Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup

"Does it catch the snitch or get hit by a bludger?"

Another Harry Potter game, this milks the license as there is no film for it. This is the second Harry Potter game out for this Christmas, the other being a remake of the Philosopher's stone in Playstation 2 form and that looks a lot better than this in terms of quantity and quality. Despite the shallow feel of the Harry Potter games they still seem to sell loads, myself I don't see the big deal the movies and books are enough and they are good but all the other merchandise and stuff like the games is often just a waste of time and this game seems to be one such waste of time, but anyway here's the review.

Storyline:
I can't pick one out as it isn't from one of the books.

Graphics:
How EA have done this I don't know but these graphics are blocky and not very detailed, the other Potter games contain good film like graphics with a good attention to detail but that ray of light seems to have been removed. Firstly the cut scenes, they are fine unlike many other things they are bold and solid but often lack variety. Next the blockiness of the graphics, the polygons don't fit together right which may signal a rushed release, the movement of people and players doesn't co-ordinate with quidditch in the movies and many will then see this isn't a realistic touch. Finally the match, special moves don't work very well and look completly wrong, however some characters likenesses are in there. Overall graphics are poor and would go better on a Playstation game.

Sound:
Probably the best thing about this game, the quidditch sounds are the same audio score as the movies and the commentary is good although it is repetitive. One thing that does annoy though is the crowd they are noisy and have no variety and can be off-putting. More detailed than anything is the commentary with characters from the novels doing the honors, overall sound is slightly in the plus zone.

Gameplay:
Average, no slightly under. There is a bit of depth to this game but not much. Firstly the controls are annoying and not very responsive, there is a multi player though. The fun of the game is not evident, sure its quidditch better than before, but the tutorial is not very good and the game takes too long to get into. On the bright side though there are heaps of cards to collect and stuff to unlock for your team for meeting certain criteria in matches. Finally the gameplay on a whole is confusing and not put together very well.

Game Time:
Not very good compared to other titles, at max this takes a week and that is getting everything, multi player is just not deep enough and playing the exact same game over and over again is an annoying thing.

Extras:
Just the cards to collect and doing that can be repetitive.

Final Recommendation:
I can't stand milked licenses, this is a rushed game to be avoided at all costs!

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 11/23/03, Updated 05/09/04