With eight more months to develop the game, since the movie of the same name was pushed back from November 2008 to a July 2009 release, the game's development team decided to go back to the drawing board to add more features to what was a nearly complete game. At an EA sponsored event in Paris last week, we got a hands-on demo of what Harry fans can expect.
First and foremost, fans of the series will get a taste of Quidditch. While it's not the more complete Quidditch that was played in 2005's Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup game, Harry's quest to capture the snitch is even more essential here. Given that in the book series, Harry is now Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, the addition the favorite sport of wizards is a sensible addition.
Playing with the Wii Remote, you point in the direction that you want the broomstick to turn as you try to fly through hoops. Successfully fly through each, and Harry speeds up as he attempts to capture the Snitch. While the game is mostly on rails, meaning that you can't just fly anywhere, watching Harry fly as the background fills with scenes of the rest of the rest of the team battling it out adds the feeling that this is as close to a real Quidditch game as you're ever going to get.
There's even some challenge here too. On the most advanced settings, the other team's Seeker runs into his side, hoping to slow him down or miss a hoop. Older players may find it lacking at first but as the game forces players to lay chase from high above the stadium, through the pillars and even down into the pits, average players should love the experience (during the event, there were several children who actually came back to play several times -- one even tried to snag the Wii Remote during the demo).
When asked about why there wasn't a full Quidditch game included in the next Potter, EA UK producer Emily Newton Dunn said that her team surveyed fans of the series and they weren't as interested in a full version of Quidditch. Instead, they wanted a game that let them fully explore Hogwarts. Thankfully, this Potter gives fans a rare glimpse of the grounds outside of the school and let's them discover which rooms are attached to one another, a difficult task with a building that has a habit of moving rooms at will.
This Potter also includes a competitive mode called Wizard Duel where two players can perform their Wizard skills versus one another in the Great Hall. Perched on the Great Table, players select their wizard of choice and use spells like incendio (fire) to best their competition. With the Wii version, players use the Wii Remote cast forward to throw a fireball as they'll cross their arms to cast a protectio spell of protection, as well as stupefy and Wingardium Leviosa spells. While protectio is good for blocking shots, it does take a bit of practice, players can also dodge shots by leaning away with the Nunchuk's directional stick. The new version also does away with several impenetrable panels that let players shield themselves, replaced with panels that last only a few shots. The mini-game is simple to play but offers some heavy competition for Harry Potter fans and a neat way to turn a non-violent competition into fun for all.
There are other changes as well. All the maps are gone, replaced with room names engraved into the walls just outside of the door. Also, there are no easy or hard settings anymore, as the game increases its level of difficulty as players do better.
For fans, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game should deliver a post-movie list of special features that lets them explore more of Hogwarts. Casual players who care less about the facts and more about the gameplay, Wizard Duels and Quidditch matches offer several new ways to interact with the world of wizards beyond Harry's quest to becoming a great wizard.
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