PlayStation 2

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

"Harry Potter e o Cálice de Fogo" não é um jogo para conquistar àqueles que não conhecem ou não gostam da saga de bruxarias, mas é o game na medida certa para agradar os fãs - o que, em se tratando de um jogo baseado em filme (e livro), já é por si só um feito e tanto. A Electronic Arts está no caminho certo e, faltando mais três jogos para completar a série, podemos até nutrir esperanças em torno de melhorias para as versões futuras.

In the end, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire accomplishes what it sets out to do: it offers young fans who’ve seen the movie a chance to play through the same story. The only real downside is that that might not be quite enough to hold the interest of gamers who’ve hit their teenage years and beyond. So it’s good to keep in mind that those gamers are not EA’s primary audience here. And for their intended audience, this game is good enough not to be a disappointment; not bad, considering that EA’s having to chuck a new one out every year, right around the time each new movie is released.

Fans of Harry Potter will have no reservations about buying this game, but for anyone else it may be better to rent it first. It’s got plenty of extras and reasons to come back if you’re familiar with the books and films. It would be great to tie it in a little better with more story, but there are plenty of missions to play through. If you’ve played all the previous Harry Potter games expect something a little different, but good nonetheless. If you’re not a huge fan you may want to try before you buy.

As Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger enter their fourth year at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, new challenges await them, both "professional" and personal. The Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire video game sticks strictly to the adventure aspects of the story, never touching upon the sticky relationship drama that makes up key subplots in the novel and the film. You'll still have plenty to do in the game, though: Guide the trio of young wizards through various locales, fight magical creatures, solve puzzles, and usher Harry through the Triwizard Tournament challenges just before a climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort himself. Though the collection aspects of the game are a drag at times, The Goblet of Fire still does enough to keep Potter fans engaged throughout.

The gameplay mechanics in place do work well. Moving one's chosen character around the levels and fighting enemies is intuitive and enjoyable, if easy. Many of the stages scroll to the left and right, as well as forward and backward, but gamers never have control of the camera system. This is occasionally a problem because there are times when players will want to see what lies ahead, but can't. Worse, every so often enemies will attack off-screen before the on-track camera eventually spotlights them.

Harry Potter has been a media icon for the last several years. Everyone knows about this character, beloved by millions of fans. Either you are a fan yourself or you are trying to sit out the media uproar. There is little middle ground between these extremes. It's no surprise that Harry has starred in a series of movies and video games. The latest of these, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is a valiant attempt to release a game-based-on-a-movie by Electronic Arts’ United Kingdom. While this game has several entertaining features and decent gameplay it is not as awe inspiring as other recent titles. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire can be fun to play, but it doesn’t quite have that spark of magic fans will expect.

Tying in with the movie release (the best in the series) this game has come out just in time for the Christmas rush. The corporate powerhouse that is EA has, as usual, acquired the license from Warner Bros to immerse the gamer in the world of wands and wizards. There must have been an enchanted monkey on EA’s back in the form of the hordes of Harry Potter readers, and it shows as the old game system has been dumped and been replaced by a clone of the more successful Lord of the Rings series. While that doesn’t sound like anything special, it is in fact a smart move.

It's young wizard Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Magic, and this year the school is playing host to the Triwizard Tournament. Only students seventeen years and older may enter, but somehow Harry Potter's name falls out of the Goblet of Fire as a contestant. Can Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, solve the mystery and finish all three tournament tasks with their lives intact?

The irony is not lost in knowing J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, easily one of the greatest creative phenomenons of recent years, is left in the hands of Electronic Arts, a company constant criticized for their lack of originality. Fans of the boy-who-lived have ridiculously high and picky expectations, too, making it no small feat that EA has consistently managed to develop surprisingly entertaining video-game adaptations of Rowling's universe of magic and muggles. The production values have been brought up another notch on each successive sequel, and you'd be hard pressed not to see where it's all going when you're playing The Goblet of Fire, the next of Potter's adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As a whole, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is an entertaining multiplayer adventure, but it is not a game for non-Potter fans. The visuals, music and voice acting are beautifully done, but the same can't be said for the storyline, and controls. This is definitely worth a rental for the weekend if you're a fan who can't get enough of the movies, but the simple gameplay, and repetitiveness become tiring quickly.

Electronic Arts aborde ce nouvel opus de Harry Potter sous un angle totalement nouveau. La dimension plates-formes/exploration qui dominait précédemment disparaît au profit d'une action rythmée qui vaut surtout pour la possibilité qu'elle offre à trois joueurs de prendre part à l'aventure. Le soft n'est ainsi pas dépourvu de bonnes idées mais il s'avère un peu limité sur le long terme.

The team-based obstacles are greatly overused and usually have you doing stupid things like putting out fires. Goblet of Fire is the best console Harry Potter action game yet, but it's still a far cry from good.

Let’s get this straight right from the start – we’ve got no problem with adults who read the Harry Potter books. After all, we all need a break from more demanding works from time to time. But adults who read the Harry Potter books who think that they’re somehow involved in any kind of literary movement, as opposed to just reading a series of undemanding kids’ books, really are too full of themselves to be taken seriously. Read The Hobbit, Lord of the Flies or Treasure Island, and you’ll find out what proper fantasy literature is like.

Once more to Hogwarts. The fall has become Harry Potter's season, thanks to Warner Brothers and their film franchise. (Yes, last year the movie came early, but don't expect it to happen again.) And with the film comes EA's inevitable series of tie-in games, which faithfully replicates action and dialogue. This time, however, the adventuring spirit has been left behind, leaving the game a little pallid compared to its film and novel brethren.

The inability of this series to learn from its mistakes is baffling. You'll often find yourself fighting enemies you can't see because some decorative element in the foreground entirely blocks your view, and you've zero control over the camera. Worse, Harry's a slow-poke at his meat-and-potatoes spell-casting, and any movement leaves your AI companions in the dust. Since many of the simple puzzles require help, this is a constant nuisance. Goblet of Fire adds some interesting enhancements, like bonus-granting Collector's Cards that can be bought and equipped, but it's just too tightly wound to stale gameplay convention to succeed.