Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry, Ron, and Hermione are back in Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a game based on J.K. Rowling's fourth book.
As
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger enter their fourth year at
Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, new challenges await them, both
"professional" and personal. The Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
video game sticks strictly to the adventure aspects of the story, never
touching upon the sticky relationship drama that makes up key subplots in the
novel and the film. You'll still have plenty to do in the game, though: Guide
the trio of young wizards through various locales, fight magical creatures,
solve puzzles, and usher Harry through the Triwizard Tournament challenges just
before a climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort himself. Though the collection
aspects of the game are a drag at times, The Goblet of Fire still does enough
to keep Potter fans engaged throughout.
Harry,
Ron, and Hermione are back in the newest Harry Potter video game.
The
Goblet of Fire makes a few departures from the last game in the series, The
Prisoner of Azkaban. You still play as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but the three
don't have unique abilities anymore. You also can't switch between them during
a mission in The Goblet of Fire. But you'll still solve plenty of environmental
puzzles using each character's standard, context-sensitive charm spells. Cast a
charm in the direction of a boulder and you'll lift it with a wingardium
leviosa spell. Cast it in the direction of a fire, and your character will
automatically do an aqua eructo charm to conjure a stream of water for dousing
the flame. Carpe retractum (for opening gates) and herbivicus (for causing
plants to bloom) are other context-sensitive charms used in the game. The
puzzles you need to solve are usually fairly obvious. For example, while
exploring the greenhouses of Hogwarts, you may need to use carpe retractum to
pull down bridges, and herbivicus to open up lily pads that let you cross small
bodies of water. Some obstacles, like extra-large boulders or flames, require
two or more of the characters to simultaneously cast their charms to overcome
them. The artificial intelligence controlling the other characters is smart
enough to help you out when it needs to, but if you're playing three-player
cooperative mode, you'll need to work with your friends to do the same task.
It's also worth noting that players can jump out of cooperative mode at any
time, switching control over to the computer if one player needs to leave.
Jinx
spells are another primary spell type. Jinxes are basically just an attack you
use to attack monsters in the game, which include fire salamanders, dugbogs,
and erklings. The menagerie isn't very extensive, but each of the monsters has
a different fighting style and offers a different challenge. You can combine
charms and jinxes to do combined attacks on creatures, as well. For example, if
one character lifts a creature up in the air with a wingardium leviosa charm,
the others can jinx it while it's being held for a combined attack, which is
more powerful and effective than just spamming the jinx button.
As
you make your way through the game's levels, solving puzzles and fighting
creatures, you'll collect Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, which you can get
when dropped by defeated creatures, or by jinxing random parts of the
environments. The beans serve as currency, which you can use to buy cards to
power up each character. The character card system adds depth to the game,
letting you customize each of the three characters depending on the situation
and play style. Some cards increase the power of your jinxes; others add
stamina or duration to your magicus extremus meter, which when filled, gives
you a limited amount of increased firepower for your spells. The more expensive
and interesting cards let you fire double or triple jinxes with each cast, or
give you an advantage against certain creatures. Each character can only use
three cards in a mission, so you'll need to choose carefully before starting.
Each character also maintains his or her own bean count and deck of cards, so
that encourages you to switch between characters as you go through the campaign
and make sure all of them have around equal power.
The
primary gameplay in The Goblet of Fire involves collecting Triwizard shields
that are scattered about the various levels. Some are hidden away for you to
pick up, while others are earned by defeating boss creatures. Most of them
require you to use your spells to solve environmental puzzles and reach them in
out-of-the-way places. As you collect Triwizard shields, later levels are
unlocked for play, letting you explore areas such as the Forbidden Forest and
the roofs and greenhouses of Hogwarts. There are other items scattered about
the levels, such as minishields, statuettes, and mushrooms, that you're asked
to collect. Some of these also yield Triwizard shields, while others unlock
cards. The problem is that after you've collected all of a certain item, it's
never made clear what you've won. Sometimes a Triwizard shield popped up
elsewhere in the level. Other times, we never quite figured out what we won by
finding all the statuettes or magic mushrooms in a given map. Because the game
relies a lot on having you replay certain levels to find all the collectibles,
it's somewhat frustrating to not receive immediate feedback on what you've
gotten out of searching every nook and cranny. Despite that flaw, it's still
pretty fun to explore each of the game's levels the first time, fighting the
monsters and finding the Triwizard shields.
The
Triwizard challenges you unlock also help mix up the gameplay, as they're
different in nature from the standard levels. The Triwizard challenges follow
the template used in the book and the film; one challenge has Harry fly off on
his broom with a dragon in pursuit, while another has Harry explore the depths
of the Black Lake. These levels don't involve any exploration or
collection--they're pretty much linear races, with some light combat involved.
You'll
explore various levels looking for Triwizard shields.
Graphically,
The Goblet of Fire is competent, excelling the most in its environment. For
example, as you scale the towers and roofs of Hogwarts, you can see the
surrounding buildings of the school grounds in the distance. The dragon that
chases you through your first play of the Forbidden Forest is also quite
imposing and impressive visually. Spell effects also look impressive, making
use of particles and other lighting effects. However, the character models look
pretty small on screen and don't animate particularly well. What's most
disappointing is that the game never leverages any media from the film, aside
from still shots used to decorate the cards. The cutscenes in the game are
comic-like in their style, not unlike the cover art of the books. Though they
still offer an air of authenticity, the frugal nature of the cutscenes seems
oddly deflating given the visual splendor Potter fans have come to expect from
the films. The four platforms look quite similar in general, with the Xbox and
PC versions offering the sharpest graphics, and the PS2 and GameCube versions
looking somewhat muddier in comparison. As far as sound goes, the spells and
creature effects seem pretty good, as does the music used in the menus and
during cutscenes. The voice acting used in the game can get somewhat repetitive
over time.
As
a platformer aimed at the younger crowd of Potter fans, The Goblet of Fire does
a good job at delivering an experience that is in line with the plot of the books.
Even if you're an older fan of the Harry Potter books, the game is still worth
checking out, especially if you've got two other friends to play the game in
three-player cooperative mode. It's definitely not quite as awe-inspiring an
experience as seeing the films, but if you want a more interactive take on what
it might be like to be in the world of magic, The Goblet of Fire video game
will suit you just fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment