Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3768 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2007-06-28
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Platform: Xbox 360

Amazon.co.uk Review

‘The boy who lived’ is another movie hero whose video game adventures never seem to have matched up to the quality of his films (or books). Rather than simply repeat the predictable third person action of previous games though, this is something a bit different. It’s almost a sort of Grand Theft Auto: Hogwarts (or a variation on The Simpson’s: Hit & Run for those that are too young to know about Rockstar’s naughty blockbusters).

What this means in practical terms is that you’ve got almost the whole of Hogwarts school to explore from the off, with different missions of varying degrees of importance available from different locations. You now control only Harry, with Hermione or Ron reduced to supporting roles, although there are some short sections where you can play as Fred and George Weasley instead. The re-focus on Harry is a result of the sheer number of magical spells available to him now, from standard offensive and defensive magic to summons and levitation spells that help you uncover and unlock the hidden secret of Hogwarts.

Casting spells isn’t as simple as just pressing a button though, as you’re made to actually trace out a magical symbol using the controller (something that works particularly well on the Wii), which adds greatly to the sense of immersion. There’s also a range of similarly controlled mini-games, including wizard chess and gobstones, which you can play either in or out of the game. It’s all a vast improvement on the previous titles, with similarly superior graphics and a general air of effort not usually associated with film tie-ins.
Harrison Dent

Manufacturer's Description:
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager’s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing that Hogwarts’ venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort’s return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students. But Professor Dolores Umbridge’s Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves "Dumbledore’s Army," Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.

With the ability to play multiple characters, including Harry Potter, Dumbledore and Sirius Black, the videogame of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix offers fans the opportunity to wield a wand, explore all around Hogwarts, and experience one of the most exciting and dangerous years in the life of the Boy Who Lived.

Customer Reviews

Zizy
This was my first HP game for the Xbox, and I really enjoyed it. The graphics were pretty good and it was great to hear the actual actors voices. The puzzles were fun to work out, but the Gobstones cup was a nightmare to win and it took me nearly four hours to win the last 3 matches - be warned! I did managed to get 100% completion after some serious trial and error and I will definitely get the next HP game.

Oh Deary, Deary Me
Oh goodness. Possibly the worst game I've ever owned on my 360. Ok, warning, this is an angry rant, but if you are seriously considering buying this game, I'd still recommend reading it. To try and cut down on the rambling and the waffling, I shall lay it down in bullet points, if you'll excuse it:

-Horrific misquotes from the book and movie

-Embarrasing graphics that clearly shows they don't take younger gamers seriously, and think they can cut down on effort.

-No Quidditch (partly why the sixth movie also disappointed)

-Spells are easy to perform when lifting plant pots, but extremely hard in duels, hence it leads to embarrased 16 yr olds, who are actually quite good at most games, getting beaten by virtual Crabbe and Goyle.

-All the background people look exactly the same- there's an army of lanky dark-haired girls, a few hundred medium height redheads and a few short girls with pigtails.

-The lighting and camera angles are terrible, so when you are searching for a single book in the whole library (even harder than it is in real life with the lack of a librarian to help you), you can't see a thing.

-The missions that take place in the book are scarce in the game and generally short, and to make up for this the game is filled with pointless, extremely hard missions with no real sense of purpose- in the books Harry never has to look through every bush on the Hogwarts grounds to find Luna's missing sock.

-Every character you bump into on your travels, and every painting you need to go through for a shortcut, says exactly the same thing everytime, so their little quotes are permanently scarred on to your eardrums, and now means I personally have a phobia of a painting of an old man on the third floor staircase.

-Oh and if you're a big xbox 360 kind of a person, it will probably annoy you at how ridiculously easy it is to boost up your gamerscore- I got about 600 in a week.


All in all, do not buy this game unless
a) you don't care about anything and just want a big gamerscore
b) you're such a die-hard fan of Harry Potter that nothing you could deter you from it.
c) you really, really hate Harry Potter

The magic is missing
I was really looking forward to playing this game. However, I found myself quickly bored. The graphics are really good and the castle looks fantastic but I can't help but feel a lot of time was spent on this and then none on making the game. Once I'd wandered around that castle 5 times I quickly grew tired of it. There was none of the magic of previous games where you cast your spells. One of the challenges involves playing chess and if you can't play chess what's the point. There is barely any game play for the actual story. The teacher challenges are laughable.