First Review of "Half-Blood Prince" Video Game
HBP Film
On the heels of yesterday’s announcement regarding the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game which is due out this fall, now comes the first review of an early preview version of the game. Noting that the game is not yet complete, Pocketgamer was able to play portions of the new game on the Nintendo DS platform, and said that “we can say with reasonable confidence this version is looking quite good.” The report continues:
“Visually, The Half-Blood Prince sports a different style to the home console versions of the game, going for stylised, cell-shaded characters over attempted realism. This no doubt makes the game appear even younger, but then the Harry Potter games – especially on handheld – have never really attempted to draw in everyone, despite the fiction’s many adult fans, and this one’s no exception. Everything is geared up for the pre-teen player, then, such as the game’s various mini-games, which you can’t fail but only achieve sort of varying levels of success.”
Stating there are to be mini-games included such as Gobstones and Exploding Snap, the report also gives this tidbit of information: “Outside of the mini-games, the rest of the game is entirely free-roaming, letting you explore Hogwarts at will and pick up side-quests in a random order. The game still follows the plot of the film, but its makers say they were keen not to bog the player down with dialogue and cut-scenes. So if gamers want to tap on certain words in conversations to find out more of the backstory behind them, they can. Or they can also just run amok casting spells on unsuspecting bookcases and Slytherins instead.” ...
“Away from the combat, the game’s story missions offer variety by using certain events in the film’s plot for specially crafted sections. So for the Pensieve bits, where Harry is being tutored by Dumbledore to view Voldemort’s memories, there are point-and-click, quick-time levels to play. Whereas Harry being chased by Death Eaters is translated into a linear, Time Crisis style level.”
Finally, the review indicates that the version they tested was not the completed form of the video game as “there are still a few decisions still to be made. Like the game’s multiplayer, which is likely to offer two-player Quidditch and Duelling, but also possibly some sort of card trading with special codes made available on the official website.” The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game is due to be released around the time the film arrives in theaters November 21, 2008
Thanks very much Pruneau!
That was certainly a most interesting preview! I can’t wait to see actual images come out of the game now, especially for the portable systems.