Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

"Good, but not the best."

The fifth game in the Harry Potter series had been released in conjunction with the release of the fourth movie. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hogwarts would be holding the Triwizard Tournament and Harry was unexpectedly chosen as the fourth competitor in the tournament also he did not enter himself into the tournament. A dark plot was planned inside and outside Hogwarts and you can follow the plot through the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire video game.

The Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire video game on GBA definitely has an edge over the previous titles in the series in terms of graphics and sound. The settings and characters in the game are almost comparable to those in the PC version and the background music suits the plot well.

Most settings (perhaps with the exception of the second, underwater, task) and characters (especially during the Yule ball) are extremely realistic and the some characters look as real as the true characters in the Goblet of Fire movie.

The cut scenes between the levels were not as good and the 3D effect did not work out so they looked quite flat and more like cartoon drawings.

In this game, you will have to go through 11 levels playing as Harry, Ron or Hermione (Only Harry could be chosen for levels such as the 3 Triwizard tasks and the battle with Lord Voldermort).

Generally, this game is quite easy and could be finished within 5 or 6 hours. However, if you want to make the most of the game, you should try to collect all the shields and wizard cards. You will unlock bonuses such as movie pictures if you managed to complete your collections.

Some shields and cards can only be collected when you replay the game after you had finished it the first time, since you have not learnt certain spells the first time round. However, you can still finish the game very quickly as another 3 hours or so should complete your collection and when you had achieved this, there is pretty much nothing else to do. Finishing the game too quickly is one major weakness of this game and, unlike the previous three titles, you do not have the luxury to explore the settings (grounds and the castle etc.) freely and is forced through a straight plot throughout the game.

You will encounter many magical creatures throughout the levels (more than Sorcerer's stone and Chamber of Secrets) and you will have to aim and cast your spells at them to defeat or capture them. Fighting the creatures is more challenging than Prisoner of Azkaban as this is more action-based while Prisoner of Azkaban is simply an RPG.

And unlike Prisoner of Azkaban, you can choose the specific level you want to replay after finishing the final level to collect the cards and shields and need not to go through the whole game all over again.

This game, overall, is a successful piece despite being too short and a faithful Harry Potter fan should at least try this one out, either renting it or buying it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/05