For me, every aspect of the Harry Potter franchise has been incredibly inconsistent in terms of quality. Whether it's the books, films or games, every time you think "yes, they've nailed this", a subsequent entry will probably leave you wondering what on earth went wrong. The books became somewhat convoluted with nonsense towards the end; the films have struggled more and more to turn the books into some sort of engaging or interesting spectacle; and the games have bizarrely got progressively worse as the technology has improved. The first few games on the PlayStation were charming, somewhat open-ended platform/puzzle games. The move to the PlayStation 2 era saw them take a disappointing step towards third-person action, and despite briefly flirting with a surprisingly well done open-world formula in Order of the Phoenix, the current generation of Potter games have become dull, tedious third-person shooters.

It shouldn't really be too much for Potter fans to expect a decent game from EA Bright Light, to send the series out with a bang. As it turns out, the developers have barely managed to send it out with a whimper with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

It's hard to imagine that someone who hasn't either read the book or seen the film will play this game, and that's clearly what the developer thought as well when it came to telling the story. There is practically no narrative development at all. Characters will talk and chat about things that were - even as someone who had just seen the film that morning - leaving me scratching my head somewhat. The story-telling is practically non-existent, and doesn't really provide you with the basic gist of what's going on. The opening level sees you fighting your way through the caverns underneath Gringotts Bank, but unless you've seen the film, you'll have absolutely no idea how or why Harry, Ron and Hermione have ended up in such a place. It's as if someone threw the movie script into a bonfire, and any bits of paper that survived were used to craft the story for the game. The film's most memorable storytelling moments, such as Snape's memories, are not even referenced in the game. It's an absolutely botched attempt at telling a story, and for EA Bright Light to treat such dearly loved source material with so little care and attention will no doubt anger long-standing fans of the wizarding world.


The script is also littered with some absolutely woeful dialogue, and equally poor voice acting. Whoever takes on the role of Harry in this game makes the wooden Daniel Radcliffe seem like an Oscar-winning acting legend; that's how poor it is. The memorable moments from the film that were supposed to represent real drama are included in the game as stiff and boring cutscenes, with awful dialogue and laughable voice acting. They aren't helped by the fact that the character models just look plain creepy, almost like Madame Tussauds replicas of the actors having just begun to melt. Facial animation is distressing, to the point that it almost looks funny. The character likenesses are actually passable but, on the whole, they definitely fall on the wrong side of uncanny valley.

Unfortunately, the gameplay and level design lives up to the lacklustre presentation of the story and visuals, with derivative combat mechanics and repetitive level layouts coming together to create something that really doesn't feel like the magical world so many people have come to love. Rather than the the creative and imaginative environments of Hogwarts and other locations from past games, you'll be fighting through dank caverns, boring towns and the castle itself has been relegated to empty corridors and rubble. The environments are just plain dull, and the way in which the levels themselves are designed is incredibly repetitive. Predictable and boring use of cover is a key issue of the landscape, whether they're columns, walls or rocks, and the whole game simply ushers you through in a linear direction, as you move from boring combat encounter to yet another boring combat encounter.

Throughout the majority of the game, you'll be controlling Harry, with Ron and Hermione at your side, but the game tries to freshen things up by letting you play as other characters such as Neville Longbottom and Professor McGonagall at set points during the story. However, there is no difference in playing as these characters other than their appearance, which just makes it feel like a cheap attempt at fan service. There are no unique spells or combat moves, so each character is effectively just a skin. There's also no co-op play, which seems like an obvious element to include since you have other characters with you at all times. It probably wouldn't have made the game much more fun, but it would at least have made it quicker to complete; a good thing when the game is so bad that you just want it to end as quickly as possible. I completed the whole thing in just short of four hours, even shorter than Modern Warfare 2 took me, and the end simply couldn't come quickly enough.


All you do in Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is fight and run, and perhaps occasionally stop to collect an utterly pointless collectable. The collectables simply distracts from the main path, and the running only gets you to the next mind-numbingly dull battle. The combat is just plain boring, even though the developers have clearly been inspired by the likes of Gears of War, so much so that each spell is basically the equivalent of a widely-recognised weapon from such a game. You have a spell that acts much like a grenade launcher and one that seems to resemble a colourful machine gun; it really is the most uncreative use of the Potter license I can remember experiencing. Remember levitating objects with 'Wingadium Leviosa', or stunning enemies with 'Petrificus Totalus'? There's none of that here; each spell is just a slightly different way of killing someone. The only variation between the spells is that some can be more effective when dealing with certain situations that others; for example, there's a spell for dealing with enemies at long range. Honestly, though, it's basically just a colourful sniper rifle.

Combat is just incredibly unfulfilling, and not at all satisfying. Spells feel weak, as your Death Eater enemies will simply go up in a puff of smoke. The enemy AI is almost non-existent, as they will often just stand still waiting for you to kill them. Cover means you're basically indestructible, and I ran through the entire game whilst dying only once. And that was only when I was trying to shove Hermione out of cover to get her killed, because - quite frankly - the game itself was boring me to tears by that point. All the combat scenarios come straight out of the 'generic gaming clichés' box, with most of them taking the form of cover-based shooting. Occasionally, though, you'll run towards the camera whilst shooting behind you, as the game struggles to feel 'cinematic'. It fails miserably.

There's nothing to break the monotony, and none of the film's more creative set pieces are used. You don't get to ride the dragon out of Gringotts, nor are you able to fly a broom through the Room of Requirement. You do get to experience the flooding of the Chamber of Secrets, but it's been handled as if EA have no respect for the source material, akin to the rest of the game. Even the battle with Voldemort is painfully dull, as you just shoot puffy little spells at him until he falls over. And, then, you fist pump the air. Because it means the game is over and you can throw it away.


Just because I'm not completely heartless, I'll say something slightly positive: the game does make use of some of the music from the films, which is just about the only good thing I can say about it. There is also a relatively nice montage of every prior Potter game in the series just before the credits roll, but this just served to make me ask "What on Earth have you done to this series?" Because it used to be quite enjoyable.

Quite frankly, I cannot think of one person on this planet who'll find even one ounce of enjoyment in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. For gamers, this is an absolutely shoddy attempt at a third-person shooter, with boring combat and repetitive level design, that make it an absolute waste of your time when you consider the other games available in the genre. Even for Potter fans, though, this game is simply a waste of your money; the game treats the original stimulus with no sense of respect, with a botched script, poor visuals, awful voice acting and a measly four-hour runtime. The best thing you can glean from this game is the fact that it represents the end of the series. For those of you who are desperate for some Potter videogame fun, stick to the LEGO games.

2/10 [?]

Labels: 2011, 360, DS, EA, EA Bright Light, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Lego Harry Potter, PS3, Review, Tom Acres, Wii

Gaming. It is a past-time which is not only time-consuming, but can also be ridiculously frustrating, hugely expensive, addictive and full of gory shooty bloodiness. With such high price tags and demands on our time, it's a wonder that we even play games, let alone write about them.

Thing is, games are more than merely short-term entertainment. They, like any other form of media, tell stories, create worlds and allow us to experience danger and action safe in the comfort of our squashy living room chairs. And, as such, we'll always manage to find that extra fifty pounds in order to pre-order that latest announced title, before playing it in a freezing cold house because you could no longer afford to keep it heated.

Without further ado, the following list gives some insight into my favourite games of the last year, that I'd be prepared to sleep rough, go without food or wrestle a mole rat for. Read, and jouirez-vous.

5: Just Cause 2

You can call me old-fashioned, but there's something about grapple hooks that just never gets tiring. Add in a mahoosive game world - which takes three weeks and a Ray Mears-esque survival instinct to cross - some guns, free-roaming gameplay and a cheesily over-acted storyline, and you have Just Cause 2: a sandbox shooter with just enough 'liberate-poverty-stricken-country-from-unjust-corrupted-government' storyline to give at least some context to the mindless violence.

It is, in some ways, like a Carry On: a complete shambles, but one which just keeps you coming back, addicted like you're on some sort of audio-visual ketamine. It's cheesy, yes - incredibly so - but what it does, it does very well.

Just Cause 2's shooting feels solid (even though enemies seem to be able to take bullets to the chest as if they're sponges made from feathers and fairy-dust), abilities such as the grappling and skydiving are nice and the sandbox design gives a real sense of scale that far surpasses anything else I've really played: you really feel like a single person, stuck on a massive archipelago of foreign islands against a country's entire military.

It might not be awe-inspiring, and it certainly isn't revolutionary, but it's a blast nonetheless.

4: LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

The meaning of the 'Lego' brandname - 'play well' - has never been more applicable to a game than when it comes to LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, the plastic-brick version of the murderous baby who ruthlessly slayed the poor, innocent, saintly Lord Voldemort, before arrogantly swanning about, scar atop head like some grotesque power symbol, repeatedly attacking members of the friendly hobbyist group known as the 'Death Eaters' for some sick sense of fun, and generally being an arrogrant little...

As I said in my review of the game, Traveller's Tales have done a commendable job of porting the Harry Potter brand - a famously tricky one to get right in videogames - into a game that is not only fun to play, but is fantastically comic, charming and family-friendly.

Yes, it has some problems, but they're few and very far between. It plays excellently, as do all the other LEGO-brand games, with some truly wonderful little details and additions; the humour is clean, clever and genuinely laugh-out-loud; the Potter canon is excellently implemented and the LEGO aesthetic gives everything that happy-go-lucky, innocent glow that you saw the world through when you were little.

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is my 'Games of 2010' recommendation for fans of the boy wizard, fans of small, Danish plastic bricks or fans of games.

3: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

Generally, I wouldn't count myself a fan of racing games. First of all, they bore me out of my head; and secondly, there's something about the thought of having my various limbs ripped off me in an 142mph crash of crumpling metal, plastic and glass that doesn't appeal to me all that much.

There have only been two games which overcame the aforementioned issues preventing my enjoyment of racers. The first, needless to say, would be Burnout Paradise, the sandbox racer that conspired in every way to endlessly punish you with metally, crashy death for the slightest mistake. Criterion did everything right with Paradise, and created one of the only racing games that I have consistently returned to since purchasing it.

And then Criterion took all that knowledge, and one-upped Paradise, thus creating the second racing game I enjoyed: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit.

The classic 'cops vs robbers' chase situations are done perfectly, and the game has such a realistic sense of speed and danger that excitement is outweighed only by the adrenaline pumping around your veins. The Autolog system is fantastically developed and works really well, looking at online gaming from a whole new angle. It's a polished package that left a lasting impression with me, and is certainly one of the best handling, best-looking racers of the last year.

2: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

I could talk about - and have talked about - the Assassin's Creed series until I am blue in the face. When the third game in the series, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, graced our screens, I was ready to cry from the rooftops about it, like the Renaissance heralds you'll find scattered around the game's locales.

I didn't, of course - mainly because getting onto my roof is such a damn hassle - but instead decided to get down to reviewing the game. And I certainly found alot to say on it, with a gargantuan review which came close to doing accurate justice to what is, undoubtedly, a truly excellent game.

Whether I could ever do proper justice to a game like Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, though, is beyond my ability to predict. As usual, the combat is to the utmost level of quality, the parkour aspects are as good as it ever was, and the additions to the series - particularly the multiplayer, but just as much the little things - make it a stellar title and one which nicely opens up the door for further series expansion.

1: Fallout: New Vegas

Where the genius lies in the Obsidian-developed Fallout titles is difficult to pinpoint. Personally, I consider Fallout - and, narrowing that down, Fallout: New Vegas - to be the perfect storm: a combination of devastating elements which, when they come together, create something electrifying, exhilirating. Fallout: New Vegas is a force to be reckoned with.

I think that part of what makes New Vegas so inexhaustively excellent is that, at its core, it is the most subjective game I've ever played.

Allow me to explain. Every person I know who has played either New Vegas or its little, less-refined brother, Fallout 3, cite a different reason for why they fell in love with the series. Some say that the combat is what attracts them so much. Others cite the post-apocalyptic, dystopian society in which the game is set as the key factor in what sets Fallout apart. Either way, it's a game that seems to impact people differently, and it allows people with very different play styles to access the game and still enjoy it.

For me, the thing that I always find enthralling is the depth and deft weaving of Fallout's storyline and canon, combined with the unique moral choices which shape the course of the storyline differently for each person. Different choices in different situations can have drastically varying consequences, which creates some unique emotional and moral dilemmas which just aren't available in any other title. The storyline is generously smattered with sly hints to earlier Fallout titles, as well as the general canon of the game (which, if you didn't know, is huge: see The Vault, the Fallout wiki to see just how much the series packs in).

The game also has a good level of replayability, due to the diverse multitude of locations, characters and loot to find on your stumblings through the wastes of the Vegas area. Starting a new game from the beginning and, instead of following your original path from your first playthrough (usually to the first objective), can lead to a very different experience of the game, with the discovery of new places, people and quests. Fallout: New Vegas is jam-packed full of variety and the unique choices through the game serve excellently to ensure that every gamer has a very different experience of the same game, whilst still delivering the goods.

New Vegas isn't without its problems, but they're the same ones that plagued Fallout 3, and no-one seemed to care then. The game will often stutter, there are issues with 'popping' due to the short draw distance for detail objects, game crashes aren't unheard of, and companions can often be a hindrance rather than a help. However, when playing New Vegas, the bugs are often outweighed by the mere awe-factor that at least I felt during play.

Still, what is the opinion of an unknown, lowly, independent games journo like me worth? Well, perhaps these quotes from well-known critics will be able to quell your fears about the game, and show you just why Fallout: New Vegas deserves my top-spot in my 'Games of 2010'.

"The fact that the many issues with glitches and bugs weren’t ironed out of this release would be unforgivable if the core game wasn’t so tirelessly compulsive and complex. [...] If you don’t mind working around them then this could be a game of the year contender."
- Peter Chapman, TheSixthAxis.com

"Fallout New Vegas is a fantastic game that in its vast, interesting, flavour-filled world has something for everyone. I could say that I’ve not loved the last thirty hours, and don’t expect to spend another thirty more, but ‘It’s a sin, to tell, a lie’."
- Reece Warrender, Console Monster

"While New Vegas is unmistakably built upon the fundamental gameplay and structure laid out in Fallout 3, it’s a formula that any student of that game will be happy to see repeated, and Obsidian’s numerous embellishments result in what is, in many respects, a deeper and more compelling experience."
- gamesTM

"Fallout: New Vegas is the game that many wanted Fallout 3 to be. It's harder, more ruthless, better written and more morally ambiguous. It's a game we’ve been wanting to play for more than a decade, a real modern re-imagining of the Fallout series, complete with that deliciously black humour. [...] If Obsidian were to make another Fallout game, we certainly wouldn't say no."
- Keza MacDonald, IGN UK

"Fallout: New Vegas is an expansive and complicated RPG that encourages you to see and do as much as you can. This is an explorer's game, always lavishing new and interesting quests on you and giving you a lot of flexibility in how you approach many of them. It builds upon Fallout 3's mechanics in interesting and esoteric ways, making it a comfortable evolution to one of 2008's best games. [...] Fallout: New Vegas is periodically awesome and consistently compelling.
- Kevin VanOrd, GameSpot

Fallout: New Vegas is a game which, despite the common bugs, never fails to impress. For the ridiculously cheap amount you can get it for now, its an investment that will tide over twenty or more hours of gaming time with its incredibly deep storyline and variety.

Cheapest Fallout: New Vegas prices:

£13.99, Amazon.co.uk

£26.99, Play.com (UK)

£16.99, Play.com (UK)

Labels: 2011, Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II, Fallout, Fallout: New Vegas, Games of 2010, Just Cause 2, Lego Harry Potter, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Linford Butler, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

As a franchise, the Harry Potter brand has a long and illustrious history. J.K. Rowling’s septology of novels – following the adventures of young wizard Harry Potter as he grew up at a school for budding wizards and witches – became an unexpected success, having as much positive impact on children’s literacy rates as it did to Rowling’s bank account. Soon snapped up by Warner Brothers as a film franchise, the idea for the Harry Potter series – conceived on a train journey between Manchester and London in 1990 – has become an icon of both British literature and ‘magic’ worldwide.

However, when it comes to games, Harry Potter is somewhat of a grey area. Stacked against every developer is a key question: how does one weave the delicate tapestry of Rowling’s deep stories, about love and trust and magic and death, into an entertaining eight-hour-or-more gaming experience which will appeal to a wide demographic? This is, of course, the same problem which plagues the majority of ‘branded games’, a subset of gaming which most steer clear of. Putting across the whole of Rowling’s stories, with their complex canon and trivia, in game form is no mean feat.

That didn’t stop developers from trying. Since 2001, we’ve had better Potter games, such as the original PS1 version of Philosopher’s Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban on PlayStation 2 and Xbox; and not-so-good attempts at translating the Potter recipe into game form: the PS2 version of Goblet of Fire stands out to me as easily one of the worst of the series, alongside the spin-off game Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup. But despite the valiant attempts of EA Games to pull off Harry Potter in a videogame setting, any Potter gaming experience I’ve been brave enough to attempt has been distinctly mediocre.

So when I heard that Traveller’s Tales were planning on taking the world of Harry Potter and transforming it into Lego form, I was adequately intrigued to see how the final product – which arrived in June in the form of Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 – would come together. Almost every gamer knows the Lego game concept by now, even if they feign snobbery and pretend they’ve never played one. Still, the Lego series has been highly successful, and the choice to take on Harry Potter and turn the universe of the boy wizard into pixel-modelled plastic sounded like the lifeline which Harry Potter, as a game concept, needed.

Lego Harry Potter allows gamers to play through the key moments and plot of the first four Harry Potter stories (Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire), but with the cutesy yet charming aesthetics of famous building toy, Lego. Of course, you play as the key characters – Harry, Ron and Hermione – for the majority of the game, but also get the opportunity to take control of other supporting characters, such as Fred and George Weasley, Remus Lupin and even the lovable giant Hagrid. Indeed, the cast in the game is strikingly large, and is faithful to both books and films, only adding to the sense of familiarity which long-term Potter fans will revel in.

It’s this familiarity which really sets up Lego Harry Potter as a must-buy for Potter fans. Hogwarts Castle, whilst not an exact clone of the castle from the movies, features many locales which will be instantly recognisable to aficionados. The majority of the Harry Potter cast make appearances, all in Lego form; whilst the player has the opportunity to learn a range of the spells from both page and screen. The game is also largely faithful to the storyline of each book: although each story has been abridged and edited down in order to fit the first four books into one game, all the key moments of the stories feature, and whilst the full depth and colour of Rowling’s novels and their canon isn’t put across, both fans and newbies to the Potter series will have at least a basic understanding of the fundamental plot of each story.

I mentioned earlier that Lego Harry Potter is charming, an adjective which I seldom get opportunity to use in a review. You find yourself playing the game and smiling; it’s child-friendly, clean, innocent fun, and beautifully implemented too. Even the older gamers amongst the Lego ranks will find Lego Harry Potter irresistible once they’ve begun on the first two or so levels. At the risk of wandering blindly into the shady underworld of New Games Journalism, wittering on about the emotional effect of games, it does make you grin like a small child as you regress and re-experience your Lego-centric youth.

However, a game is nothing without good gameplay mechanics, and Lego Harry Potter is a thought out title. Controls are intuitive and follow the basic scheme of all the Lego games’ controls. The shoulder buttons are particularly cleverly used, allowing players a quick method to switch between spells in their inventory. Furthermore, changes of controls according to the context are a big win and, whilst they’ll go largely unnoticed by most, certainly keep the game feeling smooth and polished.

The latest iteration of the Lego games franchise also utilises the excellent ‘drop-in’ co-op mode present since Lego Star Wars back in 2005. It works flawlessly: one can play through the single-player campaign alone, but a friend can join them immediately and without having to change game-mode or setup a new player profile by simply connecting a controller and pressing the ‘Start’ button. It’s a simple addition which does a huge amount to make the game more attractive to those who enjoy a laugh with friends during their gaming sessions, but the lack of an online co-op mode may have been an oversight on Traveller’s Tales’ part, and a feature which I believe would have added a huge amount more lifetime to the game.

It’s genuinely funny, too. Traveller’s Tales have interwoven some truly fantastic moments of comedy into the game, following the same utilisation of comedy which Rowling herself uses in her writing: have a quick giggle and then move swiftly on. It adds sparkle, personality and fun to the game and, considering that there is no speech during the entirety of the game, was probably the saving grace which prevented the story from becoming dull after long play sessions. Some favourite moments include the Gringotts scene, where the camera pans round to show that the goblin is not hard at work doing some number-crunching, but instead drawing a picture of a house and trees. It’s comedy gold, unexpected and laugh-out-loud.

The actions which the player undertakes are largely consistent and unvaried, however, and in a game with no script and only comedy to pull some interest back, Lego Harry Potter becomes dull during long play-sessions. In short stints, there’s no doubting the attraction and success of Lego Harry Potter, but as a game for long-term play, there’s better choices out there. Of course, for completionists and collectors, Lego Harry Potter is practically a wet dream: not only are Lego studs (the currency) readily available in bulk, but the gold and red bricks, student in peril challenges and collectible characters provide a wealth of content to unlock for those obsessed with clinching that platinum trophy. For those who aren’t largely bothered with hundred-percent-ing their games, however, Lego Harry Potter will be trying after a while.

Combat is also disappointing, though thankfully doesn’t appear often. Duels between students or opponents are slow, clunky and ultimately unrewarding, and only serve to irritate the player. Every year has its own boss character, too, and the combat doesn’t really improve here at all – every boss battle is handled in much the same way as one another, and the disappointment which these battles serves ends up making the end of each year feel a little anti-climactic.

That aside, though, Lego Harry Potter isn’t about combat, instead rewarding players for exploration and the development of their characters through that exploration. It’s where the game really comes into its own; Hogwarts is huge, sprawling and confusing, exactly as you’d imagine it would be, and all of it is spectacularly presented (graphics are high-quality and impress, and framerate is stable for the most part). There is a real magic to Lego Harry Potter as you wander round the locales and see pixies holding key objects just out of reach, or locked chests which you can’t open, or objects which just can’t be destroyed – rather than being an irritant, they give the player a sense of drive as you know that, eventually, you’ll learn the spells you need to open those chests or defeat those pixies. Whilst I’d advise against long play sessions with Lego Harry Potter, particularly if you’re playing alone, short stints combined with this motivation to learn the spells you need to complete tasks is what will keep you returning to Lego Harry Potter, even years after your first play-through.

Despite the challenge of translating Harry Potter into a game context, Traveller’s Tales have certainly done an admirable job. There are flaws, yes – it is the only game I know to give me a physical headache after more than a few hours play – but it is a game more focused at fun and enjoyment in the short-term than addictive play appeal. The parts which matter – the exploration, comedic moments, Lego aesthetics and incorporation of the Potter canon – are developed and impressive, and do well to make Lego Harry Potter a must-buy game for fans of Rowling’s creation. Admittedly, the more experienced gamers may not find any real appeal here, but the point is that this isn’t a game for the hardcore. It’s a game designed to cash in on the cutesy Lego brand, whilst providing some giggles and quick entertainment. In that, it does superbly.

8/10 [?]

Labels: Lego, Lego Harry Potter, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Linford Butler, Review, Traveller's Tales, Warner Bros.