Game Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this game is available across all
platforms, but is truly spectacular when played on the Wii.
Kids cast spells by using the Wii remote controller as their
wand, making the gaming experience more personal. While this is
a time-intensive game, it can be broken into smaller pieces by
saving in between tasks. The always-scary Dementors (cloaked,
floating beings that feed on fear) do appear at the beginning
of the game. While at Hogwarts, the Slytherins periodically
challenge you to spell-casting duels. When your character gets
injured, you see sparks of magic hit you, you fall to the
ground, and wake up in the hospital ward. Later in the game you
play as Sirius Black when he duels with the Death Eaters and as
Dumbledore as he duels with Voldemort. Both are long battles,
which are intense, thus triggering the E+10 rating. But the
fantasy violence is a very small part of this massive game.
Instead the focus is on exploration, solving fetch tasks, and
immersing yourself in the world of Harry Potter.
Families can talk about how playing this version stacks up to the book and/or the movie version. How did it feel to be a wizard? Can you imagine how you would use this kind of magic every day and how that would change your life? Did you feel like you got a better sense of the Harry Potter world by experiencing it on a first-person basis? Was this what you had imagined when you were reading the books? Did any character you met in the game surprise you because he or she was not what you expected?
Common Sense Media Review
Calling all Harry Potter fans: Clear off your calendars and
grab your wand -- I mean your game controller -- because you
are about to enter Hogwarts heaven.
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX puts the magic of Harry Potter into your hands as you cast your way through this magnificent video game.
There are versions of this game for Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2, the PC, and Microsoft's Xbox 360, but it's best played on the Nintendo Wii system. Because casting spells is so much a part of the gameplay, only with the Wii remote controller in your hand as your wand do you really feel a part of the game. Each spell you cast involves a different arm motion, so you look just like the Harry you see on the screen. This Wii gaming experience is so compelling that if you have been thinking about getting a Wii but haven't yet, buy it now. If you don't have a Wii and are playing it on one of the other consoles, it is still a fabulous game.
While the past four Harry Potter games have been great, this one far exceeds those built-up expectations. It closely follows the story of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix book, and is based on the movie version, which is due in theaters on July 11.
Most of the time, you play as Harry Potter; but occasionally, you become the Weasley twins, Sirius Black, and even Headmaster Dumbledore when he fights the evil Lord Voldemort. The game cleverly incorporates a series of missions (tasks) into the storyline, which is moved forward at various times by video sequences known as cut-scenes. But this is not a linear game. You are free to explore the castle and grounds of Hogwarts and pick up or change tasks at will.
This is the Hogwarts the previous games made us long for. You will not be able to resist checking out its endless nooks and crannies. It's built from the blueprints of the movie set, and it's massive. The staircases move, you can talk to all students, and the portraits animate. Many of the paintings are even hiding secret passageways if you can discover their passwords. You can run down to Hagrid's cottage, up to the Owlery, and everywhere in-between. And all of this is possible with no load times as you move around this enormous game. The game will also take you to other locations including Grimmauld Place and the Ministry of Magic.
