Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

"A definite improvement on Philosophers Stone"

Introduction

This review, by ChromeTower, covers the game of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, based loosely on the film release mid-November 2002 and the 1998 book by J.K.Rowling.

Gameplay - 6
The game is based isometrically, so pressing Down is actually ''South-East''(Down-Left) on the screen. The challenges within the game make it hard. The game is addictive, as I spent 8 hours on the game, ending up with only a stiff neck. However, unlike its predecessor, you can jump with the key that was reserved for spell-switching, which means you can only switch spells via the menu. If this key was available in Philosophers Stone, it would make one part in mid-game a whole lot easier. However, there are only 6 spells. The Hogwarts halls have been cut down to corridors but the grounds have been widened. A lot. One new ability is to ''charge'' your spell. There are bonus games begging to be unlocked as well. You can find items like any other game. Again I go back to the controls. The hard part is that the action button is different compared to other games, which is difficult to people who play other RPGs

Story - 9
Like the book, the games story is an ''elegantly woven masterpiece''. The game has no plot-holes, and you hardly ever need to open the book to understand the actual story of the game. There are a lot of Side-stories like finding the five vault jewels, rescuing Neville's toad or finding the 100 red jelly beans.

Graphics - 10
These graphics are brilliant, with as much detail from walls to steam. One place which blows me apart is Gringotts. The wall colors in Hogwarts actually show light beaming down on them. The graphics are a defiite improvement over Philosophers stone, which showed, in my opinion, bad graphics. Included is the padding of chests,your vault and your Hogwarts Robes show your house color. Famous Witches and Wizard Cards have had a revamp of Images too, and Quidditch is overwhelming.

Sound - 7
Although there is a limited choice of music, this music is very good. The limited choice lacks the rating the sound is given. Although the music is good, it can get annoying.

Replay Ability - 3
The lack is that there is only one save file, so you have to start from the last save point at the end once you beat the game until you erase it.

Buy or Rent???
I'd recommend to buy it for experienced gamers, as it can take days to complete at 3 hours a day. I'd rent it to be on the safe side, then buy if you enjoy the game. If you cant find it, try and try again.

OVERALL RATING
35/5
7.0
7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/30/03