I hope the movie is more than this game is average

User Rating: 6.8 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix PC
By SKOPY291 | Review Date:
What can I say, I love Harry Potter. I really wanted to love this game. But I really can't say I did. This game is entirely too average. When I started it the first thing you'll notice are the graphics. Though they are pretty for an open world game (with no load times, mind you) they are anything but spectacular. My PC is beefy enough to handle this game and still at points the game will chug for no reason. I understand during heavy firefights that it might have graphical issues but I didn't have this issue. It seemed to slow down at instances that it shouldn't. Characters also have issues where they'll disappear and some graphical clipping further mar the graphics. On a positive note Hogwarts is fully rendered and a glory to run around in. The character models are definitely growing up with the characters of the series but the cut scenes could have been a bit more polished.

Game play is fun at first. There is plenty to do in Hogwarts. From repairing trophies and helping Harry's friends the game puts its best foot forward to keep you busy as you walk around. Each magical spell has it's own mouse flick that you have to learn which adds an interesting dynamic in battles. You can pick a fight with anyone as well which is fun to do when you're bored. The navigation system is great, using the Marauders Map is fun... plus as an added bonus it adds foot prints on the ground to where you need to go. A little touch that makes memorizing Hogwarts: A History just for fun.

But all this fun quickly starts to die down as you make your way through the Viaduct for the 20th time. Harry is a bit hard to control at times running around like he's lost his way. The spells can be, at times a bit wonky. Using Wingardium Leviosa can be a treat and a hassle. At times it'll be very precise and at others you'll be lobbing stone chairs at kids heads uncontrollable. Which is also fun... still I don't think this is what the dev team at EA wanted. A lot of the times you'll find that things are just a bit out of tune.

All things considered, though, this is a fun game clocking in at a bit over 10 hours. If you're able to put up with some of the work and sub par minigames (most likely developed with the Nintendo Wii in mind) you'll have a good enough time. Still with nothing here to distinguish it from any other game, outside of its wand waving fiascos, I can't say this is anything more than a rental. It's a shame too because a product like Harry Potter shouldn't be anything outside of... well... magical.

Other Helpful Reviews for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Load Comments (0)