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Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (PSP)

November 25th, 2005

Game: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Platform: PSP
Publisher: EA
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)

The Harry Potter phenomenon is one that you either love, or hate. There is the obvious division along age lines - if you’re under 15 you probably think that the spectacled junior wizard is the best thing in English literature. However, it’s not always that simple with a lot of adults guiltily confessing that they preorder the next tome from Amazon for themselves and not just for their children. Can you apply the same profile to Harry Potter gamers? Well, whereas the books have a charm that cuts across the generations, the tie-in video games have, until now stayed locked firmly in the genre of ‘kiddy platform puzzler’.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the first film in the series to be released since the advent of the PSP and as such is the first game to get the handheld treatment. The movie’s director, Mike Newell, freely admits that such a doorstop-sized book had to be mercilessly cut to fit into a 2 hour timeframe, but surely the game, without any such time restrictions will cover the full range of the JK Rowling’s intended plot? Er no.

The game kicks off with a whistle stop summary of the Quidditch World Cup that forms the primary focus of the first few chapters. Before we know it the campsite is under attack from Death Eaters (followers of Lord Voldemort for the un-initiated among you) and Harry, Ron and Hermione are thrown in at the deep end, with the task of getting out of there. This opening level forms a gentle introduction to the gameplay to follow. Choose a character to control and set off down a predetermined path casting spells whenever you need to. At this stage two particular spells come in particularly handy - the Jinx and Carpe Retratum. The first is a simple weapon that makes the various beasties that come your way turn up their toes, the other allows you to pull various objects out of your way - rocks, tree trunks….more rocks. There’s not much of a challenge here, especially as the two non-playing characters do a lot of work for you and this is a theme that continues through much of the game. We would be surprised if you have any difficulty getting through the first level in one go and that’s the cue for another dramatic fast-forward through the book to Hogwarts while a husky voiceover fills you in on the plot that is being skipped past at full speed.

If you’re expecting some variety in gameplay then this is the point at which you start to doubt if this game is for you. The variety of spells and charms at your disposal increases, but the basic gameplay principles remain the same - run around, remove an obstacle, ‘kill’ a beastie, run some more. This is a departure from earlier games in the HP series which were strictly exploration / puzzlers. However, Harry is growing up and he likes to show this by dispatching salamanders and other nasties in a variety of entertaining ways. No doubt conscious of the fact that the game is aimed at children the developers have retained a healthy puzzle element, but in the early stages they aren’t much of a challenge, particularly as the solution is often printed up on the screen for you to read. There’s also little chance to get creative with casting spells. With only four spell-casting buttons to choose from the game decides which are available to you at any time, so approach a rock and you’ll be able to pull it out of the way. Walk up to a fire and you’ll be forced into casting an Aqua Eruptus to put it out. This lack of decision-taking tends to make you feel removed from the game and is a shame.

The visuals are good, in fact they are indistinguishable from the PS2 version. However, one of the PSP’s failings is that character detail is often too small to make out and the Goblet of Fire suffers from the same problem. We often found ourselves holding the screen right up to our noses in an attempt to make out what was going on. However, the day is saved by the quality of the environments which manage to defy the small size of the PSP screen and somehow envelop you while you play. The Hogwarts Exterior levels in the early part of the game are particularly good and you get a feel for the immense scale of the school. Cut scenes are cinematic to say the least and really show off the quality of the PSP screen.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a solid, yet unspectacular game which brings nothing new to the adventure/puzzle genre. The action never takes your breath away and the puzzles never make you rack your brains for too long. It is a kid’s game and that has to be borne in mind, but adults won’t find much here to get excited about.

Graphics

Good environments, but characters too small to score top marks - 7/10

Sound

OK, but unspectacular - 6/10

Gameplay

Repetitive action / puzzler. Controls are sluggish and the spinning camera sometimes makes it hard to work out where you’re going - 6/10

Verdict

Your kids will love it - adults may find that their interest wanes after a few levels. Harry Potter fans will probably make this an essential purchase, but we say there are better examples of the genre out there - 6/10

Entry Filed under: PSP Reviews