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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Review - Xbox

Harry Potter is big business. Almost single handily responsible for getting children, and adults, reading again, Harry has adorned and spawned t-shirts, posters, action figures, lunch boxes and movies, just to name a few. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is about to be launched in Australian cinemas at the end of the month (the US release grossed $88 million in it's first weekend- the 3rd highest ever behind Spider-Man and the first Harry Potter) and, like all big movie franchises, with it comes a computer game tie-in. Movie tie-ins are a real hit and miss affair, for every Buffy there's a million 5th Elements. So how would Harry's first foray on the Xbox go?? Lets find out shall we?

GAMEPLAY

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 3rd person adventure game. Controlling Harry, you guide him through his second year at Hogwarts, the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As you start your year completing various side quests and learning new spells, students begin turning to stone. No one knows who is behind these dastardly deeds but a story soon begins to circulate centering on the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. The Chamber it is said, was created by the founder of Slytherin and would only be re-opened with the arrival of the heir to Slytherin. Once opened, it would kill a "mudblood"- a student with non-magical parents. Due to Harry being able to talk to snakes, a dark skill that's not very common, the students assume that Harry is the heir and therefore responsible for the petrifactions. It's up to Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, to clear his name, solve the mystery and save the day.

Controlling Harry around Hogwarts is relatively simple, the left thumbstick controlling movement, the right the camera angle. As you go along you learn new spells, which can then be assigned to the X, Y, and B keys. Learning a new spell helps unlock previously unreachable areas. For instance, a doorway or treasure chest that is covered in cobwebs won't be able to be opened until you obtain and cast the Incendio spell, a fire making charm. This simple premise works surprisingly well and due to the sheer size of Hogwarts, once you obtain a new spell you will be exploring every nook and cranny all over again unlocking new areas. There is quite a bit of freedom given to explore the castle, at the start of the day you are given certain tasks to complete and move the story on, but these can be completed at any time, allowing you to explore for Wizard cards or go outside a play a game of Quidditch. Quidditch is brilliantly executed and relative simple and fun. While the rest of your teammates perform their role in the team, you and the other seeker are chasing the snitch around. This involves flying through gold hoops left by the snitch- the first one who grabs the snitch wins. ... (continued next page)