Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Adventure games come in a variety of styles, including (but not limited to): light and airy, rich and creamy, and fatty and greasy. Though it might seem odd to compare the genre’s variances in the way we compare food, it has more relevance than you might think. After all, Psychonauts was as irresistible as chocolate pudding. Every moment had to be savored. Meanwhile, the last Sonic game left me feeling like I had just eaten a tub of lard.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix belongs in the other category of adventure games, the one that houses Zelda, ICO, and Shadow of the Colossus. But the food comparisons remain true. In this case, Potter is a mix of the first two styles – it’s an adventure that is rich in enjoyment but light in depth and longevity.

As an interactive version of the movie’s scenarios and plotlines, Order of the Phoenix is somewhat of a grounded adventure game. You will not leap across tall buildings or venture through a massive world map. The game is focused on the Hogwarts school and other locations from the film.

I wasn’t sure what to make of this during the introductory exploration phase, but it all came together once Potter began to learn new spells. With a scheming teacher expecting Hogwarts students to learn the concept of magic, but not actually perform, players must find a secret location to practice and perfect new techniques.

These spells are triggered through the act of analog movement – that is, by pushing, flicking, and rotating the right stick. The left stick controls Potter’s movement, which leaves no room for manual camera controls. Rare cases excluded, I prefer to have control over my gameplay viewing angles. But aside from the moments where the camera is angled funny or gets stuck by a wall, the lack of camera controls do not negatively effect the game.

In regards to spell-casting, one of the easiest is Depulso. This spell pushes an object away from you and is executed by pushing up on the right stick. Push up twice and do it quickly and the spell will be executed. To pull an object close, tap back twice. When levitating, you’ll have complete freedom in placing the object wherever you see fit. This move is very precise and is also easy to execute.

Others, like the reconstruction of broken objects (furniture and statues in most cases), require you to move at a more specific speed. For rolling motions, I tend to rotate the stick as fast as possible. This stems from my previous obsession with Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and most recently Tekken. But in practicing the various magic spells, you’ll find that some benefit from Street Fighter quickness, while others need you to move a bit slower.

Levicorpus, one of the combat spells, lifts opponents into the air with the flick of your wand. The students of Dumbledore’s Army may not have had an easy time learning it, but you won’t have to spend weeks practicing to get it right. Merely push the right stick forward, half-circle left, half-circle right, and half-circle left again. Poof – instant opponent levitation (and player satisfaction).

Because of the way the story unfolds, Order of the Phoenix involves a lot of backtracking. Go here – talk to someone – learn a spell – return – repeat. There are differences thrown in, and the story is very well done so you definitely won’t be bored. While the character interactions will keep you intrigued, the constant viewing of the same environments can be tiring. If you mark a spot on the map, footprints will appear in front of Potter to guide you toward each destination. Using this feature is a must, but it tends to enhance the fact that you are going through a process.

As you walk through the halls of Hogwarts, you never know when a picture hanging on the wall is going to come to life. Examine the portraits and you may gain a hint about the current objective or discover that there is a hidden passage underneath. At the very least you’ll gain further insight into the story, which is something every diehard Potter fan will enjoy. Or you could just end up killing an hour or two playing a Potter-ized version of chess where the pieces physically attack each other.

It’s wise to cast spells frequently while exploring, not just when you need to. Among the many interactive objects in the game are those that contain Discovery Points, which may be used to unlock different items in the Room of Rewards. There are thousands of Discovery Points to uncover, so many that you may feel like an entire mini-quest could be spent finding them. They are optional and are not going anywhere, allowing players to first devote their time to the main objective. But unless you’re in a hurry, it isn’t a bad idea to grab as many points as possible along the way.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix culminates as an imperfect adventure but is still very much a journey worth taking. Gamers who aren’t yet a fan of Harry Potter shouldn’t plan on this being the game that’ll change their minds – it probably won’t. But if you’re already excited by the thought of Voldemort and his Death Eaters and can’t wait to start recruiting for Dumbledore’s Army, you’ll have a good time playing through Order of the Phoenix.

Gameplay: 7.8
The story-driven, spell-based gameplay is the best of its kind. Despite having to backtrack and move at a slower pace than you do in most adventure games, Order of the Phoenix pulls off its objective of being an interactive re-creation of the movie’s events.

Graphics: 7.9
The first time you explore each area will be met with nothing but smiles. It’s like you’re entering the movie all over again. The graphics aren’t perfect – they’re obviously above the last generation but cannot compare (realistically) to what the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are capable of producing. But the environments, somewhat interactive and in high resolution, have been constructed with great accuracy.

Sound: 8.3
Excellent music, top-notch voice acting, whimsical sound effects – it doesn’t get much better than this.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The guided missions might seem a little easy, but like most movie games, Order of the Phoenix was designed to be played by anyone. That leads to some questionably simplistic objectives but thankfully did not prevent the developers from letting Potter’s essence come through.

Concept: 8.0
There are a lot of scavenger hunt-based adventure games. But how many do you know that apply several magic spells – cleverly and accurately – to one analog stick?

Overall: 7.8
Recommended to the die-hard Potter crowd, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a rich adventure that’s light on longevity.