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> Results: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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It's young wizard Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Magic, and this year the school is playing host to the Triwizard Tournament. Only students seventeen years and older may enter, but somehow Harry Potter's name falls out of the Goblet of Fire as a contestant. Can Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, solve the mystery and finish all three tournament tasks with their lives intact?
All past Harry Potter games on the home consoles have been more adventure based, requiring players to explore a 3D Hogwarts castle grounds and solve puzzles along the way. This one is a bit of a departure as it is more action oriented and reminded me more of arcade beat ﾑem ups like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons. Instead of using fists and feet, Harry and friends fight monsters by shooting out sparkly spells from their wands. Up to three human players can be Harry, Hermione, or Ron, and the computer controls the rest. Generally, you progress through linear stages blasting any monsters in your way and solving the occasional puzzle that may or may not require a certain degree of co-operation. Even the three tasks are more action oriented as you fly around on a broom to avoid that Hungarian Horntail dragon, or evade sea creatures while swimming underwater in the second task.  Play control is simple. One button shoots out ﾑjinx' attack spells, while another one can levitate objects or shoot out water, depending on the situation. Another button activates a spell to draw collectible objects closer to you, and a final button makes all three players perform a super attack for a limited amount of time. Players can team up and make combined spells for different attacks, or cooperate by casting the same spell to move heavy objects or put out large fires. Collect Bertie Botts Every-Flavor Beans to buy cards that, when equipped, can improve stamina and attack stats. Graphics are great, with nifty lighting effects as spells make lots of sparkles and fireworks. Computer players are actually intelligent and cooperate on spells when needed. They also attack and avoid monsters as much as possible. Spells have funny names like Levitatus, Accio, and Aquatos and can be hard to remember if you want to perform a certain combined spell. Fans of the other Potter games may be a bit disappointed with the change in gameplay for this one, but others will appreciate the change of pace. 
Even though Harry and friends fight wave after wave of monstrous creatures, they only do so by shooting spells with sometimes humorous results. Like when you turn a fiery salamander into a bunny or inflate it until it pops. So the violence isn't too bad. Some of the monsters may look a little scary to younger gamers, but not so bad to anyone who has read the books or seen the movies. Reading skill isn't necessarily required as everyone verbalizes commands and tutorial instructions. If two human players of varying skill level are playing together, such as an older and younger player, solving some of the cooperative puzzles may be a bit more difficult. Even so, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is one game that most people can jump right in and enjoy.
This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire |
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