Harry Potter And The Order Of the Phoenix
DL RATING 7.5/10
PRICE: $56.90 (PC), $71.90 (Xbox 360), $81.90 (PS3), $61.90 (PS2)
GENRE: Adventure
PLATFORM: PC, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360

Lord Voldemort has been restored to full strength, unbeknownst to the wizarding world.

Worried that other students might be attacked by Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter secretly provides proper defence training to a group of volunteers collectively dubbed Dumbledore's Army (DA).

While a mere sub-plot in the book and movie, assembling DA forms the bulk of the game. As the titular hero, you are to locate and recruit every DA member yourself. Most members will also require Potter to assist them in various petty errands before agreeing to enlist.

These errands are little more than trial-and-error scavenger hunts that force you to examine every nook and cranny of the school. Which is more delightful than it sounds, as Hogwarts has been lovingly recreated from blueprints supplied by the movies' makers.

Be astounded by the attention to detail as you freely wander memorable Hogwarts locales like the Grand Staircase and Myrtle's Bathroom. Find and use passwords on talking portraits to get around quickly. Cast spells to neaten up the school's many corridors, and earn Discovery Points with which to unlock bonus behind-the-scenes content.

Controls, while not perfectly calibrated, are sufficiently so. Most notably, on the consoles, spells are cast by pushing the right analog stick as if it were a wand. On the PC, the mouse replaces the analog stick.

The Wii version takes things up a notch with its motion controls, allowing players to perform the series' trademark swish-and-flick manoeuvre. However, since it's based on the technologically inferior PS2 version, the sheen of next-generation graphics is conspicuously absent.

The main quest itself is awfully short, but there are plenty of side missions and mini-games - such as Wizard's Chess, Gobstones - to partake in.

Do think of this game as nothing more than a dessert that completes your Order of the Phoenix experience. On its own, the game leaves much to be desired. Major plot points are woefully rendered. The narrative flow is occasionally incoherent. And wizard combat is nearly non-existent.

However, when served as a supplement to the main course - your choice of either the beefy novel or the blockbuster movie - it sure is sweet.

- Sim Cheng Kai is a freelance writer

Cheatsheet

ALTHOUGH THE GAME features six duelling spells, you will only need to consistently rely on three.
Protego (deflect attacks) is the most important move of them all. A few of the dozen or so fights in the game will pit your Harry or Sirius Black against enemies that possess more health than your character. You should keep casting Protego to avoid taking damage, and attack only when you see an opening, particularly in those battles.

Levicorpus (levitation) is the best method for stunning your opponents because it will take them a slightly longer time to recover from. Casting Levicorpus before your attack spell will buy you some extra time, which accumulates into an extra attack every few turns.

Expelliarmus (disable) is, strangely enough, the only practical attack move. Keep spamming it until your opponent begins to cast an attack spell, at which point you need to switch back to Protego.