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Harry Potter games

I have the first one on PS1 (technically it was my younger brother's). It was alright. I bought OOTP for my PS3, though. When I saw it was Grand Theft Hogwarts, I was intrigued, but not enough to get the game- that is, until the game actually started getting fairly good reviews. I remember X-Play giving it a 4 out of 5. I really wanted to see how movie accurate it all was and it was pretty spot on. Probably more-so than the movies funnily enough, since it wasn't a bunch of random sets that created the illusion of one Hogwarts. This allowed you to walk from the Great Hall to the bridge to Hagrid's hut. The game has literally no replay value though. I thoroughly liked my time with it when there were missions to be done. Like others have said, if they could do something online based with what they built for this game, a lot of people would probably want to play it.
 

Tomita

Member
Was the "switch between 3 characters with unique skills" an Azkaban thing or did they keep that for the later games, I quite liked it.

They did that in Azkaban and it's one of the reasons I really loved that game. Ron's was really fun, and Hermione's was such a fucking bitch. A lot of hers towards the end were timed missions. Figures Hermione has the hardest part, lol.

I played the first or second game on PC at my friend's house and it was pretty dumb (you had to trace some symbols on the screen to cast spells is all I can remember. My friend had one of those mouse where you control the ball on top, which is like the worst thing to use for a game like that when you're, like, twelve, lol. Then for some reason I got Azkaban (maybe cause it's my favorite book), and I loved it. Replayed it a bit in high school and it held up, though for whatever reason I barely had any time so probably got like 10-15% through before quitting, and never got back to it, but I still have the disk!

I remember since I loved Azkaban so much I got Goblet of Fire on PC. Played it for an hour or so, decided it was fucking garbage, and never touched it again. Still feel kind of bad about that... I can count all the games I gave up on after a day with one hand. Not the type to do that. For some reason I still own the bloody discs to it, haha.

NeoGAF has persuaded me to try the RPG versions on handheld, but I'm lazy. Maybe I'll look up a let's play sometime. Any recommendations? Wish you could buy some of the classic licensed games on Virtual Console, but you know they're never gonna do that shit. Too expensive for them to do.

I was excited about the LEGO games coming out, but then I heard how bug ridden they were. Did the PC versions ever get better? I would love to buy them if so, but not if they're buggy.
 
i got the Wii version of Order of the Phoenix, mostly because of giving you an open-ended Hogwarts to explore, which was fun, though the Marauder's Map "footprint" way of getting around wasn't the best way to find where you were going, but I was able to see everything I wanted to, and even places I didn't even know about.

The game itself was mostly a bunch of quests given by other students in exchange for recruiting them into Dumbledore's Army. There was also Occlumency, and I find that the game didn't let you fail. If you did, it would just continue on, so there was no real challenge.

I should get the LEGO games, but after I finish Batman 3 first.
 

Wanderer5

Member
i got the Wii version of Order of the Phoenix, mostly because of giving you an open-ended Hogwarts to explore, which was fun, though the Marauder's Map "footprint" way of getting around wasn't the best way to find where you were going, but I was able to see everything I wanted to, and even places I didn't even know about.

The game itself was mostly a bunch of quests given by other students in exchange for recruiting them into Dumbledore's Army. There was also Occlumency, and I find that the game didn't let you fail. If you did, it would just continue on, so there was no real challenge.

I should get the LEGO games, but after I finish Batman 3 first.

I remember that even if you lost in the fights, it didn't lead to a game over or such, and just move on.:|

Freaking disappointing, especially with the potential of a open world Hogwarts.
 

cRIPticon

Member
As said earlier in this thread, Half Blood Prince on he Wii. I thought it was the best HP game overall and the sense of solidity and place that the game has is awesome. You can explore almost all of the main school grounds locals in a seamless, never loading game engine. Love this game!
 

TraBuch

Banned
One of my dream games has always been Bully set in the Harry Potter universe. Can you imagine the mischief characters could get up to? It's such an obvious idea...
 
I played the PC version of the first game when I was around 7 years old. I remember being terrified when the bloody baron ghost showed up at the part where Snape drops you into a huge dungeon. I wasn't really exposed to scary stuff at the time, so that was some nightmare inducing stuff for me.
 
I would love for us to get a Bioware inspired Dumbledore prequel game set in the Harry Potter universe. To see it implemented properly on these consoles would be awesome.
 

SalvaPot

Member
Oh man the first two are amazing on PC, I played the Spanish version so they also had funny accents (For me, since I am mexican), so many fun memories of exploring the castle and collecting the trading cards. Also the third game on Gamecube is pretty damn good and by the fourth game it had co-op.

Also lets not forget about Quidditch World Cup, fun little game.
 

WaffleTaco

Wants to outlaw technological innovation.
Those games were awesome as a kid. Replayed the second one so many times. There really has not been gameplay like it since.
 

gerudoman

Member
Goblet of Fire has to be one of my biggest gaming disappointments. It was my favourite book and its plot seemed a good fit for a videogame, movie was pretty good as well, screenshots looked good enough and it was going to have co-op... Too bad the game was crap and I couldn't find anyone to play it with me. Not being able to freely roam Hogwarts has to be one of the worst decisions ever, thankfully they got it right for the sequels.
 
My first contact with harry potter was in fact with the first Game Boy Color game, I had never heard about this series but I got the game as a present for my birthday and wow, loved it. Of course, bought the second one as soon as I got the chance, too.

Also played the first one at a friend's house and fell in love with it, so I bought chamber of secrets for my gamecube that christmas.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfHAvyMcGOk


Amazing memories from the first 2 games.

Very nostalgic for me. For some reason, I thought they used the movie soundtrack, but I actually think I prefer it to some of the later movie stuff.

Goblet of Fire has to be one of my biggest gaming disappointments. It was my favourite book and its plot seemed a good fit for a videogame, movie was pretty good as well, screenshots looked good enough and it was going to have co-op... Too bad the game was crap and I couldn't find anyone to play it with me. Not being able to freely roam Hogwarts has to be one of the worst decisions ever, thankfully they got it right for the sequels.

I remember playing it on PSP and liking it alright, but it didn't have the same appeal as the earlier ones. How does co-op work in the Voldemort fight? Do they give you Cedric like the Lego games do...?
 
There is another...
HarryPotterforKinect.png
 
Played Philosopher's stone on PS1 AND PC. They weren't bad but Chamber of Secrets on PS2 was far superior to both of them. Actually, it wasn't half bad. The graphics were great for the time but the loading time were excruciating.

Quidditch world cap on the other hand I've never finished because it was a tad repetitive.
 

openrob

Member
Only ever played Wii ver. Of Half blood prince. Wasn't very good. Consisted of 3 elements - Potion making, flying, and duelling, all with the Wiimote.
 

GamerJM

Banned
I had Chamber of Secrets on GBA and PC for some reason. I'm pretty sure both were gifts from different people. GBA was one of the worst games I've ever played. PC was an okay title but my PC at the time didn't run games well and playing it with KB+M was awkward.
 

gerudoman

Member
I remember playing it on PSP and liking it alright, but it didn't have the same appeal as the earlier ones. How does co-op work in the Voldemort fight? Do they give you Cedric like the Lego games do...?

Wish I could tell you, but nobody ever wanted to play that piece of crap lol. And to think that it was its main attraction...
 
The GBC RPGs and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (on consoles) were the best games from the whole series. Order of the Phoenix was the first game to have the cinematic castle totally explorable, some sort of semi Bully also the first to have the movies ost, the problem? No quidditch that year so that hurts the Harry Potter feel somewhat. Oh yeah, and its a shitty fetch quest game :(

Quidditch World Cup was a fun spinoff.

The Lego games are... Lego games. They are good fun, but as all Lego games, become pretty repetitive. But you can unlock like every character ever, so thats always cool for us fans.

The best they can do with the franchise right now?
Make a create your own character game RPG. Choose house depending of your answers to the hat, and follow the story from Harry's adult timeline.
That way you will get famous characters as teachers (IIRC McGonnagall is the headmistress in that timeline?), and the kids from the protagonists as the NPCs, but as theres no real "Harry" type of character in them, so there are only there to make friends with the player. Make a new villian for the player, as Voldemort is already finished, that way they can create their own story that doesnt follow anything from the books and movies.
Similar social system as a persona game, Bully type of gameplay (but with action RPG elements like the Mass Effect games) with the same sandbox castle of the Order of the Phoenix game.

BAM! there you have it.
You can even make different games for each year, import your saves and make your character and the firends you choose grow thorugh 6 games. Too much? Maybe put 2 years in each game and make a trilogy out of it.
 

Krafter

Member
The best they can do with the franchise right now?
Make a create your own character game RPG. Choose house depending of your answers to the hat, and follow the story from Harry's adult timeline.
That way you will get famous characters as teachers (IIRC McGonnagal is the headmistress in that timeline?), and the kids from the protagonists as the NPCs, but as theres no real "Harry" type of character in them, so there are only there to make friends with the player. Make a new villian for the player, as Voldemort is already finished, that way they can create their own story that doesnt follow anything from the books and movies.
Similar social system as a persona game, Bully type of gameplay (but with action RPG elements like the Mass Effect games) with the same sandbox castle of the Order of the Phoenix game.

BAM! there you have it.
You can even make different games for each year, import your saves and make your character and the firends you choose grow thorugh 6 games. Too much? Maybe put 2 years in each game and make a trilogy out of it.
This shit right here. It practically writes itself and has the potential to be huge. Drives me nuts that this game has not been made.

I have all eight of the Harry Potter movie games, have played through the first four plus the Quidditch game. Planning on playing the final four, 1 a year or something like that. Love the setting, there really needs to be more games made.
 
This shit right here. It practically writes itself and has the potential to be huge. Drives me nuts that this game has not been made.

I have all eight of the Harry Potter movie games, have played through the first four plus the Quidditch game. Planning on playing the final four, 1 a year or something like that. Love the setting, there really needs to be more games made.

The videogames being their own thing instead of trying to follow a timeline weve already read, watched, played and even experienced as a theme park various times, is the best thing they can do with the universe.

People love the setting and universe, not only the story of Harry itself.
Theres millions of fans still waiting for something like this, the female fanbase would love the heck out of it. You just need to see all the amount of fanfiction and people putting themeselves as characters in that universe to see the big appeal of it.
Of course you can do this with many series and books to translate it into games, but Harry Potter's universe fits this type of RPG gameplay like a glove. All the background is already build for by Rowling anf the movies, you only need to create good gameplay out of it.
 

Mexen

Member
My wife never plays video games, except for when she played the first HP game on her old crappy netbook. She said she could never figure out the end boss so she stopped.

I downloaded it a year ago and showed her how to do it. It took about 6 years but she finally got to see the end.

This is an amazing story. The ending of a game must be seen.
 
This game:

kXz1iVU.jpg
Yep, what a surprisingly fun game that was. Came out at the perfect time and I had a blast with this. Wish they did a sequel and added more content. Probably my favorite Harry Potter game next to this:

17829_front.jpg


Argonaut Games. Croc & Croc 2, Emperor's New Groove and then Harry Potter.

Rocksteady Games was built from the ashes of Argonaut Games.
What, really? The more you know.
 

NoPiece

Member
It's been 5 years since the last movie, and longer since the last book, but I think Harry Potter could be an evergreen game franchise if a publisher would pick it up. Hopefully the upcoming movies breathe some life into the game side of the franchise.
 
It's been 5 years since the last movie, and longer since the last book, but I think Harry Potter could be an evergreen game franchise if a publisher would pick it up. Hopefully the upcoming movies breathe some life into the game side of the franchise.

For all the begging people do for Rocksteady to work on various superhero franchises, it might not be such a terrible idea for them to have a crack at Harry Potter. They clearly respect source material they work with.

Honestly, as everybody has said, it's an absolute no-brainer; an Elder Scrolls type Potter game would easily sell millions.
 
The games on the PS1 were fantastic. It was the best Zelda game available on the console, great atmosphere and all. Askaban on the PS2 was also pretty good, fun game and nice aesthetics. Goblice of Fire PS2 was okay. The rest, well...
 

Alienfan

Member
The first three were great kids games, or at least I really enjoyed them as a kid. They are also, collectively, an interesting look at the evolution of EA. Such as their phase of shoehorning cover mechanics into all of their IP (Dead Space 3 + Mass Effect 3 etc) . I mean the final two Harry Potter games are basically Gears of Potter
 
Harry Potter 1, 2, and 3 on PC were my GOAT when I was young. I remember them being great.

Then Harry Potter 4 sucked, and they were never good since.
 
That's interesting. We (KnowWonder) did the 'developers in the portraits' thing on the PC version also. I don't believe we had to remove them though. I could be wrong. It's been awhile.
We did that in the GBC and at least one GBA game too, but the style was cartoony (and the publisher basically ignored the GBC games, so we got very few change requests). At one point we even had a quest to find and talk to all of the portraits, but that never got finished.
 
EA got really panicky about any Easter eggs at around that time, due to whole South Park/Tiger Woods* thing. I didn't work on CoS, but the two Bond games I did had to have any of that sort of thing removed.

*The devs of one of the Tiger Woods games accidentally left an episode of South Park (that they'd been using as a test video) on the disc.
 

Vibranium

Banned
For all the begging people do for Rocksteady to work on various superhero franchises, it might not be such a terrible idea for them to have a crack at Harry Potter. They clearly respect source material they work with.

Honestly, as everybody has said, it's an absolute no-brainer; an Elder Scrolls type Potter game would easily sell millions.

I would love to see Obsidian take a crack with the Harry Potter/Hogwarts license. They have a great reputation with different IPs and JK Rowling would trust them if they made the right pitch. Rocksteady would be great, too.
 

MattyG

Banned
God, I wish Sony could get 2 and 3 up on PSN as PS2 classics. I adore those games, probably two of my all time favorites.
 
Bumping this (we're allowed to bump old threads without it being locked if we're the OP, right?) because I've been reading through the books again and came across this fan art:
They've got me wanting a game series that closely covers the books and has its own charming stylised art direction. A cartoony cel shaded look with painted environments would look great IMO. Learn the spells, play Quidditch, travel the dungeons and fight evil. Games that don't have a sudden shift in gameplay with each installment :p

I know people are kinda tired of Harry's story, though, but I feel that a game like this (or animated series) would adapt the books much better than the films did.
 

diggler41

Member
Wow. Those are great. Going through the books again makes me wish for a good game. At least the LEGO ones are coming to this gen.
 
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