Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Review

The mystical Goblet of Fire has announced the 3 representative champions to be entered into the Triwizard tournament, yet no one foresaw the mysterious inclusion of Harry Potter as an unprecedented fourth entrant. Did Harry magically engineer his own participation in a tournament he’s too young to qualify for, or is there a more sinister power at work? Whatever the truth behind this most unusual of events, Potter remains as a chosen champion—the Goblet’s choices are final. So now you must guide Harry as he battles for his life amid the events of the Triwizard tournament, and join him along with Hermione and Ron as they attempt to unravel this latest mystery and face the—somewhat inevitable—showdown with a certain Lord Voldermort.

The Harry Potter gravy train ploughs on relentlessly as J. K. Rowling continues to churn out the yearly trials and tribulations of “…the boy who lived.” And with every widening—seemingly unedited—tome comes the accompanying deluge of merchandising opportunities that exist throughout the Potter universe. Everything is covered, from chocolate frogs, Every-Flavour sweetie beans, and replica costumes, to cups, toys, figurines, CDs, DVDs…and videogames. So, is EA’s and Warner Interactive’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire a stand-alone progression of the incomprehensibly enduring saga, or little more than a blatant cash-in on the product name? Read on.

The Goblet of Fire opens with an attack by Lord Voldemort’s Death Eaters following the Quidditch World Cup, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron’s subsequent guided escape by the ever-willing Mr. Weasley. This serves as both a basic story preamble and also an energetic explanation of the characters’ core abilities. Once safely back at Hogwarts, an introductory Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson by new teacher, Mad-Eye Moody, outlines more definition for the necessary casting of charms and jinx spells—both of which make up the player’s centre of attack. Then, with control and magic explanation safely mastered, you’re thrown into the game proper.

Initially, Harry, Hermione, and Ron find themselves cast unceremoniously onto the school’s ramparts—various other level environments being primarily locked, and only accessible through the steady gathering of Triwizard shields. Mad-Eye Moody then instructs the trio of friends to seek out the many shields placed across the level…and this is basically the central structure of the gameplay: find shields, open new area, find shields, open new area. Of course, not all the shields on a given level are immediately attainable; progressive magical powers are often necessary for their capture, which means a fair amount of backtracking and repetitive creature battling. Aside from fresh environments to explore, Goblet of Fire offers up the individual Triwizard events—also based on shield collection—and these temporarily separate Harry from his chums.

Though they should exist as the game’s most intriguing story assets, the Triwizard events are largely scripted and linear affairs, stripped of the exploratory freedom laid down by the surrounding environmental levels. The first of these involves Harry speeding through forests, canyons, and the grounds of Hogwarts itself as he attempts to evade the fiery attentions of a Horntail Dragon. Movement and control is negligible, and amounts to little more than up, down, and accelerate. Successfully navigating through guiding rings grants both speed bursts and bean collection, and Harry’s final time at the end of the event(s) decrees how many Triwizard shields he’ll be rewarded—again contributing to the unlocking of further levels.

Beyond the story-specific gameplay, Goblet of Fire attempts to hold player attention by including collectible enhanced character cards, which can be purchased from the Folio Universitas with Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor Beans, and then assigned to Harry, Hermione, and Ron to boost their in-game stats. Defeated foes, various static objects, and successful spell casting all provide useful beans which—depending on colour—either help replenish stamina, are added to an on-screen Magicus Extremos power bar that can be utilized whenever a burst of particularly potent magic is required, or are simply saved for card purchasing between levels.

Character choice during the exploratory levels is completely down to the player, and this means that favoritism—especially for any girl gamers wishing to spell cast with Hermione—can be implemented from the outset if so desired. However, the central character’s statistics and magical abilities will improve quicker than their A.I. companions, so a shared, more balanced burden is perhaps advised. This is compounded by the fact that A.I. assistance is often woeful and your companions barely seem capable of helping themselves, let alone you. Stunted response time to calls for magical aid, and an incredible lack of awareness when faced with perilous traps or obstacles, means that players are generally left carrying the full weight of expectancy, and any resulting reward—hence the suggestion to share the workload.

Casting charms and jinxes to battle enemies, move heavy objects, douse fires, and manipulate plant life, are all accomplished through timing variations and character positions. A wealth of powerful spells are at your characters’ disposal, yet commanding them with any true sense of accuracy is never something that becomes second nature—often requiring a reliance on good fortune and incessant button-mashing to accomplish goals. Though Goblet of Fire is perhaps geared toward the younger gaming demographic (7+) it’s a gameplay oversight by EA and Warner Interactive to forego a slightly more complex—yet fulfilling—spell system. Simply leaning the control stick in predefined directions while pressing the charm or jinx button would have emerged as a much more intuitive solution, and certainly not one beyond today’s younger gamers. As it is, Goblet of Fire feels far too simplistic to successfully avoid the creeping draw of rinse-and-repeat boredom.

The game’s presentation is certainly impressive and unfailingly faithful of the source material. Visual and audio captures of the film’s main acting talent are all well implemented, and lend a sense of authenticity to proceedings. The evolving storyline is conveyed with slick assurance by Stephen Fry’s intermittent narration, and the in-game chatter between the three friends is certainly a nice touch—if not a little repetitive. Also, subtitles are available to gamers with hearing difficulties and they certainly help keep the plot within reach as the game moves forward. The one dramatic failing of Goblet of Fire’s presentation, and gameplay, lies with the in-game camera. Operating from a largely fixed position that can be moved only a fraction to the left or right, the camera seriously stunts the game’s potential by not allowing players to freely swing through a given environment, gauge the position of onrushing enemies, and better judge the placement of hidden shields, etc. Visually, Goblet of Fire is lovingly created and never anything less than attractive, yet the restrictive camera prevents complete enjoyment of the game both aesthetically and interactively.

It’s fair to say that the videogame version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is indicative of the ongoing Potter story in so far as it feels a little rushed, undeveloped, and unable to fulfil its own great expectancy. In its written form, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire exists—for this reviewer—as the last series edition that portrayed truly inspiration content and captured the literary hearts of the entire globe. The accompanying videogame holds true to the established content of the Harry Potter phenomenon, but remains fixed to a more shallow, stilted, and money-oriented mandate that even the character’s creator is guilty of following in her succeeding novels.

Review by Stevie