[img]http://www.snitchseeker.com/images/news/hp_grandpre_80.jpg' align='middle'>
Review of Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup -
Summary:
Review of Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Article:
Thanks to
Wizardnews
Most magicians will make a strong distinction between magic and illusion. By definition, a man such as David Copperfield is an illusionist because he performs no real miracles, employing trickery to make his audiences believe the Statue of Liberty can disappear at his behest. Ditto Uri Gellar, who uses the power of kinetic energy in substitution for any true psychic ability. And the same can very much be said of EA Games here, who have fashioned a couple of very simple sub-games into a fully-blown license.
Many readers, having read the Harry Potter books (quite a stretch after XBM each month, we'll admit), might be confused how Quidditch could translate onto the Xbox, seeing as each team is essentially comprised of three exclusive roles. Likewise, any God-fearing non-pagans might wonder how it works at all. So, a quick recap: there are three 'balls' - the quaffle (the pass-and-shoot ball), the bludger (the smack-the-crap-out-of-you ball) and the Golden Snitch (the annoying-like-a-bluebottle ball with ickle wings).
Players must score goals by passing the Quaffle and throwing it through hoops at the end of the pitch, while avoiding the Bludgers (Beaters are employed to bat them away). When the snitch appears (which could be any time), the first Seeker to grab it ends the game.
At its simplest, Quidditch the videogame, on the other hand, is a two-dimensional sport very similar to EA's NHL series on the MegaDrive.
Taking a flat pitch and bending it so it becomes concave, EA creates the illusion of flying (you move up and down on pre-set paths rather than controlling altitude yourself). Action is concentrated mainly around the midfield, where a tackle-heavy melee opens up for some quick combo passing, and is end-to-end stuff most of the time. But rather than swapping between the members of your team to perform differing functions, the Bludger is earned like a power-up, and limits itself to a remote-controlled bonus attack. Similarly, the catch-the-pigeon antics of Snitch-filching becomes another two-dimensional affair, where left, right, boost and 'grab Snitch' are the only controls available. It's a dissatisfying way to end a contact sport, to say the least.
It only got a 60% rating
.jpg)
* 
