CoS Video Games

[firekat482 <firekat482@yahoo.com>]

<annemehr at y...> wrote:
> Sorry if this has been discussed; I think I've read all the recent 
> messages, but maybe I missed something.
> 
>Can anyone tell me of the relative merits of the CoS games for PS2, 
>Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance?  Are there even versions forboth 
>gameboys?  I did read the post earlier on that panned the PS1 
>version, so I'll be avoiding that one, but I'm sure the kids will be 
>wanting *at least* one version eventually, and I'd really like to 
>know which ones are worthwhile.  I'm interested in how well they 
>play, and also how much they "feel" like Harry Potter, if you know 
>what I mean!
> 
> Thanks much
> Annemehr

A word of warning before I answer this question - this is my first 
post to this group (I've been lurking for quite awhile) so forgive me 
in advance for any mistakes I might make.

About a week ago I rented the PS2 version of the CoS game. I managed 
to beat the game in two days. Mind you, I beat the basilisk in two 
days. There are other mini quests you can do through out. Like 
finding all 101 wizard cards, or earning enough points to win the 
house cup.

First, the bad points: I have to say I *hate* games that can be 
beaten within a few days. I mean, why would someone want to pay fifty 
bucks for that? A total waste of money. However, I've been gaming 
since the original Nintendo (not as long as some people, I know, but 
long enough that I'm pretty darn good at it, if I do say so 
myself :)) so the fact that I beat it so fast might not be the usual 
player experience. During the actual game play the only thing I have 
any real complaints about are the camera angles. There were lots of 
times I wanted the camera to spin around Harry so I could get a good 
look at the room he was in, but you couldn't do that. Even if you 
were to zoom in so you were looking through Harry's POV you couldn't 
turn his head to see anything. And when you're out sneaking around 
the castle at night, that can get a little annoying. Oh - I just 
remembered this. There are a lot of doors around Hogwarts, but most 
of them are locked and you can't get through (even with an Alohomora 
charm, I tried). Something small, but it bugged the heck out of me. 
If I can't go through it, then why bother putting it there?

Good points: You wanted to know how much this "feels" like Harry 
Potter. Well, this game does a pretty good job of that, IMHO. Almost 
all of the different "settings" (like classrooms, the grounds, and 
such) are nearly identical to what we see in the movie. The graphics 
are good (though it takes different sections of the castle awhile to 
load), the targeting system makes casting spells a lot easier, and 
it's fun to collect the famous wizards cards, just to see who else is 
famous in the wizarding world (and they honor some people for really 
strange reasons, let me tell you). Dueling takes sometime to get the 
hang of (Draco kicked my butt a few times before I finally beat him), 
but once you get used it, it's a lot of fun. The Basilisk, though 
relatively easy for a boss (IMHO), was fun to fight as well. 

All in all, I've played worse. My recommendation? It's a good game, 
but not worth the fifty bucks you have to pay because it can be 
beaten so fast. In other words - Rent it, don't buy it. 

Hope this helps
~Jean