I've been busy with some things that have prevented me from writing for a while. I figured I might as well try something i've only done once before, a video game review. I don't usually write video game reviews, but for this game in particular, I felt compelled to do so. So here it is:
Now, I've always been a fan of the Harry Potter series. I've read all the books, watched all the movies (can't wait for July 15), played some of the games, etc etc. So I was clearly excited when I received (as a gift) a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 for the X-Box 360.
Upon beginning the story mode, I was surprised (and somewhat excited/glad) to see that the gameplay was far more like a dark, shooter rather than the happy, carefree adventure of the previous games. I found this to reflect the darker tone of the final novel quite well. Unfortunately, this was one of the very few pleasing characteristics of the game.
Several different spells become available to you throughout the game (some of which need to be charged by holding the trigger. Switching spells is fairly simple and quick. However, using them is a very different story. Without using the aim feature (holding left trigger), hitting a target is somewhat difficult. In aim mode, the reticule is supposed to lock on to the target (and turn orange) when you keep it on them. However, half of the time you lose this "lock" and your spell goes of course. Defensive spells require you to use specific button combinations. For example, to use "protego" which shields you from attacks, you must hold down the left "bumper" on the controller. This apparently takes a few seconds to charge as it never comes up fast enough to block an incoming spell (like they do in the movies) so you must put it up before the enemies launch their attacks which is annoying because the spell renders you immobile and unable to attack. Some of the other spells are useful but I stuck with the beginning spell, "stupefy", simply because you can use it quickly. There are also potions that are dropped by defeated enemies that you can use to help you throughout the game. There are offensive potions that harm enemies. They are useful but are quite difficult to throw on-target. There are also helpful potions that can be picked up. These potions have variants that restore health, make you stronger, etc. However these potions MUST be consumed as soon as you walk over them. This is especially frustrating with health potions as you quickly wish you could have some with you when you are being hit by numerous enemies and are running out of health.
In this game, Harry has the ability to use cover by pressing x near a wall or rock or any similar feature. The frustrating thing about this is it is difficult to tell what structures/items can be used as cover and if you move too far left or right you leave cover and you become an easy target when you use aim mode to target the enemies (fight back).
This is one of the few games I have played with no display on the screen. There is no health bar or any other similar feature on the screen. It is thus almost like watching a movie. The problem with this is the only way to determine your remaining health is by looking at the colours of your surroundings (they go grey as you lose health). It is EXTREMELY frustrating to not have an accurate picture of how much life you have left in the middle of a firefight.
The story mode can be fairly easily broken down into two types of missions: 1st person stealth missions and 3rd person "shooters".
The 1st person stealth missions can be described in 4 words: NOT FUN AT ALL. Every stealth mission (except the part in the Ministry before the polyjuice potion wears off) involves you sneaking around in an invisibility cloak. These are some of the most frustrating game missions I have ever played here's why:
If you bump into someone, you become visible.
If the triangle (deathly hallows symbol) becomes empty (it decreases as you move), you become visible.
If you press the run button, you become visible.
If you stop moving, you randomly keep moving causing the timer to continue decreasing.
If you accidentally press the right trigger, you become visible.
If you hide out of view after being spotted, then put the cloak back on, the enemies can still see you when you walk back out into the open.
If someone sees you, you are "discovered" and must return to checkpoint.
Also, you are forced to shuffle slowly along while in the cloak so the missions can be quite lengthy and boring.
The third person "shooter" missions are also quite annoying. Firstly, there's the problems I mentioned before about cover. Also, enemies are constantly appearing out of black smoke all around you, becoming quite annoying when you run into a death eater who spawned in two feet in front of you. Then there's the camera... The camera in the third person view "shooter" missions made me feel nauseous. Now,I have never had issues with nausea during games or movies (I had no problem with Avatar in 3D or Cloverfield), but the pitching and constant up and down motion of the camera, especially when in cover, made me feel sick to my stomach. Combat is also very glitchy. For example, on occasion I will hit a death eater 10+ times with even the most high powered spells, yet they will continue attacking. These missions are also EXTREMELY redundant (they change very little throughout the game).
Overall, the graphics are moderately good. The character designs are O.K. and the environment looks good.
In terms of audio, most missions I played consisted almost entirely of:
Harry: Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!
Death Eaters: Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!
Harry: Stupefy! Stupefy!
etc.
Other in game dialogue (i.e. in cutscenes) is well voice acted. However, the conversations are poorly matched the the movements of the mouths of the characters (poorly synchronized).
These are only a taste of the vast array of problems present in the game. Steer well clear of this poor recreation of a great novel, especially if you are a fan of the series who does not want to be extremely disappointed.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 gets an overall rating of:
3 wands out of 10.
Area Specific Rankings:
Gameplay: 1.5/10
Audio: 3.5/10
Visual: 7.5/10
Fun/Enjoyability: 1.5/10
