Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince places you in Harry’s robes as he progresses through his sixth year at the famous wizardry school, Hogwarts. At its core, Half-Blood Prince is basically a well-polished minigame collection with flashy franchise backing. The graphics aren’t terrible, especially when bumped up to the highest resolution, though they may seem a tad dated. The terrific music is pulled straight from the film.
The game consists of three main parts: dueling, potion-making, and Quidditch. Each section is enjoyable at best and bearable at worst, but none are fantastic, and the best part of the experience is exploring the beautiful Hogwarts backdrop.
Players can join clubs to practice their skills and earn badges for outstanding performances. Of the clubs, Dueling is the most fun and arguably the simplest. You get five spells to choose from that either stun or injure your opponent. The combination of stun-and-charge attacks works almost too well, and seasoned gamers will quickly dispatch their foes.
Harry's duels are far less bloody than, say, Zorro's. Today's kids are so coddled.
Quidditch is nearly as simple: You steer Harry through obnoxiously large, glowing stars as he nears the golden snitch. But Harry’s broom is gliding along a preprogrammed track--you need only wiggle the mouse toward the stars and let the game do the rest of the work. Hitting pumpkins or flying directly through the stars awards you with more time.
Potion-making is more complex. Players will feverishly shake potions to bubbling and drop crunchy green worms and rats into boiling cauldrons before the allotted time reaches zero. The most difficult potions come with a laundry list of ingredients and a merciless timer.
Though Electronic Arts opted for an open-world approach, Harry is shuffled from one quest to the next in a decidedly linear fashion, each mission unlocking the perpetual “next area” for exploration. Nearly Headless Nick ensures you can never get too lost, walking you straight to your next objective with the press of a button.
The game is short--expect to spend a breezy 8 hours beating the main story, while collecting everything Hogwarts offers could double that playtime. For many wizard wannabes, the game will satisfy and remain enchanting, despite its shortcomings.
Feels like Hogwarts. Excellent music. Even pacing and simple controls make game easy to learn. ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Sluggish combat. Very (very) linear gameplay. Some clubs and activitie, like Potions, aren't much fun. The game won't play on just any Intel-based Mac, so read the requirements carefully.