The Harry Potter franchise has always been a phenomenon, but since the release of the first movie in 2001 it has really taken off. EA Games have released Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup since then, each selling extremely well. The fourth game of the Harry Potter franchise is based on the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which is released in cinemas worldwide within the coming weeks. With the previous titles in the series being average does Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban set itself apart from the previous titles or is just a traditional EA update?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban follows the adventures of Harry Potter the young boy wizard in his third year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizadry. After Harry has a dreadful summer at home with the Dursley’s, he can’t wait to start his third year at Hogwarts. His excitement soon turns to fear as Harry discovers that Sirius Black, the man believed to have betrayed his parents, has escaped from the Wizard Prison. It appears Black is out on a vendetta to destroy Harry for destroying “You-Know-Who”. With the help of Hermoine and Ron, Harry must discover the secret of Sirius Black and survive his third year.
Co-op seems to be all the rage in platformers lately and this time not only can players control Harry Potter but they can also take hold of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. All three of these unique players have different characteristics which add to the variety of the game. Harry and company can jump, climb, hang, cast spells, interact and walk. These entire skills must be combined to pass each of the games levels.
Collector cards are back in this edition of the game and they detail the famous and infamous characters and creatures from magical history. Collector cards can be found throughout Hogwarts. They can also be brought from Fred and George’s joke shop. All of these cards must be collected to obtain 100% in the game.
Aside from the main game there are also bonus activities which gamers can partake in if they only have a few minutes to get their Harry Potter fix. From the outset, the Dueling club is playable and as gamers progress through the main mode, they will unlock owl racing and hippogriff flight. These modes are uninspirational and boring and feel rushed.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban starts off in the train to Hogwarts. Ron loses his pet rat and he and Harry navigate around the train searching for it, beineg the nice guys that they are. This serves as a training level and will teach Harry how to cast spells, duel and move objects.
After the training level is out of the way Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban takes players through the events of the book and the upcoming movie. The game remains really faithful to the events of the book and depending which way you see it, this can be both a positive or a negative. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban does carry a large feeling of 'been there, done that', part of which can be attributed to this fact.
In the previous titles characters moved less intuitively than they could have. Unfortunately Harry still moves in a way where controlling him can be a big issue. Sometimes jumping up onto other objects can be more of a hassle than it should be. This is unexcusable, given that it's the third game in the series and such obvious bugs should have been ironed out.
After playing such free roaming platformers it is hard to go back to the restrictions felt in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Levels feel very squashed in, except for the Hogwarts ground, which is extremely immersive. It is the most impressive aspect of the game. At times the camera won’t adjust fast enough to keep up with the action and there is no way to adjust the camera in some of the more restrictive levels.
Menus are simplistic; it is easy to tell the target audience from EA was younger children as there are only a few options on each menu. Surprisingly the menus are slow to navigate and after un pausing the game it takes a few seconds for the game to start again.
The character models are definitely a step up from the Chamber of Secrets. Characters look more detailed, but, however, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban still does not compare to some of the better looking platformers. Environments are fully interactive and most of the areas are detailed enough. Sound is basic. Characters sound good and all the relevant sound effects are included. The musical score can be quite impressive and overwhelming at times and is one of the strongest assets of the game.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a formulaic platformer. It hasn’t evolved as much as it should have since Chamber of Secrets. In fact, the game is almost identical to the Chamber of Secrets, but with a co-op mode and a new storyline. Characters still move blocky, there can still be camera problems and the reaction time after pressing a button can often be slow. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is still an immersive game at times, but should have turned out much better considering it only emulates a title which was released a year and a half ago.
Loading...
