Wow.
My HP:OOTP that I ordered from Frys.com (10 dollars cheaper and had free shipping as well as a free movie ticket) came in the mail 2 days earlier than I expected. I was working from home at the time and cursed DHL for being so fast on ground delivery because I couldn't very well start playing it until I was off work and finished other family duties. I finally got to start playing it at 9:00 pm.
I'm not that far into it, I think about 40% according to the last save position (I played it straight through the night, astonished when I heard my alarm ringing to get up for work at 5:15 and I was still playing).
First, let me say that I actually agree with the IGN review on just about everything they said.
Framerate is noticeably slower than many other games I have played, so the motions appear a little choppier. I quickly got used to it once I started playing, and didn't think twice about it. The streaming loading is awesome. That castle is huge and yet it never stops to load in another room, although at points (and not the same ones every time) it does make you walk for a few seconds even if you are pushing the button to run. For instance, going over the bridge one time may cause him to walk for 5 or 6 paces, and then run again while the next time he runs across it with no slowdown. Inadvertent realism (Harry gets tired from running around all the time and has to walk for a few paces.) Nice graphical details, although here again is a situation in which having better graphics (more polys) would have improved the game.
Casting spells with the wand is fun, especially the levitation spell (Wingardium Leviosa). The gestures to cast the spells are not the same as a fan would expect (swish and flick) but the gestures feel good. And it's fun moving the tables/chairs/rocks/etc all around and ramming them into slytherins which then run out of the area to get away from dangerous Harry Potter. It does take getting used to the spells. I still loathe the gesture for Stupefy, as it seems like I can never get it to trigger. And the target selection did seem harder than it needed to be. I'd have a target, do the gesture with the wand and it would lose the target. Again, it got easier as I understood that sometimes it did cast the spell but the spell fizzled (letting you know through sound and force feedback) because you couldn't do that particular spell to that particular target.
The maruader's map is useful for making the game easier, although sometimes the footsteps do not appear quick enough so that you can run and instead have to walk until you figure out which direction they are leading you in. At this point, I'm enjoying exploring the castle too much to be bothered with the footsteps, and I usually end up running into somebody I needed to talk to anyway. With the footsteps, I was too focused on following the steps. Now I look at the surrounding scenery as I guess where to go next.
I love the portraits. As in the movies and the books, the people in the portraits (many of them) move, or sleep, and some will talk to you. Technologically, not a big deal, but it's one of those game details that tie into the series and make it more like the fantasy world you visit while reading the book.
Walking into the clock tower and seeing the huge pendulum swinging back and forth, or seeing the sunlight coming in through the windows, some of which are stained glass windows...really a neat experience.
Up to this point, there hasn't really been any challenge in the game. It hasn't require a lot of intellect, nor a quick reflex - a little during duels, but I've only had two and there isn't any threat to dying -- no life meter at this point. The scene transitions are unnecessarily hard. It's an area where the polishing wasn't so polished and it actually does stand out, which is not a good thing.
Overall though, I'm finding the game fun. I wanted to play it again last night, but after having gone 41 hours without sleep, my eyes were not complying with the demands of my brain. Definitely a game worth trying. Looks like there is still loads of stuff to do even after 8 solid hours of gameplay.
Anybody else try it out yet?
