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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
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| List Price: | $49.99 |
| Price: | $46.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details |
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com
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Average customer review:
Product Description
Year six at Hogwarts' darker tone means more action, potions, puzzles, and, of course, more Voldemort. But, it's not all doom and gloom as even the videogame world addresses Harry's growing adoration for Ginny. Wii, PS2, PS3, PSP, Mac, PC, DS, Xbox 360, Electronic Arts, T.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #505 in Video Games
- Brand: Electronic Arts
- Model: 014633155488
- Published on: 2009-06
- Released on: 2009-06-30
- ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
- Platform: Nintendo Wii
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .58" h x 5.42" w x 7.54" l, .26 pounds
Features
- 2-player local multiplayer support.
- Feel the thrill of Quidditch as the Wii Remote and Nunchuck become your broomstick and you speed through the stadium.
- Defeat the Dark Forces as you use the Wii Remote as your wand to duel your way through the story of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
- Perfect your potion-mixing skills using the Wii Remote to stir, shake and pour potions from the Half-Blood Prince¿s recipes.
- When you get stuck, call on Nearly Headless Nick for clues and tips to help you complete your challenges.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Product Description
Based on the 2009 summer movie blockbuster of the same name, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince transports fans both old and new to the beloved and action-filled video game universe of Harry Potter. In this most recent adventure players return to the famous Hogwarts school for wizards, as well as other surrounding parts of the wizarding world, to help Harry survive a difficult and danger filled sixth year.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the Video Game, Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was assumed to be. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different, but equally unavoidable adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn't counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates. And then there’s Hermione, simmering with jealously, but determined not to show her feelings. Yet as romance blossoms throughout Hogwarts, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again. Gameplay Like earlier video game releases in the Harry Potter franchise, the action in Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince the Video Game revolves around the exploration of Hogwarts and the action that results from what you uncover. The game features both engrossing single player and local multiplayer modes, as well as additional unique play features. During their adventures, players will have a chance to engage in exciting wizard duels, mix and brew magical ingredients in potions class and take to the air to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch team to victory. Players may even get sidetracked by Ron’s romantic entanglements as they journey towards a dramatic climax and discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince. Key Features
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Customer Reviews
The Worst Harry Potter Game Yet
It is clear that when constructing the 6th installment in the HP video game series, the developers were extremely limited by the Wii remote. There are only 3 things that one can do in this game: Quidditch, Potions, and Dueling. All three are extremely boring and poorly constructed.
1. Quidditch: I started a flying session, set my remote down, and Harry flew through every single obstacle and caught the snitch. The game is already preloaded within a set path and you can't fly more than 3 inches away at any given time. Extremely boring.
2. Potions: It is fun to make a potion for the first few times but after the third time it gets tedious. The same movements of shaking the Wii remote and spinning it around in the air dominate this aspect of the game.
3. Dueling: Dueling is the best part of the Harry Potter game but it takes no skill at all. All one must do is flick the Wii remote as quickly as possible and he/she can defeat the opponent in a matter of seconds.
Overall I am extremely disappointed in this game. I have every Harry Potter game in the series and this is the only one that disappoints. There is no exploring of the castle or its grounds as one must stay on the path at all given times. There are more cutscenes than there is playing time. Every mission is either to duel, make a potion, or fly in the poorly constructed Quidditch pitch.
This game is a complete failure in every regard. I might have bought it for $[...] but absolutely no more than that amount. I recommend the last 5 games which were amazing and exciting.
Not Cool
Although the Harry Potter novels are some of the finest fantasy works around, the famous wizard's foray into other media has been met with uneven success. The movies based on these books don't contain all the story details, but they have been saved by their fantastic special effects and beautiful art direction. Unfortunately, their video game counterparts have struggled to capture the brilliance of the books. Half-Blood Prince continues right where 2007's disappointing Order of the Phoenix left off. An accurate representation of Hogwarts is the main draw, but simple gameplay and a lack of any coherent storytelling mar the whole experience. For fans of the books, there is a certain joy in tromping around the weathered school grounds and dueling death eaters, but the Half-Blood Prince ultimately feels like a half-finished game. The story is barely comprehensible if you haven't read the book beforehand. There are a couple of references to the titular Half-Blood Prince whose notes dot Harry's potions book, a trip or two through Dumbledore's memory to see the young Tom Riddle, and a quick peek at Harry's ever-growing suspicion of Draco Malfoy. But you'll have to fit these pieces together yourself because the game doesn't spend any time filling in the details. The cutscenes are not only short and sporadic, but they are also poorly acted and look awful. None of the movie's actors lend their voice talents, so you'll have to make do with sound-alikes who sound little like the real people. The character models are based on the actors but are poor imitations of their real life counterparts. Hermione's long hair hardly moves, Professor McGonagall is cast in perpetual shadow, and Albus Dumbledore has trouble moving his lips. Furthermore, the game's plot takes liberties with the source material, putting Harry in preposterous positions that clash wildly with the book.
Order of the Phoenix was the first game in the series to faithfully re-create Hogwarts, letting players explore its many hidden alcoves and winding passageways at their leisure. For people who have not played the previous adventure, it can be a kick to walk around the world's most famous fictional school, navigating the moving staircases and taking shortcuts through the many portraits that line the walls. But if you've already played Phoenix, there's very little new to see in Half-Blood Prince. The environment is nearly identical to the last game's so series veterans will find no new thrill in checking out Harry's school. At least it's easier to find your way to your next objective this time. You can summon Nearly Headless Nick any time you're lost, but you'll still spend way too much time backtracking.
Aside from running all around the school grounds (complete with unnecessary motion blur), you partake in three different wizard-themed activities. Seeing as the Half-Blood Prince has greatly improved Harry's potion-making ability, you'll be spending a lot of time in the potions dungeon, brewing up a number of tasty concoctions. This plays like a magical version of Cooking Mama, placing a number of ingredients in front of you with the recipe lining the side of the screen. Potion creation makes good use of the motion controls, letting you pour, stir, and heat your mixture with a few logical gestures, and it is cool to combine the often gross ingredients into something even viler. However, you'll need to make so many potions throughout your quest that you'll wish you could slip one of your classmates a few Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to prepare them for you. What starts as a simple though entertaining minigame quickly reaches tedium as you go through the same motions over and over again.
Quidditch makes a return after a brief hiatus in Order of the Phoenix, but it's less imaginative and even less fun than making potions. You play as a seeker, Harry's chosen position, and once atop your broomstick, you need only worry about flying through hovering stars in the sky. The controls are extremely simple--use the pointer to place your cursor in the center of a star and let Harry worry about the rest. When you zoom through enough of them, you automatically nab the golden snitch and end the match. There is a real disconnect between your midair maneuvering and what's going on in the match below, though. In the books, Harry is constantly forced to avoid angry opponents trying to knock him off his broom and heavy bludgers being thrown his way, but none of those obstacles factor in here. You won't have to pull off any fancy evasive moves, and given that your path is preset, you don't even have to search for the fast-moving snitch. This mode is predictable and bland, never capturing the exhilaration of playing an airborne sport. Your final task in Half-Blood Prince is dueling, and though it's more fun than anything else in the game, that isn't saying much. These one-on-one battles have you slinging magical spells at your opponent and dodging out of the way to avoid losing your own energy. The controls are motion based, so depending on how you move the remote or Nunchuk, you perform one of six different spells. Protego is the most satisfying because you have to cross your arms in front of your body to form a shield, and deflecting a blow at the last second is pretty sweet. However, the battles often boil down to one cheap tactic: Stun your opponent with one powerful spell and then spam your weaker attack. For instance, if you can nail your foe with levicorpus, he or she will float defenselessly in midair, and then you need only shake your arm frantically to let out a string of stupify attacks, quickly dropping your opponent's health. Going head-to-head with a friend is more unpredictable, but the lack of depth limits the long-term appeal of this mode.
The Harry Potter video games should complement the other media, providing gleeful interaction to match the excellent story from the books and the visual splendor of the films. But Half-Blood Prince isn't much fun to play once you've gotten a taste of the few simple activities. The game is ultimately a forgettable experience, pushing players through the same three minigames over and over again, without ever capturing the thrill of being a wizard. The story lacks focus and is difficult to follow, giving players only the faintest motivation to continue on before it finally ends on an emotionless, anticlimactic note. The Half-Blood Prince squanders its impressive license; you're better off reading the book again.
Half-Blood ain't Half-Bad!
Beware: If you aren't familiar with the storylines in the HP books, specifically "The Half-Blood Prince" a.k.a. book 6....the game reveals a extended cinema variation on events...so SPOILER WARNINGS....okay? Some book edits the game makes maybe in the Movie as is...others, we'll see...
Harry is beginning his 6th year at Hogwarts, it is believed Harry is the Choosen One of prophecy, who will deliever the wizarding world from the clutches of the re- ascension of evil Lord Voldemort...Dumbledore begins Harry's private lessons again using the Pensieve to educate Harry about his adversary and Harry needs a key memory from newly returing Potion's Master Prof. Slughorn inorder to defeat Voldemort....Harry is also eager to learn the origin a his secret benefactor "The Half-Blood Prince" who as filled Harry's hand-me-down Potions textbook with helpful hints and spells... also Harry begins his quest towards the defeat of his nemesis in a climax that ultimately leads to infiltration of Voldemort's Death Eaters into the very walls of Hogwarts itself.
If you played the Wii version of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" then the game (and Hogwarts) will feel quite homey. Old faithful spells return from the last adventure like EXPELLARMUS, INCENDIO, WIGARDIUM LEVIOSA, ACCIO and REPARO. Spells like STUPEFY can be charged to increase their effectiveness. Many spells are automatic to the character's location, like LUMOS will light your way in dark places. The remote spell gestures are similar as is the layout of the castle...for those of you new to Harry for the Wii...the remote spell casting is great fun, doing the wand work yourself, for example with PROTEGO, a deflecting spell, you cross your arms like an "x" you can bounce your opponent's shot back at them.
You still have plenty of out-of-story freedom to roam and perform good deeds and mini-adventures to earn crests and badges, like other HP games Hogwarts is expansive and authentic, you can run and use shortcuts to cut down on travel time, but a more improvement is Harry's ability to summon NEARLY HEADLESS NICK anywhere in the castle. NICK will lead Harry to the next story point when you're ready. Gone is the functional Marauder's map, although unlocked sections of the castle are revealed via the map.
Slughorn's Potion's Class and the Potions Club allows Harry to enjoy his new found potion prowess thanks to the Half-Blood Prince's old Potions textbook. The Potions Club is for out-of-class potions work, but as in the classroom players can really mix the potions akin to COOKING MAMA, adding the ingredients, shaking, stirring and adjusting potion temperature, even to wave the smoke away....all by remote gestures.
When not concocting potions a new Dueling and Flying Club has been added...early in the game the Gryffindor Dueling Club is introduced, not part of actual movie or story events...the Dueling Club is a great excuse to fire off combat spells, even offering a 2-PLAYER OPTION. The Flying Club allows Harry, the newly named Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team some extra broom-work.
Quidditch practice and game sessions largely consist of flying through stars to increase your speed to catch the snitch to end the game, while fending off rival players over and around the pitch.
Extras like all the Harry games this one has Harry collecting crest like Mario's Galaxy star grabbing...using DEPULSO, you can find and collect hidden ones and other spells along the way... they add up to unlockables and such. Also Harry's good deeds aren't rewards in themselves...jobs well done earn Harry badges throughout the game...forming a collection for later display, like the Wizard cards of old. In fact, after the story plot points are all covered players can continue to find the remaining crests, solve disputes between students (this usually involves a Wizard's Duel) and potion challenges.
The Wii's strength is usually is only weakness...in the motion play of the remotes is the tool that makes the game so interesting is sometimes what interferes with game play...at times to controls miss the mark and gestures are incorrectly interpreted. But, overall these mishaps are few. The look and feel of the game mirrors the movie style down to the music and actor's images....this is a great precursor to the film experience as was the last Wii HP movie tie-in. Some moments in the game I hope play out as well in the movie....Harry's misfires at love, Ron's misadventures with love-potion spiked candy...playing Love-sick Ron is very funny as is the Jazzy/swing variation on the HP theme while using the Luck-potion!
HEADS UP: EA Games is remaking their Harry Potter LEGO games for early part of the New Year....the first installment will cover books 1-4...the original HP games focused too much on building, but the new LEGO/EA Games format (Like Star Wars and Indy) will make these titles worth owning.
