Customer Reviews

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(56)

 

 

After playing the first three HP games with my daughter, we both looked forward to #4. What a huge disappointment. Gone are looking for secrets areas. Gone are the amazingly beautiful graphics of the Hogwards interior or the school grounds, the bean bonus room and spongify. No cool games like flying Buckbeak and dueling matches.

What replaced the stuff that made the other three HP games so much fun? An impossible player control system. Playing with the keyboard controls (which can't be customized) is the definition of frustrating. Even with an external game controller, it isn't possible to accurately cast a spell or even make a character walk in a straight line. The extremely high view angle (which can't be changed) often causes walls and other things to completely block the view of your character. There is no control whatsoever of any video or audio settings. In fact, the only customizable item on the "Options" page is toggling subtitles on and off.

The various areas to explore are disjointed and unrelated to each other. There doesn't seem to be any point in progressing from one area to another. Another change from HP 1-3 is a system of collecting cards which then can be used to augment a character to add stamina, cast better charms/jinxes and to be more effective against certain creatures. But when the final big battles occur in the maze and Voldemort stages, the chance to beef up Harry to prepare for the battle with collector cards is suddenly gone. Really dumb.

One cool feature of GOF is the ability to let multiple players enjoy the games at the same time. Up to three humans can each control either Harry, Hermoine or Ron. External game controllers are required for 2 or 3 player game play. Be aware though that when my daughter and I played with a controller and keyboard, the game lost track of the character controlled by the keyboard whenever the game action got heavy. The keyboard character would just stop reacting. In an area where it takes 3 to levitate a block, an uncontrollable character is a showstopper.

The GOF system of charms and jinxes is a mystery, even after finishing the game. There are about a dozen jinxes available, but except for about two, there doesn't seem to be any way to intentionally cast any of them. The strange part is that after each stage, the game shows the progress made in developing each jinx...as if it's important and something a player has any control over. In battle, just pressing "X" as quickly as possible results in random jinxes. Unfortunately, all it takes to win the battles is a quick finger. There isn't any strategy.

To summarize:

Pros:

- Multi-player control of characters
- Nice graphics

Cons:

- Impossibly frustrating point of view and character control system
- No customization of any game features
- Radical departure from all the things that made the 1st three HP games so much fun
- Pointless succession of game scenes

EA really blew it on this one. Don't waste your money.

I'm so disappointed with the new Harry Potter game. It was not made to be played on a PC. The controls are terrible. The perspective is confusing. You're not always behind the character, but when he turns around he starts walking towards you. I can't even make Harry walk in a straight line. I think he's a little drunk. And the bertie botts beans actually jump out of your way, so they can be hard to pick up, which is really annoying. I can't even cast a normal spell, because I'm not sure how to get my character pointed in the right direction. The cut scenes even suck; they're not even animated. The first level is just running around the campsite at the quidditch world cup button mashing monsters that get in front of you. The second part is the same darn thing but you're supposed to be in different rooms of a defense against the dark arts classroom. Boo hisss. I was just playing the third game last night and I've played that through more than once and it was loads more fun than this one. Really, the GOF game is just a playstation game that they tried to make work on a PC, and it totally doesn't. All the secrets and fun are gone (at least in the first two parts), so what's the point? I was already getting bored and frustrated, and I only played for a few minutes. Maybe it gets better??? I can hope.

Unlike every other HP game that has been released... saddly..

I enjoyed the last 3 HP games, so much so that I would sit and play them until they were complete. They were fun little games, secret areas to explore, colorful graphics and fun side games. This game lacks all aspects of the previous. It's not fun, the controls are difficult at best,and there is no mouse support.

I can only hope that EA learns from their mistake and takes this back to it's original charm of the first three.

In a few words, if you want to play a fun Harry Potter game, buy the first three games and enjoy.. avoid this one at all cost.

I recently purchased the new Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire game from Electronic Arts. I would have to say that although the graphics seem more realistic, that has been at the expense of game functionality. The game no longer has mouse support for spells and the whole setup of the game is different than the first three and I find it boring and hard to function. Anyone who loved the first three games, save your money on this game-its just not worth it and if you decide to purchase it, will find yourself disappointed too. Electronic Arts-the game wasn't broke the way it was set up-why did you try and fix it! Very Disappointing Indeed!

Don't buy this game! You will be sorely disappointed. This is NOT a PC game, it's a Gamecube/etc. game that's been poorly ported over to the PC. You can't use a mouse! Let me repeat: this is a PC game in which you cannot use a mouse!

I am livid with anger at having wasted my money on this. Nowhere on EA's site was there any mention of this--I HAVE a GameCube and thought that, as with the previous HP games, the experience of playing this one with my son would be better on the PC. I've been taken!

I am sure that this game is fun on the platform for which it was obviously intended--but I am not about to waste my time pecking around on my keyboard to control movement when the game is so obviously designed for a Playstation or Gamecube controller.

I cannot believe that EA would stoop so low. Actually, yes I can.

I have played the Harry Potter PC Game from start to finish, several times, and it is horrible.

I have deleted my original review of two stars, because the PC version is next to impossible to play for a single player.

The only detailed instructions provided are on how to disable all security programs and background tasks ... for better performance...every time the game is played.

The problem is, EA wants us to leave our explorer.exe background task on while we play the game, meaning we are internet accessible. That is too much to ask of any PC owner.

The game content is repetitive, tedious, and punishing, not to mention mean spirited and sadistic.

The trio are repetitively burned, stung, bitten, and shot at with darts over and over, and over without a break.

A fellow Potterhead remarked "The artwork is great, but I'm too busy fleeing for my life to even take a look at it."

The condencending, derogatory personality they assigned to Hermione and the dumification of Ron increases the level of irritation and makes the game downright annoying.

Harry is more like my Uncle Harry than Harry Potter, he doesn't know enough toget out of the way.

The computer controlled characters do not work very well. When there are monsterous creatures requiring joint spell casting, my computer characters would either drop a rock on me, squirt me with plant acid, or wander off and try to close a gate I just opened.

On the section of timed challenges the computer characters either wasted time or got in each others way, preventing me from advancing over and over and over.

What is really sad is the constant torture of young teens as a form of entertainment.

You get stung and bit and burned over and over and over in a quest for a shovel...yes a shovel.

Finishing the game gave me a sense of relief not accomplishment.

The few positive user reviews, I have come across for PC CDROM Goblet of Fire, have been from users who had just started the game and were no further than a quarter way through, from users who had played the game on another platform and gave the same identical review for seven platforms Goblet of Fire is available on (to raise its dismal ratings) and one from an accomplished gamer with a state of the art gaming computer who understands the nuances of how PC games are written.

Don't let the powers that be capitalize from this exploitation.


MJH

This game was so disappointing; I can't even begin to detail the inadequacies. If I had wanted an action game, I would have bought one. I was so looking forward to this since I have enjoyed all three predecessors. No mouse control at all. And, as I read in other reviews, going in a straight line is really difficult. I don't play action games so I am figuring that, if you're use to them, the characters in GOF are easy to control but I'm not use to action games. This is really second rate. Where are the secret places? Where are the puzzles? Who cares about killing these stupid monsters? I'm only on the second level and I don't want to move forward. What a bore. What a disappointment. I've bought other EA games and they are action rather than adventures games, so I was angry at myself for those, but I'm mad at EA for this one. I preordered it, assuming it would be in the same vein as the previous three - boy, was I disappointed. Wonder how many times I can say that? Don't buy it, if you haven't already. The first day I was already looking for cheats or patches - anything to make the game more doable and usable.

The previous Harry Potter games captured the charm of the books, were easy to play, and are among my favorites. I ordered this one before it was released and am very disappointed. The controls are the worst I have ever encountered, and I can't figure out how many things work. Don't waste your money.

Why, oh why, did they have to mess up a great thing? I have had visions of 4 more years of great games to look forward to, but the horrible thing just broke my heart. The first three were such a pleasure, even playing the 3rd time through (yes chambers was the best). What happened to the beautifully textured walls, and the great outdoor scenery? Where's the great animated cut scenes that tell the story, and the other students you can bump into to talk? You can't even see where you are going, even when something is attacking you. And the arbitrary main menu you have to go to at every level-what happened to the flow of the story line? EA Games is just sitting back and stealing our money. I will be very surprised if I buy any Harry Potter title again. I'll just go back and play the first three a 4th and 5th time I guess. So disheartening.

I completely agree with the other reviews. I loved the first three HP games, but this one is very different. It's difficult and awkward to control the character you're playing... you're just shooting jinxes at random hoping it hits whatever's coming at you. I really miss the more realistic controls and camera movements from the other games. For those thinking about purchasing this game in hopes that it'll be as much fun as the others, just be forewarned that it's nothing like them!