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Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (Wii)By Marlon Esmeralda - 07-24-09 Print  EmailA new Harry Potter film has once again released, and along with it another video game. The 6th title in the series, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, follows Harry on his sixth year at Hogwarts. Those who have played the Harry Potter games in the past, will find many similarities in this game, along with a few changes and improvements. This release is a welcomed addition to the Harry Potter series, and while it may not provide much in terms of story, the gameplay is actually pretty fun. Those who have been keeping up with the movies or books, should be familiar with the story as if follows along the storyline fairly close. For those who don't anything at all and are interested in this particular Harry Potter game, for whatever reason, will be left in the dark throughout the game. The plot of the game is told out through various cutscenes, that are pretty short and straight to the point. No back story is present at all and any real explanation towards the story is hardly seen. I had some decent knowledge of the Harry Potter universe, so I understood some of what was going on. It's too bad not much focus was put on into the story's presentation, as it definitely would have brought more to the experience, and more accessible to those in the dark. For what it lacked in storytelling, it certainly made up in gameplay. Half-Blood Prince is primarily made up of three types of mini-games: dueling, potions, and quidditch. All three games are tied into the story, and make up for most of the gameplay. If you're not doing one of the three, then you are probably exploring the halls of Hogwarts or on your way to participating in one of the mini-games. All games will utilize the Wii motion controls in some form, and they all work fairy well. Dueling pits you up against another magic wielder, as you cast spells on each other until another's life bar depletes fully. The spells are pretty limited, and everyone has the same set of spells in their arsenal. You got your basic attack, Stupefy, which you can also charge up for a stronger attack. You also got spells like Expelliarmus(knocks opponent to the ground) and Levicorpus(levitates opponents body) that can make your opponent invulnerable for a short time. Also cast Protego to summon a barrier to deflect spells. All spells are inputted to a Wii motion, like Stupefy has you flick the Wii remote forward and holding it upright in order to charge it. For the most part, the spells react quite nicely, but since some of the motions for the spells are kind of similar, you may summons the incorrect spell than the one you intended. You can also push the A button to do a dodge move. The combat is pretty easy overall. You can just hit someone with a Levicorpus to make them invulnerable and then just start blasting them with Stupefy until they're life is gone. The experience is pretty fun though, and blasting someone with a bunch of spells while they're down is quite satisfying. Making potions is also a easy, but fun process. You will be presented with many ingredients and a set of step-by-step directions. You simply follow the direction by performing the correct action until the potion is complete. The steps are shown with pictures showing you what potion to select and for what color to stop pouring on(the potion changes color as you pour). Other steps will have you adding a specific amount of ingredients, heating, and stirring. Use the Wii pointer to select your potion and then hold it upright to pick it up, then tilt it to pour. Other moves like heating(shaking remote and nunchuck) and stirring(pointing remote down and rotating) are later introduced and make me the experience much more enjoyable. Should you make a mistake, the screen will be filled with smoke, and you must shake the nunchuck in order to dissipate it. The later levels of potion making can get a bit difficult as more ingredients and steps will be present. Quidditch is less interactive than the other two games as you mainly use the Wii pointer in order to play out this game. You control Harry in the seeker position and you must guide him through star rings in order to pick up the snitch. Harry follows your Wii pointer so you must aim him correctly through the rings. Later levels of this game will have you fending off rival seekers as well. The game is a bit intense with its fast pace, but I found the game to be quite easy. If you're not playing any of these mini-games, you will be spending your time exploring the halls of Hogwarts. The school is a great representation of the movie Hogwarts and fans would be pleased with the authenticity of the design. You are free to roam the massive building, but most of it will be locked away at the start, and become available as you progress. Should you ever get lost, due to the huge landscape of the building, you can summon Nearly Headless Nick with the push of a button and he will guide you straight to your next objective. You will also encounter shortcuts in the game via art portraits as you move further into the game, allowing for quick access to certain locations. You will also have a set of spells that you can freely cast. These spells will mainly be used to find crests. In the hallways is where you will find these crests. There are a total of 150 hidden crests in the game and reaching a certain amount will unlock bonuses in the game, like more mini-games. The crests can be found in various spots and require a bit of thinking to get sometimes. For instance, you may need to cast Wingardium Leviosa to float one up towards you from an unreachable area. There will also be crests located on walls in high places, and you will need to use Wingardium Leviosa in order to throw an object at it, causing it to fall to the ground. You will learn more spells as you play the game. Crests can also be received by helping out fellow students with their problems. Mini-crests will also be hidden throughout the hallways, and enough mini-crests will form a full crest. They hide in many locations and a quick flick of the Wii remote will launch many out of their hiding spot, in which you will use the Wii pointer to pick them up. Probably the biggest gripe I had with Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince is its length. The story is short and can be completed at around 5 hours of playtime. There's no real reason to play through everything again, but all of Hogwarts will be open for you to freely explore. So you can replay mini-games if you choose to. If you're a completionist then the game will last much longer as it will take some time to find all the hidden crests in the game. A two-player duel mode is available as well, where you and a friend can duke it out Harry Potter style. For a Harry Potter fan this game will surely keep you occupied, but for most gamers, the experience feels just too short. The graphics in the game look good, and it does the Harry Potter universe some justice. Hogwarts is a very huge place, and there are no load times at all when exploring all the areas. The characters in the game closely resemble their movie counterparts, but the models move a bit too stiff at time. Talking and emotions are expressed really well, but you can see some of the limitations. Typical Harry Potter music help bring the whole atmosphere together, as well as the sound effects. Some of the actors from the movie also provided their voices in the game so fans of the movie should be pleased with that. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince is a nice solid game, with some well-utilized controls. You will still get some occasional mis-reads with the motions, so maybe for the next game there will be support for Wii MotionPlus. The mini-games are fun to play in their own ways, with potion making being my favorite. The overall experience is fairly short though, and the lack of storytelling will leave those unfamiliar with the series confused. Harry Potter fans, on the other hand, should be quite pleased with the game, as I feel it really brings out the life and atmosphere of Hogwarts. Ratings |
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