| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
Image:Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Coverart.jpg
|
| Developer(s) |
EA UK |
| Publisher(s) |
Electronic Arts |
| Platform(s) |
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii, Game Boy Advance, Mac OS X |
| Release date |
 June 25, 2007
 June 28, 2007
Image:Flag of Europe.svg June 29, 2007 |
| Genre(s) |
Third-person action-adventure |
| Mode(s) |
Single player |
| Rating(s) |
ESRB: E10+
PEGI: 7+
OFLC: PG |
| System requirements |
PC Requirements:
Mac Requirements: [1]
|
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a computer and video game that is based on the fifth installment of the popular Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling and the film adaptation, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii,[2] Game Boy Advance and Mac OS X.[3] It was released on June 25th in the U.S., June 28th in Australia and June 29th in the UK and Europe for PlayStation 3, PSP, PlayStation 2, Windows and the 3rd of July for most other platforms.[4]
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. However, unlike prior games like the action-oriented Goblet of Fire, this time the adventure is in the style of a sandbox game. Similar to the Grand Theft Auto series and Bully, in that 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.
Plot
- For a complete synopsis see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger return to Hogwarts and discover that much of the wizard community is in denial about Harry's encounter with Lord Voldemort. To make matter worse, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher refuses to teach them any defensive magic and is slowly taking over Hogwarts, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione create Dumbledore's Army to learn the defence they'll need, with Voldemort on the move.
Features
Eighty-five locations have been included in Hogwarts (combining the movie blueprints, J. K. Rowling's drawings and books together to have a better Hogwarts experience), and other important locations such as the Ministry of Magic, Grimmauld Place and Little Whinging have been included.
Hogwarts is completely explorable with the exceptions of some rooms leading off the Grand staircase. The rooms have more secrets than ever and most of them are less obvious than in previous games.
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.
You can duel Slytherins in the Entrance Courtyard, Paved Courtyard, and specific floor corridors. You can also duel throughout the story. Most of them you play as Harry. Nevertheless, near the end, you will play as Sirius Black with Harry to fight Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. The final duel you play as Albus Dumbledore to face Voldemort. You also play as Fred and George Weasley to escape them from Umbridge's regime.
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 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, you will be free to use the secret passage as many times as you want.
Missing features
EA said they could not include everything, in particular:
- The taking of OWL examinations directly; although player will earn OWL grades by lessons - top marks will unlock new rewards.
- Quidditch and Flying, apart from the section of the game with Fred and George.
- Changing characters to Ron and Hermione, but the characters Albus Dumbledore, Fred and George Weasley, and Sirius Black are playable as the game progresses.
- A few areas are inaccessible, especially with there not being an option to debug; The Whomping Willow is on the Marauder's Map but can't be located, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw common rooms are nonexistent, Slytherin common room stops abruptly at the bottom of a staircase, Divination class, Gryffindor Girls' dormitory, the Quidditch Pitch, and Stadium are inaccessible and Hagrid's Hut cannot be entered, Dumbledore's office is shown in a cut scene, but not present. There are also several locked doors on the Grand Staircase leading to unknown parts of the castle.
- You cannot get in the Chamber of Secrets but you can get to the entrance
- Snape's worst memory was not featured in this, Snape instead gets angry at Harry for defeating him in Occlumency.
- The series of rooms where the Philosopher's Stone was held cannot be found, even though you can access the third floor corridor.
Spells used in the game
While in most platforms the spells are performed by only using the directional and game pad buttons, the PlayStation 3 and Wii also make use of the special features of the SIXAXIS and the Wii Remote, respectively. The DS and GBA have players either using the Stylus or buttons, depending on the system.
Non-combat spells
- Reparo, a repairing spell.
- Wingardium Leviosa, used to lift objects.
- Depulso, used to push away objects.
- Accio, used to summon objects.
- Reducto, used to destroy objects. (Reducto can not be used in mission gameplay)
- Incendio, used to burn objects.[5]
Combat/duelling spells
- Expelliarmus, used to disarm an opponent. (It deals great damage but if your opponent is kneeling, use this spell to finish off your opponent.)
- Stupefy, a slow, powerful stunning spell.
- Protego, used to deflect spells coming.
- Rictusempra, another stunning spell that is faster than Stupefy but weaker (in the books, Rictusempra is a tickling spell).
- Petrificus Totalus, paralyses the opponent. This spell proves to be a strong spell because if opponent is alone and gets hit by this spell, the duel is automatically over. The same thing could happen to you. (Though it only deals great damage against Voldemort)
- Levicorpus, used to hang the opponent upside-down. However, in the books, this spell did not appear until Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. (This is yet another spell that only damages Voldemort)
Expecto Patronum is used in the beginning against the Dementors, and again in a Dumbledore's Army (D.A.) meeting, but it is never used again.
Casting spells
The casting of spells is taught by various other characters to Harry, who practices them first, then is able to use them. In the PC version of the game, different movements of the mouse while pressing either the left or right mouse button allows Harry to cast spells.
Spell strength
During the game, you will earn discovery points by discovering various secrets in the game - when you collect a certain number of discovery points, your spells will become more powerful (ranging from level 1 to 13). As you rise in discovery levels, the following traits are going to affect your spells:
- Strength - Reparo repairs objects faster, Accio/Depulso summons/pushes objects at a greater range, combat spells do more damage etc.
- Range - Combat spells will fade out and fall to the ground at lower levels, increasing the level increases their range - eventually leading to infinite range.
- Behaviour - Stupefy, Rictusempra and Petrificus Totalus gain more spells cast in one casting; some start moving from a straight line to a random track to improve chances of hitting the opponent.
Dumbledore and Voldemort (playable in a mission) have a special level, which is not achievable by Harry. Stupefy and Rictusempra cast two more individual spells than Harry, Petrificus Totalus moves in a pattern like Rictusempra, Levicorpus waddles around, while Expelliarmus achieves a very large amount of damage.
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 significant amount of tracks present in the Order of the Phoenix videogame were also featured in The Chamber of Secrets video game(PC version). The soundtrack is available via iTunes, Amazon.com and other digital outlets.
Character voiceover
This is the first Harry Potter game to feature cast members from the film providing the voices of their characters. The list of characters who are voiced by their original actors is below.
Reception
The game itself has been received with mixed opinions - although this is common with tie-ins. Most critics seem to prefer the Wii version due to the wand-like Wii Remote controls.
PC version issues
Perhaps because the PC game is ported from a console-based game, the controls are more suited to use of a handheld controller. The PC version game has shipped with a number of issues, which have to this date not been addressed with a patch from Electronic Arts.
Mainstream manufacturers relate one issue to the use of a handheld controller whereby the game refuses to acknowledge the presence of a gaming controller even when using commonly obtainable units. A number of workarounds have been put forward in forums but no official solution has been put forward by EA. On the other hand, an acknowledgeable portion of players prefer keyboards and mouses for controls.
The second issue is related to the game launch whereby the screen in black and music is played and the graphics refuse to appear on the screen. EA offers advice on its website for this issue (though not specifically for the Harry Potter game).
Another issue related to screen resolutions is that the game determines what resolution it will run at rather than using the settings of the operating system.
References
External links
fa:هری پاتر و محفل ققنوس (بازی)
gl:Harry Potter e a Orde do Fénix (videoxogo) hr:Harry Potter i Red feniksa (igra) it:Harry Potter e l'ordine della fenice (videogioco) nl:Harry Potter en de Orde van de Feniks (computerspel) pl:Harry Potter i Zakon Feniksa (gra) pt:Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix (jogo) ru:Гарри Поттер и Орден Феникса (игра) sl:Harry Potter in feniksov red (igra) sv:Harry Potter och Fenixorden (spel) tr:Harry Potter ve Zümrüdüanka Yoldaşlığı (oyun)
|
|
