Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

"I've never had a game bore me this bad, ever"

You are Harry Potter, in his 5th adventure into the land of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The wizarding world is in denial about the return of Lord Voldemort, and the school has a new Defense against the Dark Arts Teacher, Dolores Umbridge. Harry has formed the DA (Dumbledore's Army) in order to help students learn how to fight back.

Graphics - 8

While not perfectly Next-Gen, the graphics look pretty good. The characters look like the characters from the movie, especially close up. They also move quite well. The grounds of Hogwarts is beautiful and quite large. The detail is there in everything from small books and minor characters to large features of the castle.The game also has moving staircases in the castle like in the movies which is a nice addition.

Sound - 7

The sound is quite decent in this game. The voice acting is accurate sound wise but the actors don't seem to put any real emotion into the portrayal. It doesn't match up with the lips sometimes as well, but it's forgivable. The music is beautiful and it fits the theme since it's from the movie, and the magic effects sound good as well.

Controls - 5

The only thing saving the controls is the "unique" way to cast spells in which you move the right thumbstick a number of different ways in order to cast spells. Other than that it's fairly unremarkable.

Camera - 2

Ugghh. This is one of two gripes I have with this game. The camera is completely unmovable in regular gameplay. There is a button you can press that will help you look for items to use magic on, but you can't do that in regular game play. This hampers the Ability to truly take in the stunning interior of the castle.

Story and Gameplay - 2

I'm lumping these two gems together because the story IS the gameplay and vice versa. This portion of the game is the other gripe I have with the game. The gameplay works as follows. you have a list of things to do and you do it. It is an open game, but the actual list is so boring and uneventful. I wished I could there was actual danger in the game. There are a TON of things to use magic on and gain points to upgrade your magic on. But these consist of casting spells on carpets and fixing broken statues. This gets quite old after the 20th time. You do duel however, but it wasn't often enough to keep my interest.

Overall 5/10

Fans of the books and of the movies will be interested in this game... maybe. I'm a fan of both (mostly the books) But the fact is that this game is so boring and monotonous that it's really not worth it.

Rent or buy?

Rent.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/07