This impressive game for Nintendo's Game Cube is based on the second Harry Potter book. Children play as wizard-in-training Harry Potter, leading him through his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The goal of the game is to discover the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets and to make it through daily trials and complications along the way.
This action-adventure game involves making Harry walk, run, climb, and even creep through loads of areas and levels. Learning spells, of course, is a large part of the game, and Harry learns them one at a time, beginning with only one — the Flipendo spell, which knocks objects (and creatures) backwards. Next up, he learns the handy Lumos spell (found in a spell book left behind by Mr. Malfoy) that offers light at the end of Harry's wand, which is particularly useful for seeing in the dark and viewing outlines of passageways not obvious to the naked eye. As the adventure progresses, new spells are learned, practiced, and used. Each spell has distinct characteristics, such as one that severs objects (like tapestries that are in the way). Players are able to customize the spell buttons. That is, they can assign different spells to different buttons on their control pad. In order to activate — or cast — a spell, players need to press, hold down, and release these spell buttons.
The game features many compelling areas. Players begin at the home of Harry's friend, Ron. They need to "de-gnome" by casting spells on the gnome pests and removing them from the garden. This opening activity provides players with an opportunity to get acquainted with the controls of the game. As players advance, they move through interesting and exciting areas, such as Diagon Alley, dungeons, libraries, the Magical Menagerie, and so on. Plenty of elements from the book are here, some of which are altered slightly for the game, including a struggle with the Whomping Willow. This scene is quite spectacular — Harry needs to save his friend Ron, who is dangling from one of the tree's branches. One of the more challenging and suspenseful areas of the game involves sneaking Harry past the Prefects in the library. Players' goal is to get to a portrait that will allow Harry access to the Restricted Area, where Harry has to dodge flying books as he works his way across narrow ledges!
Players must pay close attention to Harry's stamina bar. If it gets to zero, as a result of various knocks and bumps, Harry will faint. Boosting stamina involves catching and eating Chocolate Frogs, drinking from a Wiggenweld Potion (potion vials must be purchased with the game's currency, Sickles), pumpkin pastries, and so forth. Spells and other items are stored in players' Inventory, which is divided into four sections. The main inventory includes all spells found and learned, plus items like stink pellets and sickles. The To Do list reminds children of what they still need to do in their current quest (such as retrieving a spell book). Maps and Quests are also contained in the Inventory Scrolls. Kids also collect wizard cards — there are 101 in all, and each set of 10 collected adds to Harry's stamina. Throughout the game, Harry collects every-flavor beans. These beans are humorous — they are truly every-flavor, ranging from tame flavors (like cherry or banana) to the unexpected (ear wax!). The beans can be used for buying items and mini-games.
Kids get to play the exciting game of Quidditch, the popular wizard sport that involves directing Harry through hoops while he soars through the air on a broom (his Nimbus 2000 racing broom). We wished that players could access this exciting game independently of the adventure, however.
This game has plenty of atmosphere, with its awe-inspring 3D graphics and appropriate music. It gives players a real sense of freedom to move about and explore, and involves many quests. The controls are tight, but both our 11- and 15-year-old testers complained that the camera angles were frustrating at crucial times in the game. Frequent scene loads break up the action, although these are not as lengthy as the loads in the Playstation 2 version of the game. Note that there are themes (such as ghosts) that not every parent will approve of, but parents who are fine with the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets book and movie will find the game appropriate. Plenty of excitement is in store for children as they make it to the final battle with the Basilisk (a large snake) and help Harry clear his name. Although some parts of the game are somewhat challenging, the game is very doable. For this reason, older children who are adept gamers might opt to rent the game rather than buy it, simply because they might finish the game rather quickly.
