By Gabe Gurwin
Games based on movies tend to suck. The games are usually rushed, and the plot is usually butchered in an effort to keep the games short and light on substance. Harry Potter games are good examples of this shortcoming. This series has been known for making disappointing games, and there is no better example of this than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 for the Nintendo DS. Harry Potter is a series that should inspire satisfying and rewarding games. However, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is extremely uninspired.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has a standard DS control scheme. A map with icons of items and characters is on top, and the player controls Harry Potter by dragging the stylus along the bottom screen. Tapping the screen will cause Harry to fire a burst of magic from his wand, and hitting certain icons will cause Harry to use other spells. The player can also slide the stylus across the screen, which causes Harry to do small flips. Different spells can be picked from a list, and these can be upgraded over the period of the game.
The combat and puzzle system used in the game feels extremely dull and repetitive. There is little more to fighting other wizards than rapidly tapping the stylus, and the puzzles are extremely easy. Boss fights are also little more than button mashing and stylus tapping. These moments are portrayed in an epic fashion in the movies, but the game fails on every level while trying to deliver an exciting experience.
One aspect of the game that is actually done reasonably well is potion creation. These potions are used to benefit the player, and the mini-games used to create them make use of the DS touch screen to shake, stir, heat, and swirl the potions inside a giant cauldron. However, even these games feel repetitive, as the player is forced to do the same mini-game many times in a row.
The DS is a powerful handheld system, and some of the launch games for it could pass as N64 titles. However, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has primitive visuals, and the wizards in the game look like a cluster of pixels and polygons. The majority of the audio in the game is the repetitive sound of Harry using the same attack over and over again, and while the music in the movies is incredible, none of this has been carried over to the game.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is a game that does not feel complete. There is no aspect of this game that can be used to justify its purchase. While the game has some good ideas, they are executed so poorly that the original concept for an epic Harry Potter experience cannot be seen. Movie games do not have to be bad. If the developers took more time to make them, they could actually be a positive addition to the gaming industry. However, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is not such an addition. Entertaining video games for kids are difficult to find, but this is not the solution.
