"This game is as bad as a booger jelly bean."

Introduction: This is the video game based off the second book and movie. I will tell you right now if you are not a fan just go down to the final recommendation and read it. fans of the Harry Potter series got everything they need,magic, exploration, and a bunch of little items from the series of books.The only thing missing is fun.

Story:The story for the game is basically like the book except it is a lot more condensed.It has the same basic plot though, something is going around stoning people and Harry is being blamed. Of course this isn't acceptable, so Harry has to clear his name. Through most of the game you do errands that have nothing to do with the story so it is pretty pointless. The story was good in the book but it is not focused on enough making in hard to understand and impossible to like.
Score:6

Gameplay:Ok here is where the game fails. At the beginning your fine you walk around, explore, and fire some magic. After that it goes all downhill. You get a wide variety of spells but aside from about three spells you only use them for about 20 minutes. Also you only get one attack spell, weird isn't it? everything is very repetitive, about 20 fetch quests out of 30 total quests make this one boring game. their is also some very simple tedious sneaking sections which are even worse than the fetch quests. During the sneaking sections you have to navigate around a maze avoiding prefects that send you make to the beginning of the quest if you get caught, and you can't even attack them. their is also some decent boss battles where you have to fight bosses that weren't in the book and you have to fight them 4 times over. Probably the funniest part of the game is where you play quidditch. You can only be the Seeker which means you must catch a little round gold ball (called the Snitch)before the other team's Seeker does. Since the game doesn't delve deeper into the sport if you catch the Snitch you win. To do this you have to fly through rings which make you go faster eventually making you fast enough to catch the Snitch. Everything here is the extent of the fun, and it's some horrible fun at that.
Score:3

Graphics:This is probably the high point of the game. This game has some interesting environments with decent level design and detail. The character designs are kind of funky for the main characters like Harry and Ron but still eye pleasing. Their is also some good effects for the magic and the elements(fire,water,etc.). The graphics are nothing super special but give the game a nice feel and make the game easy to look at on weary eyes.
Score:7

Sound:The sound is decent and has the medieval feel. It doesn't play the same song to much but if you are stuck on a puzzle it can get repetitive.Also the voice acting is a little on the annoying side, but what did you expect? Nothing here will make you hum in your sleep but it won't break your eardrums either.
Score:6

Replay/Playtime:This game doesn't have much replay aside from a secret spell or two and collectible chocolate frog cards for a huge fan.The playtime is about 4-6 hours without the secrets and 8-10 with them, that is if you can survive the horrific gameplay.
Score:5

Final Recommendation:Okay here we go. I suggest not touching it to people who are not fans or skilled gamers.Rent it if your skilled but a huge fan. Finally I suggest only buying it if your are new to games and are a fan.
Overall Score:5

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/03