Cheap Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets (Video Games) (Xbox) Price

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Customer Reviews of Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets

Before I get negative, I'll mention the high points of this gaming experience. First, the graphics are very nice. Harry's environments are detailed, the character models look authentic, and the spells Harry performs treat your eyes. Second, the game controls well. It pretty much plays like the 3D Zelda titles from the N64 and Gamecube; you assign spells and items to various buttons and use them, jump automatically when you reach a ledge, have an "action" button that lets you talk to people or grab things and all that other stuff. Movement using the analog stick is very fluid, as well; Harry will move in whatever direction you command without any trouble. Also, the game has many enjoyable mini-games, like Gnome-Throwing and Quidditch. In addition, when you obtain Harry's broom, you can fly all over the Hogwarts campus, something that I really enjoyed doing.

Now for the problems with this game. The first problem is that the load times are long and frequent. I thought when we left the 32-bit era, long load times would be a thing of the past. Unfortunately not, although this isn't the only game on the Xbox to suffer from this problem. Second, are the sound effects, voice, and music. To be fair, the audio in Chamber Of Secrets is good, so why am I complaining? EA didn't recruit any of the actors from the film to do voices in the game, and they didn't even get the John Williams score from the movie. The impersonators are good and the music is nice but I don't understand why they didn't go for authenticity on the audio front. This is very bewildering knowing that EA is one of largest and most profitable gaming companies around. Also knowing that EA got the original actors and score for "Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers" (PS2, Gamecube, Xbox) also from them, I'm wondering what was their excuse was with Mr. Potter. In my mind, there's no excuse for the omission.

Next, the camera has some problems. At certain times in the game, you have to sneak around without being detected, like in "Metal Gear Solid 2." During these times, you have to put your back to the wall. The camera zooms in too close to Harry, not allowing you to see the various guards you need to get through the area. Furthermore, the game doesn't have a first person looking feature that so many other 3D adventure titles have, so it's difficult to see where the guards are. Be prepared to be caught and have many house points taken before you successfully pass.

An additional problem has to do with the game's money currency. You have to collect Every Flavor Beans to buy things from Fred and George Weasley's shop, but whenever you're hit by an enemy like a flying book, you loose the beans you are holding (oh, by the way, I don't remember flying books attacking Hogwarts students in the books or movies). It's just like losing all your rings when you get hit in a Sonic The Hedgehog game, and in this case, that's not a good thing. Just like Sonic, you only have a limited time to pick up the beans you lost, although here, it's even shorter. So if you can't get them in time, you're out by a couple beans. This made me really mad, particularly when I had enough to buy a useful item only to lose them on the way back to Gryffindor Tower, not to mention how far I had to travel and/or how hard it was to find these things in the first place. My last problem, though, is that the game gives no indication of what to do in some sections, and thus, quickly translates into frustration.

Overall, Harry is a decent game, but various problems drag the experience down a little. It's not a bad game, and it's better than most of the licensed junk out there. At least rent this game, though; you may like it a little more than I did.