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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (PS2)
by cath_del
After playing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and enjoying it, when the new Harry Potter film came out along with a new PS2 game, I bought it in a special offer that was happening within a GAME store. I thought it would be the same as the previous game, and it was slightly the similar however there are a lot of new features ... included with slightly different gameplay than the last.
The game is rated at 7 plus, as it is said to contain minor fear, but as most kids have watched the Harry Potter movies, I think as long as they weren't scared by them then it is fine to play the game. I bought this game a while ago in a special offer for around £15, however now you can buy it for around £8 on Amazon or in GAME stores if you happen to see it in the preowned section.
The storyline follows Harry,Ron and Hermione in their fourth year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and all the adventures that come along with this new year. It sticks to the main parts of the storyline, such as the Quidditch Cup Finals, the Triwizard Cup Tournament, facing Voldemort and various lessons from teachers around the school. However, it doesn't stick to the plot exactly and some levels fill in the gaps between the main parts of the books to keep the character interested.
The game is basically a platformer, as you guide the team round the levels while fighting off the mystical creatures around them, solve puzzles and learning spells as you go along. It is relatively easy to play as all you do is wander around the level and they never make it too hard to find your way throughout.
The spells themselves are enough to keep you interested, as you don't really spend the whole time using the same key over and over again, usually you need to use a couple of spells per level. This could include Wingardium Leviosa, Jinxes, Carpe Retractum and Herbivicus to do various tasks and stop fires or creatures from harming your team.
You can play as either Harry, Ron or Hermione in the Goblet of Fire, something you couldn't have done in the previous Prisoner of Azkaban game. They all have the same abilities, so there isn't really a need to switch between them as they can all cast the same spells. However, you can improve individual characters throughout the game through collecting cards, which allows you to upgrade parts of your characters to make them stronger or have better defence. Yet, you can only use 3 of these cards at a time so you have to pick wisely.
Having a full team also enables a multiplayer mode in this game where you have to work together to control characters and solve puzzles cooperatively, which hasn't been used before in the Harry Potter series. I much preferred playing with someone else, as the computer controlled characters had a habit of walking in front of you all the time blocking your path. There is also the handy option of dropping out in this game, which was used a lot in my house as people are always getting distracted by something else and have to stop playing.
In this game, there is more of a focus on collecting items, which kept me playing as I felt like I actually had something to acheive. While it did require replaying levels quite a lot to get all of them, it did add more gameplay to it. Throughout the game you collect Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from hitting areas in the levels or defeating enemies, and they are similar to how coins are used in most games as you can buy cards to upgrade your characters with them.
Collecting triwizard shields is one of the most important parts of the game, as you need them to actually progress within the game. They are either put on high ledges/areas you need to use spells, gained by defeating enemies or hidden in levels. By collecting them, you can unlock levels to play later on in the game, which you cannot play without having enough shields.
Aside from collecting these shields, there is also smaller collectables to gain throughout, which while it does add gameplay to it, sometimes the sheer amount of things just is ridiculous. There are minishields, mushrooms and statues to collect to, and these unlock random things throughout the game which are sometimes useful, and other the times not.
The graphics of the game are well done, as are most of the Harry Potter games, as EA seem to always put a lot of thought and time into developing their games (usually!). The locations look similar to those in the film, with a lot of detail put in to the smallest of details to the background showing glints of the Hogwarts Castle. The characters were a bit too small for my liking as I couldn't really see them that well, but this may have just been down to the size of my television screen! Also, on a rare occasion, the music used within this game didn't bother me in the slightest and I thought that it fit in quite well with the game.
Overall, I would recommend this to either avid Harry Potter fans or just people who like platformers with a lot of things to collect. I'd say it's the perfect game for those with 3 or less children, as it can keep them occupied for hours as they can play as a team altogether and there are no arguments over who gets to play next. With a lot of gameplay due to more improvements in the series, the Goblet of Fire turns out to be a decent game to waste a couple of hours.
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The Sims (PS2)
by cath_del
I was a big fan of the Sims on the PC, and after starting to get into playing the Playstation, I saw that there was a PS2 version of the game available. I wasn't too sure if it would be as good as the one on the computer, and it never has lived up to the PC, but it is okay if you are a fan of the game and playing on the ... PS2.
The game is rated at 7 plus, as nothing too explicit ever happens and the most violent it gets is when two Sims are angry at each other and begin arguing which can lead to a fight. I bought it in a 3 for 2 deal, however it can be bought for around £8 on Amazon, yet for the same price you can buy the PC version which is much more fun.
The controls are pretty simple, however annoying they become. You use the analog stick to move the characters around and select the actions for them to do using the gamepad, these controls are pretty much similar to the computer game. However, using this method does get quite annoying quickly, as it takes so much clicking through options to get the item you want and picking smaller items can get very frustrating.
To start out, you have to first create your Sim, where you can customise it to look however you want. In this section, you can select clothes for them, hairstyles, the look of your Sims face and what their personality is like. Although there isn't as many options as the computer game has, if your computer just can't handle the amount of memory needed for The Sims, then this console has enough customisation options to satisfy your Sim designing needs.
I prefer this style of gameplay though to the PC mode, as you have loads of quests to complete throughout your Sims life, which reminds me of the new Sims 3 lifetime wishes. In order to actually to progress throughout the game, you have to complete the quests given to you for each house. However, if you choose to just leave the quests for a while and do random things, it can get a bit annoying seeing as a character will constantly harass you to complete them.
There is 5 "levels" to the Sims game when you play it in the quest mode called "Get A Life" with each increasing what your Sim has to do throughout.
Level 1 - you have just moved out of your mum's household and into a house, however it has been destroyed by a fire and you have to clean it out. Most of the requirements in this level are cleaning, repairing and getting a job.
Level 2 - now after your house has been improved, you get invited to live with Mimi. Her house is slightly better, however she is a very lazy roommate so you are trying to get as far away from her house as possible. This level mostly consists of making friends to move out with by throwing parties and buying new furniture to make the house just a little bit nicer.
Level 3 - You finally get to move away from Mimi, with some of her friends that you meet at the party. Now that you have happier roommates, this means that you can concentrate more on yourself and your happiness. Throughout this level it basically requires you to get promotions and to fall in love.
Level 4 - After you fall in love and get married, you move into an unfurnished house that you need to fill. However, now you are a happy couple, it means that you have to get children and improve your career.
Level 5 - After having kids and a successful career, now your Sim has moved into a bigger house that is more cosy. This is the last level, so you have to make your kids be successful and retire.
There is 2 modes to the game, one where you have the quests and the other Freeplay which is unlocked after you complete Get A Life. I prefer playing Freeplay as it reminds me of the PC version and you don't have someone harassing you to keep finishing the quests. I do get quite immersed in this level as I'm always trying to improve my Sim as much as I can and it can take hours.
The graphics aren't as good as other versions of the Sims, however for the console it is better than others that I have seen. All the objects and Sims themselves are really well designed and detailed, with most of the things looking as realistic as they can from a game made in this time period. One thing I did not like about this game however is the music, it is very repetitive and annoying. For most of the game, I found that I had to mute it and put background music on.
The gameplay time is really long for the Sims, as all the games in this series tend to be. Completing the quests can take a long time, as there is so much to do in between like build up skills or keep your Sim happy enough to actually do things. I found at times I could play it for hours just trying to complete one of the "levels".
Overall, this is a relatively good game if your computer can't handle the memory of the Sims and you'd rather play on your PS2. The gameplay is really long for the money that you'd pay for it with great graphics for the time period. All they really could have done is improved the sound and controls and this Sims game would have been as good as it was on PC.
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