The problems, then, lay in the actual game mechanics. The second is the way the developers have chosen to overlay all the menus, signposts and instructions as part of the map space, just like in Dead Space – ingredients, doorway signs and even the options are all integrated nicely – walk up to a door and it’ll show you where it leads to via a nicely done pop-up. Of course, the linear storyline means you’ll only really have one destination but it’s a nice feature for the directionally challenged. The first is the use of Nearly Headless Nick to act as a guide for the lost – a tap of the Select button will bring him drifting by and a cute quip and a twirl of the overcoat and he’ll float ahead of you as you follow him to your destination. Places are roughly the right distance away and all your favourite areas, like Herbology and the Quidditch pitch, are present and correct.įans will know the way to most places if they choose to walk, but if not EA have done two clever things. Whilst the actual map isn’t really that big, it does include much more of the Potter world than the last game and it’s better lit, nicely textured and absolutely authentic, to the last brick almost. Put simply, for Potter fans this will be like manna from heaven – everything, from your initial midnight encounter with Luna Lovegood to the very depths of the castle is rendered with care and attention the likes of which we’ve never seen before on a game like this. So whilst the game’s pacing never really slows down and the only reason the storyline has for making you explore are simple means to an end, like fetch quests, EA have worked wonders with Hogwarts. Heck, you’re even rewarded for using the shortcuts via some rather generous Trophies.
Yes, you’re free to ignore the game’s prompts but it would have been better at first to trust the player to want to explore – after all, if you’re buying this game it’s because you’re a fan of the franchise and want to wander around freely, at least at first. You’re never forced to do one thing immediately after another, but little else happens unless you do, and even though the world of Hogwarts is modeled brilliantly and becomes open for exploration very quickly, the game even tries to shove quick-access shortcuts on you as if to say – hey, don’t bother walking around the map, just jump straight to the next minigame. It’s not, this is how the game plays out for most of the length of the adventure. When the game first starts it bombards you with the game’s three of four main ideas – collecting, quidditch, duelling and potions – which you wrongly assume to be some kind of quick-fire tutorial.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the apex of this line of thought: although there’s the notion of freedom EA absolutely tunnel you through the main singleplayer mode without ever really letting up. To fans of the canon, mind, this is most definitely a good thing, and whilst I tremendously enjoyed a couple of the last-gen games it was because I’m a more of a gamer rather than a Potter fan – the recent gen versions have been less about following videogame conventions and more about providing an alternative playthrough of the film’s storyline. EA’s Harry Potter games have steadily changed from innocent wide-eyed platform games to open-world sandbox adventures, slowly losing much of the game and incorporating more of the film.