Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince (Fr/Eng game-play)

First of all, I really enjoyed the DS game for Order of the Phoenix. My second favorite in the HP series would probably have to be Prisoner of Azkaban for GBA. The graphics for Order of the Phoenix were really awesome and there were tons of mini games and other activities to keep you busy while you try to complete tasks. However, I found Half Blood Prince to be a step down from that and a bit disappointing.

The graphics were not as good as in OOTP, and the game play fell short too. I thought at time that some of the tasks were tedious and I didn't like having to use the Rememberall to find people and places just to complete a task. There was a lot of ground to cover and at times it was hard to keep interested when you have to go half way around the castle just to do something. Some of the tasks also seemed like they were not from the book or didn't have anything to do with the book.

Dueling sequences were no where near as exciting as they were in OOTP. In OOTP the player actually got to move the stylus in certain patterns or motions to perform a certain spell while in this game, you just had to tap the screen in a spot or just move it barely. Hardly a challenge after the last game.

One aspect I did like about the game was the mini games, minus the Quidditch. The Quidditch seemed a bit tedious and confusing, like they weren't sure how they wanted to set it up. Also, you did have to win the game in order to continue on, which in the old games, this was never an issue. Despite the Quidditch, the other mini games were not all that bad. Exploding Snap, Gobstones, and Wizard Skittles were the other three and there were also different versions of all the mini games which helped make it more enjoyable. Also while doing mini games, you could challenge other students and that is how you gained wizard cards if you beat the challenge. Beating all of the challenges allows you to win a trophy for that mini game which gives you a bit something extra to look forward to.

All mini games are also available to play when you start up the game so you can play them for fun as well. The only thing you cannot do like that is Potions. Another disappointment in the game is that there are no other studies you have to complete, except for Charms but only to learn certain spells to gain items around the school. I found that disappointing after the last game had Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy, History of Magic, and there possibly could have been more. Potions was very similar in a sense but it was a bit tedious to have to always go around the school and find the ingredients for it plus all Potion making was timed, making it a bit more harder.

Overall, the game isn't too bad, no way near as good as OOTP, but it still has its perks. I like the mini games and found that the graphics weren't too bad. However, my only complaint is that after six games, the only game that even allowed you to play as another character in a gameboy or DS version game was Prisoner of Azkaban and most of the time the player has to play as Harry. I think the gamemakers could at least make an effort to make it optional to play as even Ron or Hermione instead of Harry all the time.

I was enjoying the game until it became obvious I could not move on until I won the ridiculously spastic and insanely programmed Quidditch match using Ron. Good luck with that. Thirty seconds of uncontrollable flight simulation to catch blips on the screen. Exactly how is anyone going to catch three balls, from three different directions at one time? I got so frustrated, I performed the only successful spell that worked with this game, a wingardium leviosa via flinging the cartridge across the living room.

I've played most of the Harry Potter games on multiple platforms and I am always excited when a new movie comes out, because it means a new game is probably not far behind. And although I always enjoy experiencing the environments and characters of a new game, I found the DS version of HBP disappointing. First of all, I completely agree with the reviewers who found the quidditch frustrating, particularly the fact that one had to win at it to move on in the game. One other factor that I found frustrating was the length of the game. When the title of the saved stage became "Final Preparations" I thought there was no way it was actually the end of the game - but it was. Way too little playing time for the price.

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