Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

"This game would be fun if I was 12, and new to HP."

Have you ever bought a game based on the fact that you were a big fan of the movie/book/TV show it was based on? Well when it comes to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets you'd enjoy the game more if you had never heard of Harry Potter before.

Graphics 7/10
The graphics in this game were pretty decent overall. The movie sequences were very sub-par and I did have a problem with a lot of the same graphics being reused constantly throughout the classrooms. Every classroom looked nearly identical with a couple exceptions. Still, they did a pretty decent job of portraying the world of Hogwarts.

Sound 6/10
The music was pretty nice and the voices were fun but the characters pretty much say the exact same thing throughout the entire game. One voice actor was used to record the voice of what seemed to be nearly all of the students at Hogwarts.

Entertainment 3/10
I'm confused and frustrated with myself at the fact that I even bothered playing this game to its completion. The game centered far too much around running errands for people and zapping around six or seven different kinds of monster. Every other errand you're run on requires sneaking through a room of about four prefects who gang up on you, immobilize you and take house points from Griffindor. It was tedious, boring and there was too much of it. I kept asking myself what Harry had done with his invisibility cloak. The bosses are not challenging in the least and there's not enough interaction with the people at Hogwarts. A million unnecessary liberties were taken with the plot, probably in an attempt to protect children from things they've already read in the book, effectively ruining the story. Ultimately it was the load times that ruined the game play. I'll confirm what another reviewer wrote. Entering even the smallest area required a lengthy loading screen. It felt like I should take a nap every time I was walking between rooms.

On a high note, the broom racing mini-games were fun up until the last opponent. Searching for the Famous Witches and Wizards cards was pretty cool too. Best of all, however, was throwing stink pellets and diffindo spells at characters such as Dumbledore, Hermione, Ginny and Neville. Their reactions were priceless.

Replay Value 0/10
I wouldn't play this game again if you threatened my life. As a major HP fan it was too frustrating to see the story torn apart. The loading screens and lack of interaction with the people or hands-on experience with the magic made it a hollow and un-magical shell, in my eyes at least. I plan to trade it in for another game immediately.

Overall 4/10
This game could have been great if they had been loyal the the fans and the story and invested more time and effort in capturing the magic of HP. I give them the four out of the slight enjoyment I got from the broom racing and exploration of the castle.

Rent or Buy
If you're extremely bored, haven't read the book, and are fond of loading screens then by all means rent it for a weekend and just while away the hours.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/03, Updated 06/12/03