Well it's nice to know that EA can make a good Harry Potter game

Author's Rating:

Pros: they have tighten up the Harry Potter forumala a lot

Cons: even though there shorter then Harry Potter SS, the load times are still long

The Bottom Line: 
I'd still like to see an avera kadevera spell placed on Harry Potter and the SS for the PC

Author's Review
I got Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets the same time I got Inuyasha and the secrets of the cursed maskInuyasha and the secret of the cursed mask. I got it because I heard that it was actually a good Harry Potter game and my brother had rented and like it, and it was on sale for less then 10 dollars. Couldn’t pass that deal up, even though it’s the best Harry Potter game though is it any good. After all Harry Potter and the sorcerer stone for the PC was the worst games I have ever played with bad control and loooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggg load times made me wish that it never taken up space on my precious hard drive. I also played the PS1 version of the chamber of secrets and that was an ok game but nothing to write home about. With a bit of worry I put this in my PS2 and started playing it.

Story.
If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts his life will be in mortal danger. Despite the fact that Dobby the elf is never seen in the game that’s basically the main point. Something is going around the school and petrifying mud bloods and Harry is hearing voices, has he, Ron, and Hermione go around looking for clues about the ancient chamber of secrets.

The PS2 version, unlike the PS1 version goes more after the movie then it does the book. While both of them have there parts where they break into a new story line that is unique to just the game, what this means is that Ron’s twin brothers are taller then Harry in the PS2 version rather then shorter. Also Peeves the poltergeist is never seen in the game.

Graphics.
The graphics in the game are ok for the PS2, the Gamecubes where just a bit cleaner and didn’t have has many sharp edges. Still the graphics in the game are top notch and blend elements from both the movie and the book seamlessly. While there are problems with some of the characters face and movements such has Hagrids the characters look good.

But even if the characters appear a bit off me will give EA credit to creating the video game version of Hogwarts. EA put a lot of detail in the castle and its environments and while it’s a little bit smaller then what I thought Hogwarts should be it’s nice to see some of the detail they went through and putting Hogwarts together. And it get’s better when later in the game you can get on a broom stick together and explore the castle from the air.

Sound.
A few sound tracks come from the movie and they fit well into the enchanted castle that Hogwarts is. There also is voice acting in the game, and it’s ok but again nothing I would write home about. The characters sound there age more or less and they don’t ever get to flat, but again I have heard better VA.

Gameplay.
Ok if you ever played a Harry Potter game then there is not much differences really, other then subtle and small ones. Luckily EA got a lot of things right in this one and didn’t go too overboard in some of the stupid and tedious stuff that they made us to in previous installments. First off there is no more button combos really fast, or writing out insignia of spells in order to pass on to the next room. Rather you learn spells Zelda style by going through a dungeon of sorts where there is a magic book. Get the book and you get the spell from the book. Then you have to fight a boss and use your new spell to get out of the dungeon and back to the classroom and get house points.

Of course like the books and the movie the Griffindors are in fierce competition with the Slythern house in order to get the house cup. Every time you achieve an objective you get house points. However if your caught by a prefect during a night sequence you’ll get docked house points.

Yes there are stages that you have to do at night, some are extra added in for flavor like getting a book for Hermone so she can Neville out of a curtain. But there are other like sneaking out to go see Hagrid that are in the book. Anyways in these scenes you have to sneak around the castle without getting attack by prefects. You’ve got to use a bit of stealth and avoid being seen. If the prefects catch you and put you in a leg log you have to begin from the last door you enter and Gryffindor looses 5 house points.

Then there is of course the Quiditch cup to that can be awarded in the game has well. Quiditch is of course a wizard sport played on a broom stick, and Harry’s job in the game to catch a wing flying ball called the snitch. This is done by flying through golden rings the snitch throws out and then boosting at the right time in order to go really fast. If you get close to a snitch the camera changes to in front of Harry with his hand if the snitch get’s in front of Harry press X to win the game. It’s an ok distraction from the regular game but it could be better and if you win all your games you’ll get the reward of Malfoy sneering at you.

Now there are a few things keeping this game from being a great Harry Potter game to just a good Harry Potter game. First the game is pretty much linear while they give you time to explore the castle after the missions for that day is complete and there is plenty of stuff to collect there is not much reason for them. The only things important are to collect famous witches and wizards cards. Not only to they give you trivial details on the Harry Potter universe, but they also raise your health for every 10. But since the penalty for dying most of the time is that you restart about 5 steps back there not really worth it.

Next comes the loading screens, and this is probably a PS2 specific problem because while there where a number of waits on the Gamecube, they weren’t has badly has the PS2 load screens. It seems that every time Harry enters a new room of the castle there is a need for a load screen. And since the PS2 is not known for its fast load times you end up having to wait sometimes just to check out a classroom that may or may not be empty. If it is then you have to endure another load screen just to get back to the hall where you came from. It’s a pain in the butt, but on the bright side if all the load screens that you have to put up with where put together and then time, it still wouldn’t equal one load screen from the PC version of the sorcerer stone.

Final recommendation.
Harry Potter and the sorcerer stone has a lot of fun if you’re a pothead. However I do recommend the gamecube version of the PS2, so if you own a gamecube along with your PS2 you might want to get that version of the game.