Critic & User Reviews
IGN Review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Welcome, Fifth Years, back to Hogwarts. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, an EA-developed adventure game based on the movie and book of the same name, the Boy Who Lived is growing up. He's just come from the unexpected death of a classmate, a rude battle with Lord Voldemort, and a summer spent writing letters to friends who have for some odd reason gone incommunicado. So as Potter returns to wizardry school for another year of lessons, he's a little peeved. To make matters worse, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge, not only doesn't believe Harry's allegation that Voldemort is on the loose, but she seems to take pleasure in calling him to detention. Ever since he was invited into the underworld of magic so many years ago, the reluctant hero hasn't had a moment to relax, and even though he'd rather spend time with his boyhood infatuation, Cho, he must now teach a secret sect of students calling themselves Dumbledore's Army the defensive spells that Umbridge won't.
We have grown up with Potter through the years, dissecting the books and fighting over the triumphs and failures of the movies, so we can state as real fans that The Order of the Phoenix was our least favorite entry into J.K. Rowling's phenomenally successful franchise. It is uneventful by comparison to the other books and Harry wastes too much time being angry about all matters, trivial or not. Still, it is a testament to the quality of the series that even the low point in the books remains entertaining and, at times, riveting. EA has with its new game capitalized on the fifth-year experience, taking what works and running with it, but also delivering fans a completely contained Hogwarts universe, fully explorable, that exists outside of the Order of the Phoenix storyline. The result is directly opposite the book it's based on; this latest digital exploration of Harry's universe is, although not without its flaws, the most compelling and immersive yet and we're therefore certain that die-hard fans will be hooked by the presentation, the school itself and everything there is to do and see.
In the Order of the Phoenix, you play, of course, as Harry, but are constantly backed by best friends Hermione and Ron, who will walk the school with you, take part in duels by your side, and even help with the many objectives you must complete through the course of the year. As you play through the meaty adventure - the biggest yet for any Potter outing - you will do more exploring than you might have imagined, which we view as a plus. Previous Potter titles have included virtual recreations of the mysterious school, but all of them pale in comparison to this one. In this game, Hogwarts is absolutely, positively enormous and you can walk or climb in most directions, whether that means traveling to the Gryffindor Common Room and beyond to don Harry's invisible cloak or to the Grand Staircase, Dungeon Corridor, Clock Tower, Viaduct, or even Hagrid's Hut.
Hogwarts is, in fact, so large that it's very easy to become disoriented or downright lost within its many crevices. Thankfully, though, EA has made travel significantly more intuitive by implementing the Marauder's Map into the experience. With the quick tap of a button, you're able to bring up the map, select people or places you want to go, and then when you return to the game world again you'll be led there by the map's footsteps.
These locations look more life-like than they ever have before and there are absolutely no load times separating walkways or rooms, a real feat given the scope of the world. This latter truth means that the entire school feels like one connected entity and not a series of rooms linked together by load screens. However, the completely streaming world does not arrive without any drawbacks. Unfortunately, the fluidity of the entire package is sluggish; this latest Potter runs between 20 and 30 frames per second (even worse at times on PS2) and the motion is sometimes inconsistent. We're sticklers for smooth framerates in games so naturally we would have preferred an uninterrupted fluidity, but we're more forgiving of this shortcoming than we might be for an effort that stressed action over adventuring. The truth is that you're more often exploring the school or traversing its passageways and surrounding grounds in search of people or items than you are dueling with enemies, wand in hand.
That's not to say dueling doesn't play a part in the latest title, though. For Wii owners, this new Potter is particularly exciting because the Wii remote effectively becomes Harry's wand; you will gesture with the device to cast spells and amazingly, it feels good, if not right. When Nintendo first unveiled its new controller, people immediately thought of how it might be utilized in a Potter title so we're happy that EA has developed the mechanics. You can cast Wingardium Leviosa by locking onto surrounding objects with the B-trigger and then pulling backward on both the Wii remote and nunchuk. From there, you're able to sway the controllers left, right, forward and backward to move levitating items in the appropriate direction. Prior to playing the adventure, we had some concerns about how well the motion system would interpret movements from Nintendo's controllers, but it honestly works very well. You'll be able to twirl the Wii remote to cast Reparo and broken statues will rebuild themselves before you; you can send objects flying forward with Depulso simply by locking onto them and motioning downward with the Wii remote, or you can pull them toward you with Accio by snapping upward with the controller. A quick waggle back and forth will cast Incendio, which will burn objects and Reducto, cast by twirling in the opposite direction, will smash anything in your path. These new motions feel much better than any button press and really serve to immerse you in the spell-casting experience.
On PlayStation 2, this is all handled with the analog stick. It's very responsive, but obviously using two analog sticks doesn't feel as natural. Many of the puzzles are based on knowing which spells to cast at the right moment. For instance, you might happen upon a screeching egg, as seen in The Goblet of Fire. Potter fans will know that when these objects are submerged they will reveal beautiful songs, so using your want you can cast Accio to raise the water of a fountain and then Wingardium Leviosa to float the egg over to it, where it can be dropped beneath, solving the challenge. Other times, you might need to cast Incendio to burn past some bushes or Reparo to reconstruct a broken walkway so that Potter and friends can walk beyond it. These undertakings are especially enjoyable because of the new motion controls, which is why, for once, the Wii iteration of the game really does win out over the 360 and PS3 builds, which feature superior graphics.
Not all is well in the polish and pacing departments, however. Potter controls heavily, almost clumsily, through the environments and the camera system, which shoots the action automatically, does not always provide the ideal angle for any given situation. You will sometimes want to point the Wii remote at an object to select it, but will find that doing so is challenging, if not altogether broken; we alternatively tap a button to cycle between selectable in-world people and objects that Potter can interact with. Also, you never really know which people and items are truly interactive. You might be able to duel with one character, but not the next; or you can use Wingardium Leviosa to target and lift up one set of drapes, revealing a hidden item, but not the next. You're able to run through the world by holding a button, but the game will sometimes force Harry to walk anyway while it streams in the next location. Ultimately, some would call these notables minor quibbles, but they do add up and they do detract from the experience. The bigger problem is that despite the gargantuan make-up of the world and all the storylines the game juggles, you will too often find yourself on some random fetch quest. To the developer's credit, these quests are usually more interesting than the norm, but they aren't very original.
The Order of the Phoenix is brought to life with tremendous production values. EA has spared no expense to recreate Hogwarts and its inhabitants. That includes hiring the real actors to deliver lines for characters like Ron and Sirius Black, or assembling a full orchestrate to record the music. Harry can even journey to the Room of Rewards, an immense Hogwarts cavity that houses all the unlockables you amass as you progress through the adventure. There are dozens of bonus movies that take you into the development process complete with interviews with the studio that designed the game and the actors from the blockbuster movie. There are a series of mini-games that Harry can partake in, including memorization cards and a play on marbles. The dialogue is generally well delivered and the story-driven cinematics are well choreographed. However, for some unexplainable reason, the transitions from gameplay to cut-scene are jumpy and jarring, which is unfortunate. As the storyline advances, you will see that major book and movie plot points are mirrored within the game and you will eventually be able to play as the Weasley brothers, Sirius Black and even as Dumbledore as he fights Voldemort.
©2007, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
We have grown up with Potter through the years, dissecting the books and fighting over the triumphs and failures of the movies, so we can state as real fans that The Order of the Phoenix was our least favorite entry into J.K. Rowling's phenomenally successful franchise. It is uneventful by comparison to the other books and Harry wastes too much time being angry about all matters, trivial or not. Still, it is a testament to the quality of the series that even the low point in the books remains entertaining and, at times, riveting. EA has with its new game capitalized on the fifth-year experience, taking what works and running with it, but also delivering fans a completely contained Hogwarts universe, fully explorable, that exists outside of the Order of the Phoenix storyline. The result is directly opposite the book it's based on; this latest digital exploration of Harry's universe is, although not without its flaws, the most compelling and immersive yet and we're therefore certain that die-hard fans will be hooked by the presentation, the school itself and everything there is to do and see.
In the Order of the Phoenix, you play, of course, as Harry, but are constantly backed by best friends Hermione and Ron, who will walk the school with you, take part in duels by your side, and even help with the many objectives you must complete through the course of the year. As you play through the meaty adventure - the biggest yet for any Potter outing - you will do more exploring than you might have imagined, which we view as a plus. Previous Potter titles have included virtual recreations of the mysterious school, but all of them pale in comparison to this one. In this game, Hogwarts is absolutely, positively enormous and you can walk or climb in most directions, whether that means traveling to the Gryffindor Common Room and beyond to don Harry's invisible cloak or to the Grand Staircase, Dungeon Corridor, Clock Tower, Viaduct, or even Hagrid's Hut.
Hogwarts is, in fact, so large that it's very easy to become disoriented or downright lost within its many crevices. Thankfully, though, EA has made travel significantly more intuitive by implementing the Marauder's Map into the experience. With the quick tap of a button, you're able to bring up the map, select people or places you want to go, and then when you return to the game world again you'll be led there by the map's footsteps.
These locations look more life-like than they ever have before and there are absolutely no load times separating walkways or rooms, a real feat given the scope of the world. This latter truth means that the entire school feels like one connected entity and not a series of rooms linked together by load screens. However, the completely streaming world does not arrive without any drawbacks. Unfortunately, the fluidity of the entire package is sluggish; this latest Potter runs between 20 and 30 frames per second (even worse at times on PS2) and the motion is sometimes inconsistent. We're sticklers for smooth framerates in games so naturally we would have preferred an uninterrupted fluidity, but we're more forgiving of this shortcoming than we might be for an effort that stressed action over adventuring. The truth is that you're more often exploring the school or traversing its passageways and surrounding grounds in search of people or items than you are dueling with enemies, wand in hand.
That's not to say dueling doesn't play a part in the latest title, though. For Wii owners, this new Potter is particularly exciting because the Wii remote effectively becomes Harry's wand; you will gesture with the device to cast spells and amazingly, it feels good, if not right. When Nintendo first unveiled its new controller, people immediately thought of how it might be utilized in a Potter title so we're happy that EA has developed the mechanics. You can cast Wingardium Leviosa by locking onto surrounding objects with the B-trigger and then pulling backward on both the Wii remote and nunchuk. From there, you're able to sway the controllers left, right, forward and backward to move levitating items in the appropriate direction. Prior to playing the adventure, we had some concerns about how well the motion system would interpret movements from Nintendo's controllers, but it honestly works very well. You'll be able to twirl the Wii remote to cast Reparo and broken statues will rebuild themselves before you; you can send objects flying forward with Depulso simply by locking onto them and motioning downward with the Wii remote, or you can pull them toward you with Accio by snapping upward with the controller. A quick waggle back and forth will cast Incendio, which will burn objects and Reducto, cast by twirling in the opposite direction, will smash anything in your path. These new motions feel much better than any button press and really serve to immerse you in the spell-casting experience.
On PlayStation 2, this is all handled with the analog stick. It's very responsive, but obviously using two analog sticks doesn't feel as natural. Many of the puzzles are based on knowing which spells to cast at the right moment. For instance, you might happen upon a screeching egg, as seen in The Goblet of Fire. Potter fans will know that when these objects are submerged they will reveal beautiful songs, so using your want you can cast Accio to raise the water of a fountain and then Wingardium Leviosa to float the egg over to it, where it can be dropped beneath, solving the challenge. Other times, you might need to cast Incendio to burn past some bushes or Reparo to reconstruct a broken walkway so that Potter and friends can walk beyond it. These undertakings are especially enjoyable because of the new motion controls, which is why, for once, the Wii iteration of the game really does win out over the 360 and PS3 builds, which feature superior graphics.
Not all is well in the polish and pacing departments, however. Potter controls heavily, almost clumsily, through the environments and the camera system, which shoots the action automatically, does not always provide the ideal angle for any given situation. You will sometimes want to point the Wii remote at an object to select it, but will find that doing so is challenging, if not altogether broken; we alternatively tap a button to cycle between selectable in-world people and objects that Potter can interact with. Also, you never really know which people and items are truly interactive. You might be able to duel with one character, but not the next; or you can use Wingardium Leviosa to target and lift up one set of drapes, revealing a hidden item, but not the next. You're able to run through the world by holding a button, but the game will sometimes force Harry to walk anyway while it streams in the next location. Ultimately, some would call these notables minor quibbles, but they do add up and they do detract from the experience. The bigger problem is that despite the gargantuan make-up of the world and all the storylines the game juggles, you will too often find yourself on some random fetch quest. To the developer's credit, these quests are usually more interesting than the norm, but they aren't very original.
The Order of the Phoenix is brought to life with tremendous production values. EA has spared no expense to recreate Hogwarts and its inhabitants. That includes hiring the real actors to deliver lines for characters like Ron and Sirius Black, or assembling a full orchestrate to record the music. Harry can even journey to the Room of Rewards, an immense Hogwarts cavity that houses all the unlockables you amass as you progress through the adventure. There are dozens of bonus movies that take you into the development process complete with interviews with the studio that designed the game and the actors from the blockbuster movie. There are a series of mini-games that Harry can partake in, including memorization cards and a play on marbles. The dialogue is generally well delivered and the story-driven cinematics are well choreographed. However, for some unexplainable reason, the transitions from gameplay to cut-scene are jumpy and jarring, which is unfortunate. As the storyline advances, you will see that major book and movie plot points are mirrored within the game and you will eventually be able to play as the Weasley brothers, Sirius Black and even as Dumbledore as he fights Voldemort.
©2007, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved