Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

It's hard to believe that the Harry Potter franchise has now been going for so long it has even produced two versions for the humble GameBoy Colour. This was, of course, before the introduction of the Gameboy Advance and after a couple of dual releases the poor old GBC format was dropped. We're back onto dual releases now, thanks to the introduction of the DS but the GBA's popularity makes it almost certain that we'll see all the remaining Potter movies on the format. Enough of the gaming history lesson though, what's going on this term at Hogwarts?

Gameplay

If you've played the other Harry Potter games then you should be right at home here and the gameplay is the usual mix of adventure, puzzle solving with a generous amount of collecting although the latter is not essential for completing the game. Refreshingly here you can also play as any of the three main characters (Harry, Ron or Hermione) and occasionally you'll require all of them to overcome some of more difficult obstacles. It's then up to you, with the game split into chapters, to replay some of the great moments from The Goblet of Fire with an increasingly more powerful wand, and your two friends, at your side. It would be easy here to give away a little too much of the plot and the game has it's fair share of spoilers so you'd best decide which format to tackle first: the book, the film or the game.

Controls

Very user friendly indeed with enough pop-up's to make the manual almost completely redundant. The spell casting has also been improved with the correct magic now being selected automatically rather than scrolling through them all until something happens. Another welcome addition is the ability to combine your spells with two other characters, which is essential when you are not quite powerful enough to lift a rock or even attack a rather disagreeable foe.

Graphics

Certainly the best-looking Harry Potter title yet to grace a Nintendo handheld although I have always been a big fan of Magic Pockets artwork and design. The environments are, once again, isometric but given the style of gameplay it would be incredibly difficult to change this. All these are wonderfully detailed with some impressive effects thrown into the mix on a regular basis thanks the games magical theme. Animation wise the games also please with the characters not only moving more realistically but also demonstrating the king of subtle emotions and humor not generally associated with sprites on this scale.

Sound

Harry Potter games have always been reasonably pleasing audio wise thanks to the extensive use of the original score and The Goblet of Fire is no exception. While you get the impression that the GBA's sound chip is working overtime to pump out this quality of music it really does improve the overall atmosphere of the game with each piece of music relevant to the current task and location. There's also a few voice samples taken from the cast and while these never really amount to more than a few mutterings they are still a most welcome addition.

Final comments

You could argue that The Goblet of Fire is a little too linear but at the same time you have to consider the games intended demographic and you'll quickly conclude that the learning curve is perfect for the intended Harry Potter audience. What is a problem though is the repetitive nature of some of the areas with you constantly engaged in the same actions before reaching the exit. As with all the Harry Potter games you're never going to find anything innovative or original here but they still seem to do an adequate job of bringing the movie experience to the handheld gamer. That said The Goblet of Fire is one of the better installments, with the publishers benefiting from hiring a new developer, and if you're a fan of the book or the movie it's highly recommended.

Pro: Great Soundtrack, Play as all Three Characters
Con: Same as the DS Version, Simple Puzzles.
Final score: 7.8

Share on Twitter or Facebook

Comments