Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Wii) Review

[Lovingwii]

Reviews: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Wii)



The moment Nintendo announced the Wii, there were two no-brainers: lightsabers and Harry Potter. We're still waiting for the former, but Electronic Arts has delivered on the latter with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth game entry in author J.K. Rowling's nearly complete series. Sure, the game's available on almost every platform you can think of -- PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, PC, and Game Boy Advance, to be exact -- but Wii's where the action's at.

Does the motion control work? Absolutely. Granted, casting spells with the Wii Remote isn't a perfect affair, but the interactive nature easily pushes the Wii version above the others, despite its higher-resolution console brothers. Pulling off spells is simple; they're assigned to only a handful of motions that produce different kinds of spells depending on the context. Waving the Wii-mote in a circle during combat, for example, does not produce the same spell when interacting with the environment. There's plenty of compensation for screwups, which sometimes backfires when the game assumes you're waving up while clearly gesturing down. You cast most spells using the Remote exclusively, with a few exceptions. In the case of Wingardium Leviosa, which levitates objects off the ground, the gesture involves flicking both the Wii-mote and Nunchuk. It's an awkward request, a constant annoyance, and completely unnecessary; the Nunchuk motion was only thrown in for the sake of giving it something to do other than using the analog to move Harry.



While the Wii easily boasts the most natural interface, the others work perfectly fine. Wand movement on the other consoles finds itself on the second analog stick, allowing Harry to move independently of whatever spell the player's trying to cast. Whereas you activate the "Force Push" of Harry Potter's world, Depulso, by flicking the Wii-mote forward twice, tapping the analog forward twice achieves the same result. Same but different. Even though the Wii's received all the attention for introducing motion controls, the PS3 version actually has them, too. Sixaxis controls, however, can be flipped on or off -- and you'll probably want them off. Unlike the Wii-mote, the Sixaxis doesn't feel like a wand, so gesturing forward, backward, up, down, et cetera, with both hands and shaking into a seizure when you're simply trying to cast a disarming spell on your wizarding opponent isn't so much fun as it is uncomfortably awkward. You really shouldn't be considering anything but the Wii version if one of Nintendo's sold-out machines is nearby, but lack of (quality) motion control is hardly a hindrance.

The incorporation of a new wand system isn't the only big change for the Potter series this time out, either. Originally, EA's adaptations of previous titles were little more than rushed action-adventures inappropriate for anyone with half a brain, but starting with the third release, Prisoner of Azkaban, enough sophistication set in that you didn't have to feel embarrassed without a 7-year-old nearby. In fact, Order of the Phoenix is the closest realization to the ideal, open-ended Harry Potter game we've been dreaming about since the series hit it big. Whereas the last two installments were action-oriented romps encouraging pick-up-and-play multiplayer with Ron and Hermione, Order of the Phoenix ditches this style completely for a decidedly single-player affair. Grand Theft Potter this is not, but it's the closest approximation. Players are dropped into Hogwarts and given free rein over their time spent forming and equipping Dumbledore's Army; there's even a free-roaming mode that opens up after completing the main storyline, allowing completists to continue exploring the grounds and unlock further secrets.

And that's really where Order of the Phoenix shines -- with the new concept of "discoveries." Just about everything in Harry Potter's world is interactive; it's possible to upgrade the effectiveness of spells by simply exploiting these possibilities. Using Reparo to put broken parts of the school back together, screaming "Wingardium Leviosa!" to place paintings back on the walls, even encountering new creatures generates the game's version of experience points. Earning a certain number of rewards unlocks development featurettes and behind-the-scenes interviews with the film's actors, the kinds of bonuses fans flip over. The tedium of casting fire spells on every burnt-out torch in and outside of Hogwarts gets old quickly, but you actually unlock most bonuses just playing through the game naturally.

The open-ended approach isn't without its faults, though. EA compensates for the large world in two ways: talking portraits that provide shortcuts throughout Hogwarts and the Marauder's Map, which can be assigned a waypoint that players are guided to by footsteps racing in front of them. The footsteps don't always work as planned, but the real killer is the repetitive nature of the quests themselves. Most boil down to fetching objects or completing someone's homework. EA has lavishly reproduced Rowling's written world, but walking through even the beautifully lit clock tower area gets tiring by the twentieth time. Furthermore, the game fails to properly explain what you're actually supposed to do during the more intricate fetch scenarios. This becomes most painfully obvious when a character asks you to track down a series of talking gargoyles scattered throughout Hogwarts, but the game fails to mention where they are. Hogwarts is a big, confusing place and chances are you've encountered those gargoyles before, yet never noted their existence. Spending two hours looking for a handful of statues is enough to drive a man mad, and the kicker is that it's all for the paltry payoff of adding just one new character to your personal army of wizards.

For all the spells the game teaches you, though, there aren't enough opportunities to use them. Whereas combat was the focal point for Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, it's hardly touched upon in Order of the Phoenix. An opportunity to engage in a dueling match with a friend could have been amazing, but, unfortunately, we'll have to cross our fingers for a shot next time around. Still, the experiment is a success and testament to the fact that EA really has been spending more time crafting these games as the movies and books become more ambitious. If Half-Blood Prince produces the same leap in concept as we've seen here, Potter fans will really be in for something.