  Potter kicks butt in 'Goblet of Fire'
|
It's Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts and he has been chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. In Electronic Arts' Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the companion game to the new Potter film of the same name, Harry and his friends learn spells and develop their sorcery skills exploring Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest to prepare Harry for the tournament and an eventual graveyard showdown with the infamous Lord Voldemort.
Although it contains the odd puzzles, the game is primarily action-oriented and the game play is relatively simple. As the three leads, (you can switch between them at the beginning of each level) you fight monsters, traverse the various environments and collect beans which can increase your stamina, magical strength and can be used to buy cards which bestow additional powers onto the trio.
Even though there are certain cards specific to each character and they get access to them in a different order, there's no real difference between playing Harry, Hermione or Ron. The magic blast from your wand (or jinx) might bounce around instead of going straight, or you might have increased your stamina slightly, but in the end, they're essentially the same.
The controls are somewhat awkward at times. The characters don't always move where you wish they would. And since most of the spells are cast with the same button, often when you're, say, fighting a fiery salamander, you might accidentally levitate a rock nearby instead of extinguishing his flames with a water spell. In addition, although you can maneuver the camera with the right analog stick, you don't really have much control over the view. You can't even zoom in much, which is annoying because the characters typically appear a little small on the screen. Thankfully, the game is designed so the gang can't fall off a cliff or anything, as you sometimes lose track of them as they move behind things.
But the game does make you feel like you've entered Harry Potter's world and the areas give you quite a lot to explore. And it's also fun to jinx dugbogs and destroy walls with exploding cauldrons.
To unlock additional levels and challenges, you also have to collect Triwizard shields which are littered throughout the game. When you collect a shield, the level ends which can be a little aggravating if there are two shields near each other, as you'll have to play the level again to get the second one. But you often gain access into areas you couldn't get into to before, so repeating a level doesn't become a monotonous experience.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is an exciting adventure that will keep you engaged until the final battle.
WHAM! Rating: |
7 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
E 10+ (Everyone 10+) |
Official Web Site: |
|
|
