Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Developer(s)	EA Bright Light (formerly EA UK)
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Distributor(s)	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Engine	Bright Light Halogen
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 PlayStation Portable Nintendo DS Wii Game Boy Advance Mac OS X
Release date(s)	NA 20070625June 25, 2007 AUS 20070628June 28, 2007 EU 20070629June 29, 2007
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player
Distribution	Optical disc, cartridge, memory card

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a video game that is based on the fifth installment of the popular Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling and the film of the same name, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii,^[1] Game Boy Advance and Mac OS X.^[2] It was released in 2007 on 25 June in the U.S., 28 June in Australia and 29 June in the UK and Europe for PlayStation 3, PSP, PlayStation 2, Windows and the 3rd of July for most other platforms.^[3]

The theme of the game is to explore Hogwarts and follow the story from the book and movie. EA encouraged fan participation in the development of this game, and worked with a fan council. The game returns to the sandbox style of the first three games rather than the action-oriented Goblet of Fire. Similar to any sandbox, Hogwarts is fully explorable most of the time, and there are "discovery points" that provide rewards to the player, which can be activated by completing side missions. Furthermore, there are battles between groups of students, as shown in the game trailer. This is the last Harry Potter game to be released on the Game Boy Advance.

Features

The game presents the player with a large part of the Harry Potter universe, combining the movie blueprints, J.K. Rowling's drawings and books' descriptions to recreate known places, including the Ministry of Magic, Grimmauld Place and Little Whinging.

The game's sandbox style provides the player with a more open environment, as the player is able to move around parts of Hogwarts freely.^[4]

As well as the main missions, and as part of the new sandbox style of playing, players can explore Hogwarts and interact with objects, using magical spells to earn Discovery points.

One can duel Slytherins in the Entrance Courtyard, Paved Courtyard, and specific floor corridors. One can also duel throughout the story. Most of them are played as Harry. Nevertheless, near the end, one will play as Sirius Black and Dumbledore in different duels.

Earning Discovery points increases the power of the owned spells, and earns player bonuses, such as behind-the-scenes videos and trophies, which can be viewed in the Room of Rewards. Items in the room such as trophies can also be unlocked by taking part in the various mini games, such as Exploding Snap, Wizard chess and Gobstones.

Their respective actors and actresses voice twenty-two of the characters.

There are various missions to complete which follow the storyline of the film, such as the recruiting of Dumbledore's Army members, or creating havoc when Umbridge is made Headmistress.

Occlumency is also introduced as a feature of the game.

Twelve various Portraits located around the castle can also be used as secret shortcuts to other parts of the castle. However, the completion of a task specific to each Portrait is most likely required. After a task is completed, one will be free to use the secret passage as many times as wanted. To get the portrait of a witch in the dungeon's instead of a task you must wear the invisibility cloak and wait for a Slytherin to open it.

In the PSP version, we see one of the extra features is being able to play as a Dark Wizard. On the back of the box it says one can be 'Crabbe, Goyle, Draco Malfoy, Bellatrix.

Soundtrack

The game's soundtrack was composed by James Hannigan and conducted by Allan Wilson. Hannigan wrote themes for the various characters and incorporated "Hedwig's Theme" by John Williams into the score. IGN has given the game's music a rating of 9.5 out of 10. A small number of tracks present in the Order of the Phoenix videogame were also featured in The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban video games, composed by Jeremy Soule. The Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix game soundtrack featuring James Hannigan's music was released on the E.A.R.S. label in 2007, with references to John Williams' Hedwig's Theme removed, to much critical acclaim from fans of film and game soundtracks. For reasons unknown, the soundtrack, along with Hannigan's later Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince soundtrack and the earlier game scores by Jeremy Soule, was withdrawn from sale in 2009. It has been speculated that market confusion involving multiple soundtracks with the same title may have led to the withdrawal, but others have speculated that reviews by various soundtrack critics describing Hannigan's work as superior to the score of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix film may have contributed to the decision.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings (Wii) 70.50%[5] (X360) 68.98%[6] (PS3) 67.03%[7] (PS2) 65.29%[8] (PC) 63.25%[9] (PSP) 57.33%[10] (GBA) 50.33%[11] (DS) 49.88%[12] Metacritic (Wii) 69/100[13] (X360) 68/100[14] (PS3) 67/100[15] (PC) 63/100[16] (PS2) 61/100[17] (PSP) 52/100[18] (DS) 51/100[19] (GBA) 50/100[20] Review scores Publication Score 1UP.com B+[21] Eurogamer 5/10[22] Game Informer 6.5/10[23] GamePro 3.25/5[24] Game Revolution C−[25] GameSpot 5/10[26][27][28] GameSpy [29][30][31] (PSP) [32] (DS) [33] GameTrailers 8/10[34] GameZone 8/10[35][36] (X360) 7.8/10[37] (PSP) 6.8/10[38] (DS) 5.3/10[39] IGN (Wii) 7.8/10[40] 7.6/10[41] (PC) 7.3/10[42] (PS2) 7/10[43] (DS) 6/10[44] (PSP) 5.5/10[45] Nintendo Power 7/10[46][47] Official Xbox Magazine 7.5/10[48] PC Gamer (US) 59%[49]

The game itself received mixed reviews from critics. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 49.88% and 51 out of 100 for the DS version;^[12][19] 50.33% and 50 out of 100 for the Game Boy Advance version;^[11][20] 63.25% and 63 out of 100 for the PC version;^[9][16] 65.29% and 61 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;^[8][17] 67.03% and 67 out of 100 for the PlayStation 3 version;^[7][15] 57.33% and 52 out of 100 for the PSP version;^[10][18] 68.98% and 68 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 version;^[6][14] and 70.50% and 69 out of 100 for the Wii version.^[5][13]

Hyper's Daniel Wilks commends the game for its "great looks, the Wii-wand and in-game exploration". However, he criticises the game for its "repetitive quests and poor waypoints".^[50]

Charles Herold of The New York Times gave it a mixed review and stated that the game "has an unfinished feel, as though the game’s designers [got] stuck in a placeholder for game play, planning to flesh it out later, only to run out of time."^[51]

References

External links

• Official website
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the Internet Movie Database
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at MobyGames
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS) at MobyGames