Character models look the part, but the illusion is shattered when they open their mouths.
As an adaptation, Deathly Hallows Part 2 barely stumbles over the line. Retelling of the events of the final half of the series’ final tome, the game’s narrative resembles little more than a half-hearted collection of locales and pivotal events. Gamers will plumb the depths of Gringotts to plunder the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange, sneak into Hogsmeade and take part in the final, climactic Battle of Hogwarts, but there is little resonance to be found in Deathly Hallows Part 2 as it careens from one linear shooting gallery to another without care for characterization, nuance or faithfulness to the intricacies of the plot of either the novel or film. Accordingly, it is difficult to imagine the audience which EA hopes to capture with the game. Devotees of all things Harry Potter are sure to take umbrage at the game’s butchering of key events in the name of sculpting a third-person shooter, while casual game players will have nary a notion of the difference between hallows or horcruxes and are sure to find themselves bewildered. In short, very few fans of Harry Potter are likely to appreciate the piecemeal manner in which EA has co-opted the iconography of Rowling’s story without regard for its wit, warmth or thematic complexity. Obligation, and not inspiration, is the order of the day, even when it comes to the game’s presentation: character models are detailed, but stiff, often plunging into the depths of the uncanny valley to uncomfortable effect. Sound-alikes stand in for the film’s vast cast, and none are all that convincing. Deathly Hallows Part 2 looks the part, vaguely sounds the part, but never comes across more than a cheap facsimile of the genuine article.
Most of the game looks like this. Harry's back is probably chafing.
As a third-person shooter, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is barely competent and fairly unchanged from Part 1 in terms of its base mechanics. Players assume control of Harry himself, in addition to a number of other characters from Hermione and Ron to Professor McGonagall and Seamus Finnigan, offering up their unique perspective on the story’s major events. No matter who players control, however, minute-to-minute gameplay consists of little more than traipsing down lush, handsomely rendered corridors and taking cover behind an array of conveniently placed waist-high objects as an unending swarm of Death Eaters swoop in to be incapacitated. Wands and spells take the place of guns, naturally, with spells like confringo and stupefy standing in for grenades and pistols respectively. With each face button representing two of the half-dozen or so spells, switching between attacks is relatively simple, but the action is never anything less than rote on account of a lack of variety. While some levels will find players defending Hermione from attackers as she works to unlock a door (alohomora, obviously!) or fending off pursuing enemies in on-rails sequences, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is little more than four-or-so hours of aiming wands down cross-hairs and holding down the shoulder buttons until your enemies fall down. Not even the inclusion of timed challenges or the obligatory collectibles will inspire more than a stifled yawn from most. The design of Deathly Hallows Part 2 is insipid in the extreme, its action never viscerally exciting, its pacing lacklustre – it would not be overstepping the mark, therefore, to suggest that EA has cobbled a product together simply to coincide with a film release date.
Shots like this make the game look more exciting than it actually is.
Truly terrible games are often hilarious in their ineptitude, but what of the desperately average games without any notable faults or failings? Deathly Hallows Part 2 is technically competent, free from any game-breaking bugs or mechanical foibles, and for the most part is perfectly playable. It functions as a game, but it never stirs the senses or the imagination. As a shooter, Deathly Hallows Part 2 is bland; as a Harry Potter adaptation, it is inexcusably sloppy. In the context of recent release such as 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum, where the developers took a beloved license and did it justice in every possible fashion, EA’s efforts are doubly disappointing. There is no reason why a captivating, detailed and immersive Harry Potter videogame experience cannot be created – however Deathly Hallows Part 2 is certainly not it, and probably not worth anyone’s time.
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