Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

The adventures of JK Rowling's boy wizard have been around for so long now they have actually graced three Nintendo handhelds. I've been doing this long enough to have reviewed all of them too and like the movies, the games (on the whole) have improved with each outing. As far as source material goes though, this has to be something of a gift for developers with magic, adventure, mystery and incredible locations. With the main characters growing up it's certain that things will become more adult orientated and somewhat darker but hopefully just as enjoyable. The question is, have the developers managed to tap in to all this? Enough of the pre-amble then as I'm certain you'll want to get this read before the next movie comes out, and so, the next game...

Gameplay

After five movies and seven books, there's a good chance you know what Harry Potter is all about but rather than divulging any plot details or spoiling the story, for those who have yet to see the movie, I'll give a brief rundown of what the game's all about. Basically your adventure revolves around the common room where you'll be magically propelled after completing most tasks. Hermione, Ron and also some of the Professors who you'll find in their classrooms deliver the tasks. To get to one of these quests you generally have to complete a mini-game of some description and this is where the fun part of the game begins.

The variety of mini-games is reasonably impressive (although some are as basic as fetching an item which is very tedious) and you get the impression that this is the area where the developers focused all of their efforts. Some of them are very traditional such as matching images as quickly as you can although they do appear here in a crystal ball. There's also matching games, a cooking game and there are even some creatures who require feeding and petting in order to gain their trust. The mini-games are also used in the exams (O.W.L.S.) but unlike 'real' exams you will be forced to retake them until you pass. On the way to these tasks you'll occasionally bump in to Malfoy and his cohorts meaning a duel. The means you have to select the correct combination of spells to defeat them. As with most of the game this is entertaining to begin with but you'll do it so many times you'll be able to cast a Flipendo in your sleep.

Controls

Moving around can be incredibly tricky until you get used to it. This is because the game uses 'Alone in the Dark' style static screens and camera angles meaning that when you come off one screen you immediately appear on another but all too often facing in a different direction. The problems here are considerable and you'll notice that, unless you are very light with the controls, you occasionally 'flick' between one screen and another. It also not always apparent where to exit the screen especially once you are outside of Hogwarts and you might as well forget about anticipating anything. In order to help overcome some of these frustrations there is an arrow, which will occasionally point in the direction of your next task, but it's not always that easy to follow.

Because of the lack of any touch screen all the mini-games and duels have to be played out using traditional controls which usually comes down to replicating control inputs. Strangely, this can sometimes be a little confusing a first but a little practice generally pays off.

Graphics

The Harry Potter games have featured many visual styles and 3D specialists Visual Impact do try to inject some realism into Order of the Phoenix. The results are varied at best but it's clear from the offset that a variety of restrictions have meant that neither the backgrounds nor characters are as detailed as they need to be and the animation is awful. Despite this being term time the corridors and classrooms are generally deserted and the cut screens, which are lifted from the console versions and not the movie, also appear to be reduced in quality.

Sound

The music is probably one of the game's high points and gamers will be treated to a handful of soundtrack snippets. Unfortunately, as with all handheld titles, it does tend to repeat a little too much and given just how much exploration you have to do, you really do notice it. Sound effects are quite generic too so don't expect any mutterings from the cast.

Final comments

On the positive side of things Order of the Phoenix does give you a great deal of gameplay for your money and you are going to be running around Hogwarts for some considerable time. Getting around the famous school also allows you to marvel at just how extensively it has been reproduced and several of the mini-games are very engaging. Unfortunately this is also the game's undoing as searching out endless, and occasionally tedious, tasks repeatedly becomes very boring, very quickly. Even with so given that the movie's been an international hit, this game's probably already shifted bucket loads of units. Just don't say we didn't warn you.

Pro: Some Enjoyable Mini-Games, Lengthy Gameplay.
Con: Tedious and Repetitive Gameplay. Duels are too Simplistic
Final score: 5.1

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