Customer Reviews

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm going to start off by coming right out and saying that I played the first two titles in this franchise, and enjoyed them both. I've read the books, seen the movies, and have enjoyed (for the most part) the games. So as you read this review, appreciate that I'm not coming down on Harry Potter himself, nor am I slighting the world that Rowling has created in the books, and Warner Bros. have put to the screen. Nor am I even taking undo shots at the great and mighty Electronic Arts, although they deserve a few for getting a little lazy with this most recent addition to the line of Potter gaming titles.

First and foremost, let me air my chief complaint. You don't play Quidditch. Not once. In fact, you never touch a broom. The Quidditch matches are reduced to a static cut scene, where you're simply holding the Quidditch Cup. The cynic in me suspects that EA left it out to help drive sales of their stand-alone Quidditch title. But none of the speculation matters, it's simply not there.

My second issue is this game is exceptionally short. I'm not sure how long it took me to finish each of the first two, but it was longer (in each case) than the 5 hours or so it took me to play this one from start to finish. That's not braggadocio. I mean, for one, we're talking about a game in the Harry Potter franchise that has to be something that can appeal to, and be completed by, a wide age and ability range of gamers. So 'easy' isn't an issue here, particularly since a game like this isn't so much something you get for a challenge, but rather an opportunity to sort of live a little bit of Hogwarts. For another, I enjoy getting off the beaten path a bit in games. So this wasn't a case where I just raced through, I collected the pages, cards and beans (although there was really no point to it -- in the last title you spent beans on trinkets Ron's brothers had for sale, not so here). I played the side games, made sure I had A+ in each of the 3 'minigames', Buckbeak's bat chasing, owl racing, and dueling club. The point is, even if you allow yourself to be sidetracked, there will quickly come a point in the game where Dumbledore tells you to speak to him when you're ready to hear who won the House Cup. Make no mistake, that's the end. With no final cut scene, save a grimacing Snape as confetti falls, and some jumping around by the winning house, the game simply drops you out to the main menu. I'm not sure I've ever seen a more abrupt ending, it's a bit like the developers meant to do more, and simply run out of time.

To wrap up my gripes, the control is a little wonky in this one, some sloppy camera angles allowing you at times to lose site of everything as you stare into the woodgrain of a bookcase, or a stone wall that has blocked your field of view. Games with this perspective have been around long enough that this should have been much cleaner.

I'm not all complaints though. This is, by far, the best visual presentation the franchise has enjoyed so far. There's a level of artistry in this game that really jumps out at you, and there are times when you'll find yourself admiring the composition of different scenes. They clearly went out of their way to make it look good.

So that's the quandary here. The game looks good. It plays adequately, and while brief, it's true to the story. So is it good? I'd have to shrug and say `yes', and I'll give it 3 stars for the sake of this review. It's certainly worth a rental, and while I know some will scoff and flap their Hogwarts robes in outrage at the suggestion that this isn't worth buying -- I think that's an important point to make here, and one that I wish I had considered before plunking down cash for this game. Really, don't buy it unless you're making a point to collect.

I sort of imagine the development team for this game sitting around a table some time ago, in a meeting intended to lay the groundwork for the game. And in my imagination, a lot of great ideas are tossed around, but then someone in a suit with insectile eyes speaks up and says "Look, that's all great, but toss it out. What's important is the cover. As long as it says 'Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban', it will sell. Make it look pretty, but don't spend just a ton of time on this. Create a linear gauntlet of 'Point A' to 'Point B' light puzzle solving, use the voices of at least some of the actors from the movie -- and it will sell, and sell well." I don't know if that's how it happened, but this game falls well short of expectations driven by the first two titles. It's always those people in the suits...

You do play as Harry, Ron and Hermione. There is "new" action, such as flying Buckbeak, and Hedwig. But there's no depth to any of that. Some of the puzzles are clever, the visuals are terrific, the sound is solid. It is, in the end, a Harry Potter title, true to the book and the movie, and for that alone, this game will find its way into people's libraries. I simply hope EA gets its act together and really does something with the next title, so that I don't again feel like the game was merely an afterthought. The first two didn't feel or play like that, there's really no reason the third one should have.

No Quidditch. How could they?

This game was awesome! The graphics were better, you can go anywhere in Hogwarts, ANYWHERE being the key word. The whole game was just so real and you really felt like you were at Hogwarts. Ok, so there was no quidditch, but I played the pc version and I have to say if you play that version and than the one for Gamecube, you'll think this one is 100 times better. My favorite part of the whole game would either be flying Buckbeak or fighting the dementors. Buy it as soon as possible, it's no waste of money! And I'm not just saying this b/c I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, but b/c it was truly a phenomenal strategy, and challenging game!

I bought the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
game on Gamecube systom four days ago. I am a horrible game player, and yet, I beat the game in two days. Not because it was easy, (even though some parts were,) but because it was
soooo SHORT. It was VERY fun, but I was quit dissapointed on not facing a boggart on the first day of term, and how you get the patronus charm spell book, and you don't get to save Buckbeak, and don't do as much as SEE a broomstick. However, the parts that were in it were very enjoyable. I was also pleased the makers of the game took notice of other creatures such as Redcaps & Hinnkypunks. I LLLLOOOOVVVEEE Harry Potter, and I think the game could have been better, but I would advise buying it.

I bought this game expecting something hard and challenging but instead I got a good game but too short. Don't get me wrong this game is still challenging for little kids but it's just that I'm very good at games so it was easy for me. I beat it in one day. It was fun while it lasted but I think that this game was shorter than the other games. Thats why I think it's only $39.99. I reccomend this game for everyone but if gamers are like me think about renting it. If you're a true Harry Potter fan or like Harry Potter a lot then I would buy it because even through it's short it's still a good addition to your collection.

This is a good game. Well, I'm a Harry Potter freak and own all four (counting the QWC). But, this game is just that...good. Let me say that it's very, very short. Let me give you an example. I bought it at the mall at about eleven, came home and ate lunch, went into my room and played the game in the length of one o'clock and six o'clock. I finished it as my mom called for dinner. But, this game has some really fun mini games and is even more enjoyable if you own the GameBoy Advance and the GBA version of the game. But I was kind of disappointed that there was no Quidditch or extended game play. Don't get me wrong, playing it over is fun. But, it's just sucks that I could finish it in about six hours. As any other Harry Potter game the music and landscape is great but it can become choppy and can sometimes freeze up. Another big plus to this game is that you can play as Ron, Harry, and Hermione and use their talents and knowledge to get past certain puzzles. But, the downfall of this is that Harry still is the main played character. When I heard all of them were playable I thought they would finally do everything together. Go on and face Voldemort together unlike the first two video games. Turns out Ron (like movie and book) was hurt always hurt or looking for Scabbers and Hermione always ran to get help or was hurt. Sometimes you would just play as Ron or Hermione but Harry had the best inventory of spells and items. But, it is very cool to travel through Hogwarts again and find all the Wizard Cards I missed and to re-live my favorite parts of the game. Over all, I recommend it!!!

With terrific graphics and wonderful voice acting one can see the polish immediately when playing Harry Potter:POA for the first time. Hogwart's looks incredible and the controls are smooth and intuitive for the most part with the camera getting a little wonky on occasion. My son and I play this together he likes it when we play as Ron since he can find all the hidden goodies. The ability to switch between the main characters of Harry, Ron, Hermione is fun and adds a new dimension as you need to use each of them to solve the puzzles. The lack of a Quidditch match is disconcerting but is made up for by the HIPPOGRIFF and OWL flight challenges. Add a save anywhere system and some downloadable GBA mini-games you have a worthy addition to the Harry Potter game library.

Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban is a great game. As a teenager, even I loved playing the game even if I did finish it rather quickly (a week.) Still, it had great puzzles, fun collecting cards and beans, and had lots of new features like switching between characters and flying on Buckbeak, Hagrid's hippogriff. I'd definitely recommend this game even if you didn't read the books. It sticks to the movie plot for the most part and features tons of challenges and secrets. The only reason I gave it a 4 was due to some small difficulties with controls. The characters walks really slowly which can get annoying after a while since walking around the castle takes a while for those a bit impatient like me. It's also a little hard to get characters to jump across ledges which can be a bit annoying, but overall the game's positives far outweigh its tiny downfalls. I highly recommend it.

I think this is the best Harry Potter game ever made. It has great graphics especially the patronos. The sound effects are really good especially the spells.

i got this game 3 days ago and i absoultely love it. it was a little challenging but reall really fun. u get 2 fly buckbeak, hedwig, and be harry ron or hermoine. i admit i wasn't sure about buying it but maan i am really glad i did. it took all of my money and i wouldnt have wanted to spend it any other way. a must buy for sure. if u like harry potter at all u will love it. so go buy it today u will be happy u did. and personally i didn't think it was 2 short at all but really fun my favorite parts are flying buckbeak, fighting off malfoy, fighting dementors but their are a lot of other cool parts also and its adefinetly not just for babies but for older kids to i say up to about 15 to 16 a must buy its great so buy it today

I was eggerly awaiting the arival of this game only to be extremely disappointed. What was EA doing? The game is terribly short and is just not as good as the other two preciding it. Yes, you get to play as Harry, Ron, and Hermonie which in itself is fun but it lacks the depth of the previous games. The game is lacking something, besides not being able to play Quiditch. What was EA thinging, not letting Harry play Quiditch. Don't get me wrong, the game is alright and parts of it are really challenging but it needs more, alot more. In the end all I have to say is don't waist your money on this game, rent it or buy it used.