating constant shouting of the three leads.

Teaching a Young Wizard New Tricks
The inability of this series to learn from its mistakes is baffling. You'll often find yourself fighting enemies you can't see because some decorative element in the foreground entirely blocks your view, and you've zero control over the camera. Worse, Harry's a slow-poke at his meat-and-potatoes spell-casting, and any movement leaves your AI companions in the dust. Since many of the simple puzzles require help, this is a constant nuisance. Goblet of Fire adds some interesting enhancements, like bonus-granting Collector's Cards that can be bought and equipped, but it's just too tightly wound to stale gameplay convention to succeed.--Ouroboros


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