Reviewed by Megan Parker
I have a secret. I have never read a Harry Potter book, nor watched a Harry Potter movie. I know what you’re thinking “Why the hell are you reviewing the game?” We already do have one fan’s review of the Xbox 360 version, another for the Nintendo DS, so why not have someone who’s totally new to Harry Potter do a review for the PS2? Makes sense to me, anyway.
First off, it becomes pretty clear that if you’re not at least somewhat familiar with the world of Harry Potter, you’re going to be so very confused playing the game. There isn’t a refresher on the story so far, you’re pretty much plunked down right in the middle of everything that’s going on. There are references to things in the books and movies right away, and it left me confused and wondering what exactly was going on. There are characters, some with small parts in the books, some with large, and you really don’t know who is who. It would have been nice if there was a little review, recap, or a little encyclopedia or something that could catch up those new to Harry Potter to the events in the game. Then again, they likely assumed that if you’re playing the game, you at least know a little about what’s going on. So much for assumptions!
Fortunately, from what I’m told, the game has little to do with the story of the book. It seems to be things that are going on in between everything, occasionally giving you glimpses and making some connections to the stories in the book. Which actually kind of makes up for the lost feeling I had when I first started the game.
The gameplay is mixed. For the most part, it’s done well. There are tutorials that tell you how to use your spells and plenty of time to acclimate yourself to the new ones. As you wander the halls and grounds of Hogwarts, you run into other characters from the books. Almost everyone has something to say, sometimes they have too MUCH to say. Even the paintings talk, though they can be the most annoying. In the room you visit most often, there is a painting that will continually badger you until you go talk to it. EVEN if you already have talked to it, it will constantly tell you to come over and when you do, it will tell you the same thing. It’s quite annoying. Most of the other paintings are actually quite funny, talking about various other paintings or people in the academy.
There isn’t much of a progressive story outside of gathering an army to fight the baddies and teaching them new spells. Meanwhile, wandering around Hogwarts, you learn more spells yourself. The spells are done with the right analog stick, moving it in different patterns to cast various spells. As it does add up, I did find myself confusing spells, which can be somewhat of a problem in certain circumstances, but that’s more of me not remembering than an issue with the game.
As you discover Hogwarts, you will have some students with you. Sometimes, this causes issues, especially if you’re going into small spaces. There were several times that I would be trapped as my party followed me into a small hall and having a very hard time getting them to move back out. Often, they will just stare at you blankly while you scream in vain at the television for them to move.
Exploring is part of the game, and that gets you experience to unlock various things. You can do this by talking to people, straightening out statues, repairing things, shaking out rugs, and more. There is a long gallery of things you can unlock at various levels, including some behind the scenes interviews of the cast of the movie. It’s similar to how things were unlocked in the games based on the Lord of the Rings movies. There’s quite a bit to do to unlock it all, so completists who are also Potter junkies can have a ton to do between upgrading spells and unlocking extras.
Hogwarts is quite extensive and pretty well done. It sometimes can feel empty in some areas, but for the most part, it seems to be done in the way it should Between the extensive grounds and the moving stairs can leave you confused, but the map system is quite ingenious. Find a parson or a room on the map to select it and footprints will show you the way there. This makes it so incredibly easy to find things, but at the same time, it can cut down on your ability to explore independently, following the footsteps rather than figuring out through exploration.
Outside of the main point of the game, there are also mini-games to play that can be pretty fun. Oddly, though, the only one that they don’t give you a tutorial on is the chess. It’s the same chess as “ours”, and it does give places for the pieces to move, but outside of that, if you don’t know chess, you can only guess your way through. That being said, I still managed to win most of the games, which is kinda funny in an odd way. The controls here can be a bit touchy, which is also frustrating at times. Overall though, the mini-games can be a fun distraction from all the exploring.
The controls are the biggest issue with the game. The controls are set up in a pretty basic way for most games, but the implementation of them in game can be pretty aggravating. They seem somewhat sticky, and at times, more than a little clunky. Often, they don’t respond quite as quickly as they should, giving a slight delay to what you do. Added to that, the camera is very poorly done. Outside of the chess game, the camera can’t be moved around at will, which at sometimes means you can’t see what you need to see, and it can be difficult to navigate the character to see it. Sometimes the camera can just stick and leave you missing out.
Likely because of that, the cinematics can come across pretty clunky too. The main non-game engine one is pretty and well done, but in game cinematics can often shift characters around right in front of you. Sometimes you can even see the character spawn just before she or he appears in the scene. Other times, they’ll move around the room in the cinematic, then snap back in front of you during the transition from the cinematic and the game play.
The sound of the game can also be an issue. While the game’s voice actors (only some actually are from the movie) do a good job most of the time, sometimes it can be pretty painful. Certain characters even can make your ears bleed…. Well, not really, but it really feels like it. In some instances, the background noise will drown out the voices, and it cannot be fixed.
The character animations are decent, but sometimes they can be distractingly clunky looking, some even look pretty odd. It almost feels like they were mostly done with the game, but left out on some of the fine tuning that would have made the game so much better.
The graphics, for the most part are well done, between the environment, to the character models, they are well done and textured as well as you can on a PS2.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix isn’t the best way to get into the world it shows, but then it’s not meant to be. Even if you aren’t familiar, the game will provide some fun, and if you are a fan, it likely will be quite a bit of fun for the most part. The controls and camera are the biggest problems and can be the most aggravating, but for the most part, the game is well done and quite a bit of fun. Most fans would likely have a lot of fun with the game, and quite a bit to do in it.