Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

"Pretty good but it's shorter than Britney Spears' first marriage"

I personally like the series. I've read all the books and have seen all the movies, although this is the first game of the series that I've played. BTW, there are mass spoilers in this.

Graphics - 8.5/10

The graphics are one of the strong points of the game. Some of the images shown in the dialogues are a bit off compared to the movies (IE: Ron, Hermione), which shouldn't happen considering that I think EA bases the images off the movie. However, overall the graphics are nicely done and make the game that much more appealing.

Sound - 10/10

I found the music and other sounds to fit the situation well. The spells were nicely accompanied by the sounds and the music for each area were near perfect. Not much else to say here.

Battle System - 8/10

Not my favorite type but it works. The informus portion adds another element to the actual battle. The Folio Bruti really helps considering how many monsters there are and options are well organized. I find it somewhat similar to the Draw system in FFVIII.

Gameplay - 7/10

Nothing particularly new. You can use the 9 spells you eventually learn outside of battle and are necessary to progress through the game, kind of like HMs in Pokemon (I reference other games a lot). Not bad in any way but not anything special either.

Length - 3/10

This is pretty much the only part where this game fails. The title isn't misleading. I seriously finished this in around 15-25 hours, at least the first time through. I was on a plane ride back from China to NY where I live and I went through the entire game on the plane and the transfers in between. It is just way too short to do the series justice.

Replay Value - 9/10

Well, considering that you need to replay it to get all the cards and such, it's important to replay. You start off with the same stuff from the previous run-through, which helps with each following run-through. Plus, you get to choose the other options at those splits, allowing you to experience all of the game, although there isn't all that much you missed the first time.

Special categories pertaining specifically to games like this:

Spells - 7/10

The selection was decent, giving 6-7 to each character. The effects were also pretty unique. However, it was a pain in the ass to try to level each spell up until you get the Harry Potter card. The spells overall were around average.

Cards - 8/10

These added a new variable to the battle system, along with the other special attacks. There was a vast amount of effects from the card combo; plus, they were pretty fun to try and collect them all.

Miscellaneous pros and cons:

+Variety of equipment
+Decent minigames
+Price of items, added extra difficulty
+Bosses
+3 save files, which is such a nice feature for handheld games

-The broken Harry Potter card
-Repetitiveness of tasks
-Repetitive NPCs and monsters
-Much like the movie, lack of explanation in the storyline department
-Shortness and lack of cutscenes

Overall - 7/10

It was just the length. The rest of the game was pretty solid but the length just annihilated what could have been a higher score. This game is worth playing though. I suggest you rent it first if you do decide to play it. If it appeals to your interests, you may consider buying it. Anyways, I hope this review was informative and helps you in a future decision. And to end my review...

Yoyo Kirby! (>^_^)>-------@

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/05