With five out of seven planned books
written and selling like hotcakes, three films destroying box office records,
and a ton of toys and other merchandising, there seems to be no stopping the pop
culture behemoth that is Harry Potter. Now, with the release of the film based
on the third book in the series, the PC game version of the Prisoner of Azkaban
is hitting store shelves. Unfortunately, the PC game doesn’t quite live up to
the rest of the Harry Potter empire, offering little in the way of gameplay or
any real challenge. In fact, most players will be able to complete the game in
one night. Very short and simple, the Prisoner of Azkaban won’t hold your
attention for very long.
As I’m sure everyone who hasn’t been
living under a rock for the past few years knows, the Prisoner of Azkaban is the
third book in the Harry Potter series, taking Harry and his crew through their
third year at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sirius Black, a
prisoner from the wizard prison Azkaban (and one who has been implemented in the
deaths of Harry’s parents) has escaped and is rumored to be heading straight to
Harry. On his tail are the frightening Dementors, the guards of Azkaban whose
presence has some pretty troublesome effects on Harry himself. Controlling
Harry, Ron and Hermione, you must uncover the mystery of Sirius Black’s escape
and the presence of the Dementors, as well as discover some secrets concerning
Harry’s parents and their deaths.
The gameplay in the Prisoner of
Azkaban is pretty simplistic. You control your character casting spells that
react against enemies and the environment, allowing you to break locks, push
enemies, pull yourself to unreachable heights, and a variety of other
activities. The game will automatically select the spell that is most
appropriate to the situation. It also will automatically switch between the
three main characters when necessary. The simplicity of the gameplay is good for
younger fans of the Harry Potter franchise, as the game is extremely easy to
pick up and play.
However, in this lies the
fundamental fallacy of the Prisoner of Azkaban; the game is just too darn easy.
The game simply does not present enough of a challenge, even for young
inexperienced gamers. The puzzles are extremely simple and require little to no
thought, and the game is very short. The whole game basically feels like a
tutorial, holding your hand throughout the entire journey. Given this, there
really is no incentive for someone to replay the game once they’ve finished it,
even though you can go through and collect all of the extras (since you don’t
really get any kind of special reward for doing this, then you probably won’t
feel the need to).
The graphics are an improvement over
its predecessors, and look very good on the PC. The game features dynamic
lighting effects and much improved character models. The environments look
great, too, with great textures and impressive effects.
The sound presentation is also very
good. The voice acting is well done (although not by the film actors), and the
music is very atmospheric and represents the story’s theme very well.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban does a good job of retaining the atmosphere from both the film and the
book from which it’s based. However, the overly simplistic gameplay leaves a lot
to be desired. Harry Potter completists should want to check this out, but
everyone else will do just fine without it.
Gameplay: 5.0
The gameplay is extremely simplistic, and the game’s tutorial-like presentation
will undoubtedly annoy seasoned gamers. Everything is pretty much done for you,
eliminating all challenge.
Graphics: 8.5
The graphics are a noticeable improvement over the first two games in the
series, with cool features like dynamic lighting and great looking character
models and animation.
Sound: 8.5
The music is very dark and moody, in line with the film and book. The voice
effects are very well done and the actors sound a lot like their movie
counterparts. All in all, a very solid sound presentation.
Difficulty: Easy
Concept: 8.0
The game does a fine job of capturing the look and feel of the film. However,
the gameplay leaves much to be desired.
Overall: 6.5
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban presents an improved aesthetic for the
series, with great looking characters and environments. However, the gameplay is
too simplistic for even the most inexperienced gamer. Only hardcore Potter fans
need.
