Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince Review [Wii]



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"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The only reason I remember that spell is because I used it multiple times playing the very first Harry Potter outing on the Gamecube. I won't lie to you; I haven't read the books, only seen three of the films and don't follow the series at all. However, the good news is that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a really enjoyable game for fans and non-fans alike.

Thankfully, to improve my limited knowledge of the story, the narrative as told through cutscenes gives a brief synopsis of what was going on. However, fans of the series may feel a little disheartened with the depth of the story on offer. Rather than going through the whole narrative, the game simply takes in selected parts of the story. Nevertheless,  it does include almost everything else that fans would expect, including the Quidditch cup win for Gryffindor and the untimely demise of a major character. Some parts of the book have been told differently; Harry & Ginny's first kiss for example, which instead of being after the Quidditch win is now presented in a different section of the story.

"So Did you and Ginny Do It?" If that's not the best line in a game then I don't know what is. While older players are treated to a few comedic moments through witty lines and twists, this is clearly a game aimed at a younger audience, something which is reflected in the gameplay.

EA has crafted a game which is very forgiving and the overall level of challenge may not be enough to keep seasoned gamers interested. For instance, throughout the entire game, I only failed one quest. The game utilises a sandbox environment with Harry able to run around the grounds of Hogwarts as he pleases. To progress the story you must talk to certain characters within the grounds, while outside of the story you can participate in Quidditch, potion-making and duelling. All three activities are presented in mini-game fashion with all the emphasis being on the Wii Remote and Nunchuck.

With Quidditch, it's all about guiding Harry through a linear course using the Wiimote until you catch the golden Snitch. This mode does become repetitive after a while as you don't get involved in the fast paced contact sport as shown in the films at all. What could've been an exciting minigame is too simple and poses no challenge at all. The fact you have to do a warm up course before you start your match doesn't give you any bonuses and just drags out the game for a few extra minutes.

Potion-making is a much more engaging affair and uses the Wiimote movements to perfection. You must pour different ingredients into the cauldron while heating up and stirring the potion to make sure it turns the correct colour. As you advance through Potion Club, the recipes become more difficult as you learn new techniques. You must shake fragile ingredients to react together, while the quantity of ingredients required for one potion increases vastly.

And then there's the Half Blood Prince's flagship mini-game, Duelling. Towards the very beginning of the game Professor Dumbledore announces the return of the duelling clubs for each house and, as you are ‘The Chosen One,' you have been asked to participate. From here you are taught the basics, with spell casting achieved by moving the Wiimote. Sometimes you do find yourselves casting the wrong spell but, for the most part, the casting is accurate and well-handled.

Spells come in two different types, duelling and exploring. Unfortunately you only have three different spells (Wingardium Leviosa, Incendio, Reparo) which you can cast manually when following the main story, other spells such as ‘Lumos' will automatically be cast when entering darker areas.

For each house you challenge, you learn a new duelling spell that you can cast, as you face off against a variety of ranked foes for each challenge. As you advance through the ranks, your opponents have more health and should provide more of a challenge; however a lot of the time that isn't the case. If you struggle, you can simply spam the same spell over and over again until the health bar reaches zero which is a little disappointing. But,  in general it's a fun mode and the addition of being able to play in multiplayer will keep you coming back for more, especially after you find hidden crests throughout Hogwarts and unlock more characters and arenas.

The Hogwarts crests can be found dotted all over the grounds with 150 to collect. After completing the very short game in under five hours I had found 75, and they're not particularly difficult to find. Certain lamps and shrubs can be rubbed to find mini crests which in time build up to one big Hogwarts Crest. As you explore the castle and find more crests you unlock characters and duelling arenas as mentioned before as well as extra health and more powerful spells. It's a nice incentive but it's not enough to compel you to find all the crests.

The presentation of the game is also a mixed bag. The majority of the cast in the game are voiced by their film counterparts, although there are some notable omissions such as Alan Rickman, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson. However, the actors' likenesses are in the game and EA has tried to get some pretty convincing voice impressionists for each character, with mixed results. The game's  visuals hold up pretty well on the Wii and, while the game doesn't push the console to its limits, it's still a nice-looking affair with a framerate that just about keeps up with the action. Whether playing as Harry, Ron or Ginny, there were no notable framerate drops throughout the game.

Ron and Ginny are playable at certain parts of the story, however these cameo appearances seem like they were added as an afterthought. While playing as them you cannot interact with other characters including the house ghost for Gryffindor.

Yes that's right, a press of the minus button and the Gryffindor House ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, will be summoned. This is a great addition to the game as it helps steer younger players (and sometimes older) towards the objectives as he leads you through the mammoth grounds of Hogwarts. Thankfully, rather than repeating a couple of lines of dialogue, he talks to you about current plot twists which is a nice touch.

Overall Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince is disappointingly short and could have done with more variation in the selection of mini-games. However, what we do get is a well-polished, nicely presented game which incorporates motion controls intelligently.