Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix review

He's not dead... yet.

Review written by
Splintercell4ever

Whizam! With the flick of the wrist, Harry Potter is on the wii, all magic via the wiimote. With the remote used as a wand, this is definitely the most intuitive and authentic game in the series. But will the magic satisfy even the gung-ho born again christians who despise Potter?

When starting the game, Harry will quickly jump into casting spells. The basic spells are all here, including accio by raising the wiimote upward, depulso by pushing forward, and wingardium leviosa by lifting both the nunchuck and wiimote upwards. While casting the spells is feasible, aiming at certain targets can be very frustrating. Sometimes I wondered if they should have named this game Harry Potter and the Drunken Wizardry.

Besides the basic charms, the game includes dueling spells. These include the always timely expeliarmus. Avada Kedavra, the fan-favorite spell was nowhere to be seen, as it would turn Harry Potter's experience from magic to collecting five stars.

After a few tutorials, Harry is placed in a very wide and immersing Hogwarts. This time around, the team at EA did a fine job of including just about everything. Harry can travel from the Great Hall to the Clock Tower to the Owlery all the way to the Boat House with absolutely no load times. The castle is so immense that you will need to utilize the Marauder's Map, creating an itinerary of footsteps to guide your way from point A to point B.

If the castle's size doesn't satisfy your needs, the content inside certainly will. Harry can participate in games such as wizard's chess, gobstones and exploding snap. Harry can also use secret passages through portraits, by undertaking the quests they send you on.

There is so much to do in Hogwarts, you may even forget there is a story to all this. Anyone who read the books will know Harry is not having the best year. He got attacked by dementors, disallowed in joining a group known as the Order of the Phoenix, and has the biggest bitch of a defense against the dark arts teacher.

While the book is over eight-hundred pages, the video game's story is very thin. The basic storyline consists of just recruiting members to the DA (a group against the malicious teacher), upsetting the new teacher by pulling pranks and the final battles in the Department of Mysteries. That's it. Luckily, you will be able to take control of other characters, such as the Weasley twins, Sirius Black and Dumbledore.

As you travel through the adventure you will be treated to the orchestrated music of John Williams, including Hedwig's theme. Even that which is not done by Williams can be found in the past Harry Potter games, going all the way back to Chamber of Secrets. While this is not the most original choice, it is somewhat amusing hearing music in a five year old game return here. The voice work is even better. EA got many of the actors to do voicework in the game, which means you will listen to Ron's biting sense of humor and the Weasley Twins up to their usual hijinks.

Once you've completed the main game, you can still aim for a one-hundred percent completion by unlocking all the secrets. While it's still fun to explore Hogwarts, it's just not as exuberant as the main story.

This is probably the best Potter game yet, as it takes full advantage of the magic and wonder of the Harry Potter universe. While most casual gamers would be pleased with a rental, hardcore potter fans will be very satisfied. So while we enjoy Harry's final moments before the worst comes to him, this game will make us enjoy his presence before the final book is released.