Hogwarts Herald

So, I got the Harry Potter Interactive DVD Challenge game from Netflix last week. I have to say, I enjoyed it. It wasn’t a phenomenal game, and certainly nothing I would buy, but it killed an hour and it was fun to see the clips and whatnot. The game starts off with you picking a house. You can either choose one, or have the Sorting Hat sort you into one. Strangely enough, I am always sorted into Ravenclaw, and I was going to choose that one, but I decided to go with the Sorting Hat, to get the full experience. I was sorted, without it asking me any questions, into Ravenclaw. WEEEIIIIRRRDDDD….

OK, as for the game itself. You must attend four classes per “year” and you have the option for “extracurricular activities” after you have completed and passed two classes. The fourth class must be passed in order to move on to the next year. I got halfway through year three before I got bored and turned it off. Actually, I could have kept playing, but Hubby got bored watching me crash over and over again.

There are some criticisms.

And they seem to be shared with the other Netflix members who have rented the game. While the graphics are good, and the clips are very cool, the game freezes for 5-10 seconds each time you press a button. This can be very frustrating when the scene that you’re playing obviously wants to flow. Also there seems to be a flaw wherein even if you press the correct button, it registers that you pressed the wrong one and makes you crash and end up in the hospital. This is rather irritating when it occurs over and over again.

The games themselves are very easy, especially when you figure out that it actually tells you the correct button to push on the games where you are changing direction. For example, when you are playing Quidditch, you have the option of all 4 directional arrows, or the select button which will try to nab the Golden Snitch. The secret is, when the choice of arross comes up, the one you’re supposed to choose is bigger than the rest. When you are able to capture the Snitch, it is the only button that appears. If you are not fast enough you get the choice for the directional buttons again. As I said though, sometimes you press the correct button, only to have it say you picked wrong and crash you into the stands. And when you do pick correctly, it takes a good 5-10 seconds to load and keep going.

In terms of the classes, they are all very interesting, but there are a few issues. If you “fail” the class, which I did twice, you cannot go back and try it again. If you did not hear the instructions, like I did taking a potions class, it cannot be rewound or started again. So you just fail it.

I think this game would do best with 6-9 year olds, but only those who are not easily frustrated. Like I said, I enjoyed it, but I would not spend money to buy it.