Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[Natoma]

http://wii.ign.com/articles/798/798713p1.html

They like it a lot.

That's not to say dueling doesn't play a part in the latest title, though. For Wii owners, this new Potter is particularly exciting because the Wii remote effectively becomes Harry's wand; you will gesture with the device to cast spells and amazingly, it feels good, if not right. When Nintendo first unveiled its new controller, people immediately thought of how it might be utilized in a Potter title so we're happy that EA has developed the mechanics. You can cast Wingardium Leviosa by locking onto surrounding objects with the B-trigger and then pulling backward on both the Wii remote and nunchuk. From there, you're able to sway the controllers left, right, forward and backward to move levitating items in the appropriate direction. Prior to playing the adventure, we had some concerns about how well the motion system would interpret movements from Nintendo's controllers, but it honestly works very well. You'll be able to twirl the Wii remote to cast Reparo and broken statues will rebuild themselves before you; you can send objects flying forward with Depulso simply by locking onto them and motioning downward with the Wii remote, or you can pull them toward you with Accio by snapping upward with the controller. A quick waggle back and forth will cast Incendio, which will burn objects and Reducto, cast by twirling in the opposite direction, will smash anything in your path. These new motions feel much better than any button press and really serve to immerse you in the spell-casting experience.

....................................

It is worth noting, too, that this latest Potter is one of Wii's prettiest efforts, spitting out spectacular environments complemented by extra detail, and the whole package runs in 480p and 16:9 widescreen modes.

And in closing:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is my favorite videogame yet based on the ridiculously popular franchise. It is by far the most immersive journey to Hogwarts to date thanks to the realization of a truly enormous, often-beautiful world that is wholly connected without any load times and also thanks to new Wii remote controls that effectively enable you to use Nintendo's controllers as Harry's wand. The adventure itself is filled with characters and locations Potter fans will know and it features both original missions and objectives and cut-scenes that cinematically mirror those from the movie. Frankly, there is a lot to do and see and if you're at all interested in this series, you will undoubtedly be entertained for many, many hours to come.

There is, though, unfortunately, a "but." For all of its accomplishments, The Order of the Phoenix has faults, too. Controlling Harry through the world feels sluggish, the framerate is sluggish, and the game is loaded with fetch quests that may turn some people off. Also, it is heavier on exploration and puzzling than it is pure action, so if you're expecting a constant stream of opponents to duel with, think again.


For me, this is one of those games whose faults are ultimately lesser than its strengths. I actually do sometimes become frustrated with the camera or the fact that my Marauder's Map footprints clumsily lead Harry, Ron and Hermione to some locations, but I find myself having a lot of fun with the complete package anyway. As a fan of the franchise, the school that EA has created is intoxicating, and you will want to explore its every nook and cranny, a feat that would surely take Dumbledore himself a considerable amount of time. I've rated The Order of the Phoenix 7.8 on Wii because it is a good game with some issues, but I suspect die-hard fans will be able to look past the inadequacies and embrace the accomplishments. If you like Harry Potter at all, give it a try.

Here are some photos:

 

[Natoma]

AA obviously applied to the last one. I wish developers would enable 2x AA. F5 got it to work quite beautifully in the Rogue Squadron games. Ah wells.

 

[fearsomepirate]

It looks good...does the PS2 version look any different besides the framerate problems and lack of 480p?

 

[Natoma]

Honestly I dunno. I just finished watching the 5m video review (it looks even better in motion) and Matt states that the Wii version of the game is actually very close to the 360 and PS3 in graphical detail, save for the fact that the latter two run in HD.

Doesn't say much for EA that they didn't push it more on those consoles though. He's pretty big on the Wii being the definitive version though, in particular due to the graphics and the outstanding controls.

Hopefully it does well when the game comes out.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Honestly I dunno. I just finished watching the 5m video review (it looks even better in motion) and Matt states that the Wii version of the game is actually very close to the 360 and PS3 in graphical detail, save for the fact that the latter two run in HD.

I'm not too sure of that from what I've seen, which admittedly is only a little. Wii makes use of great texturing, perhaps actually using the available RAM! That makes the scenery look good, but it's all static lighting. I recall seeing some dynamic lighting in the PS3 or XB360 vid I saw. Model detail looked about the same - it wasn't noticeably different. But I think there were more characters about in the PS360 version. Really not sure though.

Well, let's go dig up some screenies!

PS2 :

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!!! Just noticed the link for the above image, given in IGN's PS2 coverage of OotP, and it links to Wiimedia! I guess that's a real ingame shot rather than the (oversized for forum rules, naughty Natoma!) promo shot. Not sure. The promo shot had mipmap filtering on cobbles texture, whereas this capture hasn't. I can't image they'd enable it for the promo shot if it isn't in game. If they're going to do that, why not use anisotrpoic filtering too, and make it look better. So I don't know if the above pic is Wii or PS2. All I know is IGN have filed it under Wii media. Comparing it to

I'd have to say the smaller pic is the Wii's real ingame screen capture as IQ tallies. The other pic may be from the PC.

XB360 pics haven't been updated since May 9th, most of them from April. Basically all versions of the game are featuring the same screenshots except the latest Wii review images - they're just PR pics and not suitable for comparing platforms.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

I've been thinking about getting this game, only problem I have is that in the review they say that the framerate is between 20 and 30fps, now 30fps isnt really a problem as the game doesnt rely on fast action, but 20 seems a bit low. But the main thing that botherd me is that they say Harry feels heavy and sluggish to controll.

Still think im going to get it though. But ill first buy RE4 (they come out on the same day).

 

[Natoma]

Shifty Geezer,

Hey now, I did put a disclaimer under the large photo saying that AA was obviously applied.

tongue_of_colicab,

It seems that EA, rather than have loading when you go from one area to another, drop the framerate and force you to walk even if you're trying to make your character run during level streaming. Given the seamlessness of the world no matter where you go, that might actually be worth it.

As for the movement of Harry, yea they did complain about his sluggishness at times with the analog stick, but it didn't seem to be that bad overall. Who knows.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

20 fps is low? You guys obviously haven't played X-Wing on a 386...

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

I've tried to play CS on a ati 3d rage pro though. Think that boils down to the same

 

[Arwin]

Actually only recently we got a demo on the PS3, and I was surprised to see that it seems they have at least attempted to put all the motion controls in there also.

I don't think they completely managed it though. Some things work surprisingly well, like picking objects up and moving them all over the place, that works great actually. But other things work 10x better with the analog stick, I so far haven't managed to pull off incendio even once with motion controls, and it's done in a sec with the analog stick. Weird. I do blame the programmers for now though.