Game Boy Advance

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Plus beau, plus facile, plus intéressant que par le passé, Harry Potter nous revient dans une version GBA très convaincante et parfaitement adaptée aux jeunes joueurs. Voilà au moins une licence que l'on aura encore hâte de retrouver l'année prochaine, et même pour les cinq autres années à venir.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is obviously (and not surprisingly) aimed at the younger audience, so the game isn't a huge challenge in any real place in the adventure. It is a long adventure, though, with plenty to do, and the developer worked as much Harry Potter magic into the design. Chamber of Secrets is a better game than Sorceror's Stone on the GBA, but it's nothing overwhelming or spectacular; it's just a solid adventure that's a decent GBA title for Harry Potter fans.

Fans of Harry Potter will definitely enjoy this game, mostly because of the chance to relive the books and movies. The sheer fun of wandering around Hogwarts and collecting things is a hoot! But, the actual mechanics of gameplay are really just a standard role-playing dungeon crawl, with uninteresting journeys through many, many corridors. Quidditch and other games are present to relieve the monotony some, but these don't become available until certain objectives have been met during the course of the game. Because of the lengthy play in maze-like hallways, younger Harry Potter fans probably will not be very enthusiastic about this game (mine wasn't), and parents will be better off getting them one of the other console versions of it, which by all reports are pretty exciting and not too difficult. Teens and older fans will enjoy this version, mostly because of the setting, localities and wizard cards.

In the long run, fans of the Harry Potter books and films will enjoy the video game rendition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It tells a good story, and there's a lot to do within the confines of the Harry Potter universe. If you don't really care for the characters, you'll probably find the gameplay repetitive and dull, but then you'd have no reason to play the game anyway.

Graphics appear to be decent. They are clear, if a little dark at times. Audio as well is merely average -- nothing exemplary. Essentially, the game delivers little more than uncomplicated fun. I don't know if it would be worth playing again, as it was so easy the first time, but one never knows. It provided a few hours of good entertainment during lag time as a camp counselor this past summer, as well as scoring me instant popularity points with the first graders. If that's your thing (Michael Jackson, anyone?), check this game out.

Harry’s second year finds him prettier but not much wiser. Harry and Hogwarts both look a bit bigger and bolder this time, thanks to a new 3/4-overhead isometric view, but interacting with that world is still frustrating. Harry still can’t run very fast, success is measured in boring item collection knuts, wizard cards, and what not and most puzzles are tedious switch-and-lever affairs. Diagonal platform hopping isn’t much fun with the GBA’s cross-key pad, and the Mode 7 style flight sequences aren’t thrilling.