Yes, the cartoony looks of the previous Harry Potter games have been disposed of utterly. Like EA's Lord of the Rings games, the new model Harry Potter uses the actors' likenesses and has levels based on the look of the film, replete with detail, to create a much more believable vision. The Harry Potter books and films have hardly been cuddly or cute: Hogwarts is an unusual place, and the dangers Harry faces are foreboding. It's nice to see the visuals of the film infect the game world, finally. To that end, the developers have actually observed the special effects of the upcoming film and worked to replicate its look and feel.
The focus of the new game is magic. Yeah, it's an obvious one for Harry Potter, but the execution is not quite like what we've seen before. In the initial tutorial level of the game, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione have to constantly use their magic to move obstacles and fight off enemies. The game is cooperative, too: not only do you have to pool your powers to take on different enemies, if you have two friends to play with, each one can take control of one of the kids and fight together. Though there was scant opportunity to experiment in the demo EA provided guided tours through, timing your spells properly to come up with devastating combo attacks is the order of the day: different spells, when combined, can create bigger and better effects. If you don't have any pals, you can still get the effect: A.I. will take over control of whichever two young wizards you don't want to be. Backtracking once you've uncovered new combo spells, to find new secrets hidden in the levels, will expand this experience.
Now that the Harry Potter audience has grown up a little, the developers have decided to concentrate much more on action than puzzle elements. This dovetails nicely with the Triwizard Tournament, the crux of The Goblet of Fire (as anyone who's read the book is aware.) The first Triwizard challenge Harry faces -- without his pals, of course, as they're not allowed in according to the rules -- is to battle a humongous dragon. The high-flying on-rails action is reminiscent of a Starfox-style shooter more than the leisurely ring-chasing of previous Potter romps. The scenery whizzes by as Harry ducks between turrets of Hogwarts and massive pine trees, trying to avoid a humongous enraged dragon. The demo didn't offer a lot in terms of interactivity, and you couldn't really choose your route, but the developers are right about one thing: the game is immensely more cinematic.
Similarly, the underwater element of the Triwizard Tournament was evocative, if more slow-paced. Harry is forced to fight off underwater enemies while searching for his imprisoned friends. The graphics are dark and murky yet somehow serene, calling to mind a game with a much more mature audience than you might expect for Harry Potter -- just like the films do, from time to time. Like the dragon chase, it was all a bit linear for the comfort of gamers who know what they're doing, but I'm sure EA is betting fans won't care one whit. They may be right.
The serious makeover and the sumptuous graphics may prove to be what gamers do, in fact, want. The ideas about multiple characters and devastating magic sound very promising, but what EA had on display was more than a little bit limited. The flash is certainly there; like the Lord of the Rings games, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has great graphics and synergy with the film nailed. But like those games, there's a good chance that this one will turn out to be a shallow and basic gameplay experience that coasts on its look and feel. DVD style special features and fanboy pandering are bigger concerns for the studio. It's not a dumb move by any stretch of the imagination, of course. EA is well on the road to creating its most impressive Harry Potter game yet.
