Unless you're Mary Poppins, you probably don't think of tidying up as a game. But the makers of the Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix video game hope you will. Players who haven't seen the film of the same title will come away thinking that wizards and witches spend more time straightening up the hallowed halls of Hogwarts than actually saving the magic world from evildoers. That said, the game is surprisingly fun. Plenty of puzzles complement the story line, and the Wii Remote acts as a wand that allows you, as Harry Potter, to lift, repair, repel, and grab items the magic way.
A Wizard's Work Is Never Done
The game follows the storyline of the fifth film in the Warner Brothers' Harry Potter series, which is based on the book by J.K. Rowling. While this means a few combat scenes, most of your time is spent meeting characters who send you on miniquests to collect items all over the castle. This can get tedious at times, especially as Hogwarts is a sprawling place, but to keep your interest, programmers have hidden "discoveries" in every room. As you make your way through each floor, you can hang portraits, repair vases, find statues, and uncover other hidden treasures for points. These discovery points boost your power and unlock bonus features (including videos about the making of the game) located in a room on the second floor. Some "discoveries" are so cleverly hidden and delightful to find that they keep the game moving despite the mundanity of the tasks. For example, you can produce a feast in the Grand Hall or release each of the four house ghosts. Other tasks seem pretty mundane. To chase down all of the discoveries, you'll find yourself making beds, mopping floors, sweeping courtyards, and watering plants. The creators seem obsessed with chores—the game even starts with Harry tidying up the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix—perhaps to show that kids with magical powers also have to help with the housework.
Discovery points also are rewarded for winning minigames, such as snaps or chess, and you can go on miniquests for professors to unlock lesson-related games, such as practicing charms in Professor Flitwick's classroom. Most of these activities rely on spells taught by different characters at various points of the game. One of the best activities is actually part of the main storyline—Severus Snape's occlumency lessons demand that you wave the Wii Remote furiously to keep the intimidating professor from reading your mind.
The game relies on cut scenes (and sometimes sloppy transitions) to keep you moving through the story. While you have only one formal task after the final cut scene, you can take your time exploring Hogwarts to build more discovery points or just admire the trophies you've collected. The story remains faithful to the film, and while it isn't complex, the world of the game is enjoyable enough to keep you engaged.
Building Hogwarts From the Ground Up
Although the Wii doesn't do as good a job of rendering graphics as its competitor consoles, most of the visuals in the game come through well enough. However, up close, the details dissolve, especially when you "examine" a note or a wall hanging, and it's hard to tell whether this is intentional. Overall, however, the people at EA Games, who also developed the games based on the other films in the Harry Potter series, did a good job of creating the sprawling property of Hogwarts and remained very faithful to the film's set design. The Grand Hall is especially accurate, and even places that aren't featured in the film, such as the boathouse, are well imagined.
In an effort to be even more accurate, EA Games employees scanned the faces of every cast member from the film—but the result is ghastly up close. Alan Rickman's Professor Snape likeness has the pupilless eyes of a horror-film ghost, and Maggie Smith's Professor McGonagall looks like death warmed over. Still, from afar, the characters are recognizable, and details like these make the film come alive.
The game incorporates excellent sound design. EA Games licensed composer John Williams' "Hedwig's Theme" from the film, which adds an aura of authenticity. In 5.1 surround sound, there are plenty of background noises populating the halls, from chattering portraits and heckling students to the ambient sounds of bird calls, wind, and even dishes scraping together. Twenty-two cast members from the film—including Rupart Grint, who plays Harry's sidekick Ron—also voiced their characters, which adds to the feeling that you're navigating through the film's world.
Not So Smooth Moves Slow You Down
While effort obviously went into the visual and sound design of the game, navigation didn't get the same treatment. Using the Marauder's Map, you choose your destination, and dark footsteps appear to show you which direction to go. Unfortunately, these footsteps are often difficult to see and do not render quickly enough when you move at top speed. They also go missing periodically, and you have to reselect your target to find them again. Savvy players will work to unlock all of the secret passages to cut down on navigation time, especially the tedium of running up and down the seven flights of the Grand Staircase.
Rendering errors contribute heavily to navigation frustration. Certain areas of the map are slower than others, and you can feel the system chugging to render the room in some cases. The characters of Ron and Hermione, who constantly follow Harry, often get in the way when you change direction. Camera angles don't shift easily, making it difficult to view targets at the roofline, and sometimes the heads of Ron and Hermione will block your view during a cutscene (although, sometimes these heads aren't rendered correctly and you can see through them). There are also bizarre rendering artifacts throughout the game, such as on the Grand Staircase where four rectangular shadows stutter and flare as you pass by.
Falling Under Its Spell
These annoyances aside, the game is fairly engaging and a fun way to explore the film's re-creation of Hogwarts. Harry Potter fans will enjoy the chance to cast spells and interact with the characters in this world, especially while waiting for Book 7 to arrive!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix game for the Wii: ***
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