Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the debut trailer

by Griffin McElroy { Jul 6th 2008 at 5:00PM }

We would love to get excited for the upcoming video game adaptation of the sixth installment in J.K. Rowling's wildly successful series of books -- unfortunately, our ambitions of striding through Hogwarts' hallowed halls have been sullied by previous lackluster Harry Potter titles from Electronic Arts. To make sure Half Blood Prince is as faithful and entertaining as it can possibly be, we've written up a quick cheat sheet for the game's developers to inform them which elements from the source material should be included when the game hits store shelves in November.

Epic wizard duels -- Awesome.
Magical puzzles -- Entertaining.
Exciting quidditch matches -- Compelling, if handled properly.
Collecting "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans", "Chocolate Frogs", "Fizzing Whizbees", or any other form of magical confection -- About as enjoyable as catching a faceful of Avada Kedavra.

Tags: ea, electronicarts, harry-potter, harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince, jk-rowling, warnerbros, wb

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

HarryPotter @ Jul 6th 2008 5:06PM

I hate harry potter.

Sora267 @ Jul 6th 2008 5:17PM

i c wat u did ther.

Jakka @ Jul 6th 2008 5:48PM

That's some good attitude.

Imo, the series really went downhill with 6 and 7.Aside from breaking every piece of continuity HP had(so you CAN survive a straight blast of Avada Kevadra and Snape was a quadriple agent) JKR tried to make it all dark and violent which doesn't go well with the fact that the main character IS A FUCKING PUSSY WHO REFUSES TO KILL PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GODDAMN WAR!

In fact, it's surprising that she killed so many sympathetic characters in the very end.

Shadow El [New and Improved! @ Jul 6th 2008 5:54PM

What are you talking about? Deathly Hallows took plot points that hadn't been used since the books they were featured in, and used them all together to create one fucking awesome climax for the entire series.

Vcize @ Jul 6th 2008 5:55PM

Jakka, while I disagree with most of what you say, I strongly agree with the part you put into all caps. That was the one thing that annoyed me the most about the whole series.

Mr Khan @ Jul 6th 2008 6:16PM

Though i enjoyed the harry potter series, i never gushed over it like so many did, and still my socks were cleanly knocked off by book 7. I felt that 3, 5, and 6 were lackluster. 4 is my favorite for some reason

SPOILERS

Jakka, he survived that killing curse because he had all three of the Deathly Hallows, but also wasn't afraid to die, which (neatly enough) gave him power over death, which is how he survived. That one threw me for a while too before i reasoned it out and resolved it

/SPOILERS

Jakka @ Jul 6th 2008 6:38PM

@ Mr Khan

That was continuity problem No 1.

Now, how do you explain the fact that the most powerful dark wizards in the book's universe, including Voldemort are unable to find three wizards that haven't even completed their basic training let alone knowing any advanced magic.They then proceed to find three ancient artefacts full of absolute power and destroy seven pieces of Voldemort's Soul.You'd think that Voldemort would be smart enough to keep them so secure that even the most powerful wizards wouldn't be able hold of it?

That and the dues ex machinas are the kind of stuff that really annoyed me about Hallows.Speaking of dues ex machinas, how come that Snape was the only one able to trace Harry and give him the sword? After all Snape's hierarchy was somewhere below Lucius wasn't it?

Don't get me wrong, I loved the last book but if you actually bother to analyse it you'll find hundreds of plot holes like that.

Jakka @ Jul 6th 2008 6:41PM

Wait a second! It's Harry Potter Defence Force voting us down!

LaughingTarget @ Jul 6th 2008 6:57PM

You do have to admit, Deathly Hallows hit on just about every bad plot device invented. Deus Ex Machina and plot coupons being the biggest of them. If a plot is heavily involved around a group of items, which need to be brought together to defeat an otherwise unbeatable enemy, the plot sucks badly. Such plotting is especially poor when the otherwise undefeatable enemy isn't fully aware if his foil and hasn't already obtained and destroyed or otherwise protected the items.

As popular as Harry Potter is, we aren't talking about a literary masterpiece. The books lack any quality that would ever garnet them a place in serious literary discussion. They are just fun books. Nothing more.

ThePerfectCompanion @ Jul 6th 2008 8:58PM

Big HP fan so I want to weigh in...

I kinda agree with Jakka. Harry Potter series got a lil ridiculous at the end. More plot twists with lil attempt to connect it all.

Ihavepants @ Jul 6th 2008 9:21PM

I wonder if I get voted down for pointing out that in the last book, Hermione charms her parents into forgetting about her and gives them completely different memories before sending them to Australia... a few chapters later she exclaims in all seriousness that she has never used a spell effecting someones memory before, and Harry and Ron encourage her to learn how.

I don't think JK Rowling even proof read her last attempt at a book.

stoik @ Jul 6th 2008 10:10PM

"Jakka, he survived that killing curse because he had all three of the Deathly Hallows, but also wasn't afraid to die, which (neatly enough) gave him power over death, which is how he survived. That one threw me for a while too before i reasoned it out and resolved it"

Sounds like you didn't read the same book I did. Maybe you need to re-read it.

Ihavepants @ Jul 6th 2008 11:18PM

Are you guys voting us down for the fun of it or do you actually believe that the Harry Potter franchise is an infallible masterpiece... because it isn't.

I like them though. The last one, not so much.

Ethan @ Jul 7th 2008 8:02AM

Voldemort was rubbish and Snape's death was crap.

Noah @ Jul 7th 2008 12:50PM

Look, I think we can all agree that Deathly Hallows wasn't exactly the greatest book of all time. I don't hate it; I simply found several issues with it. That being said, the reasons I didn't like this book differ from other.

My problems weren't with the supposed "retconning" or character issues, but with pacing and storyline. Concerning the storyline, the trio were basically on a gigantic fetch quest throughout the whole book, and while playing treasure hunter CAN be suspensful, sometimes the background battles outshadowed the core action.

As for the pacing, I have much more to say on that. J.K. Rowling's weakness has always been action sequences, not only because she's a mediocre action writer, but because the wizard duels are so complicated and happen so quickly that not even Tom Clancy could make sense of them. Imagine you're five years old and walk in on your parents doing what a married coupled do, and you have to try and explain it to your friends. JKR is a great (but not brilliant) writer who wanted to tell a story that was way out of her league. This, combined with the enormous amount of hype surrounding the book, made it disappointing. Tolstoy it's not, but just enjoy the book for what it is: a flawed but entertaining ride that never delivered but at least was somewhat entertaining.

Half-Blood Prince tried to juggle a return to fun-loving form that was missing in OotP while setting up DH, and in that respect it was hit and miss. I'm not going to dwell on it.

@LaughingTarget: I had no problem with the "deus ex machina" in the story (it's called dumb luck), not because I agree with it (I don't) but because it fits JKR's persona. When asked whether she believed in fate, JKR responded "I believe in hard work and luck, and more of the former brings more of the latter." That's her way of thinking, not mine. I don't agree with her beliefs, but at least she's writing what she believes in.

@Ethan: Snape was great and it was Voldemort's death that was crap.

Sam @ Jul 8th 2008 2:05PM

While I disagree with what you say, I'll fight to the death your right to say it.

Sora267 @ Jul 6th 2008 5:08PM

"About as enjoyable as catching a faceful of Avada Kedavra."

Careful, they might think it's the opposite level of enjoyability from what you think it is.

Shadow El @ Jul 6th 2008 5:19PM

All the games so far have sucked, and now the movies are having fun following suit.

Oh boy, I think they're all realizing that Harry Potter=money no matter what the quality.

Jakka @ Jul 6th 2008 5:30PM

Gosh, Half-Blood Prince(who had absolutely nothing to do with any part of the plot!) is definitely the worst book in the series.I don't see how they can possible make the movie or the game any decent.

majikarp @ Jul 6th 2008 5:46PM

Bad news. I think they're making TWO movies out of this book....

Jakka @ Jul 6th 2008 5:52PM

That's bad.

And why am I getting downvoted? I have plenty of evidence that can back-up my point.

Vcize @ Jul 6th 2008 5:56PM

They're making 2 movies out of the 7th book, not the 6th.

Shadow El [New and Improved! @ Jul 6th 2008 5:59PM

While I agree that the movie and game will be no good, I interpreted the book as being a bridge between Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows, preparing the series for its ending. That being said, it was definitely something of a low point for the series.

Also, the two movie thing is being done for Deathly Hallows, not this one.

Mr Khan @ Jul 6th 2008 6:18PM

Agree. As I said further up, 3, 5, and 6 were lackluster, but 6 the most so out of all of them

The problem is, 6 was essential for the story to set up the awesomeness that was 7, so it had to be there

Kevin @ Jul 6th 2008 7:30PM

"Gosh, Half-Blood Prince(who had absolutely nothing to do with any part of the plot!)"

SPOILERS:

Since Snape was the Half-Blood Prince, the book could be thought of "Harry Potter and Snape." And considering how much of the book dealt with his allegiance and how he factored in largely at the climax, I think it's an apt title.

Jakka @ Jul 7th 2008 1:46PM

Yes...that's SNAPE.SNAPE was the bad guy.SNAPE was plotting against Dumbledore.SNAPE killed Dumbledore.SNAPE tried to kill Harry.

Now how was the HALF-BLOOD PRINCE any useful to the plot? When Snape first revealed the "big spoiler" about him being the Half-Blood Prince, my initial reaction was "Who the fuck gives a shit about it?". HBP lacked any significance let alone naming the entire book after him.

Harry Potter and Dumbledore dies on page 597 sounds like a lot better title imo.

gamer9190 @ Jul 6th 2008 5:33PM

We need an embargo on Harry Potter games. Who's with me?!

No one? Okay. That's cool.

Churchy @ Jul 6th 2008 5:34PM

Assuming you have left over roman candles I find have your own wizarding duels to be much more entertaining than any Harry Potter video game.

30 paces, then Avada Kedavra

ANTCEP @ Jul 6th 2008 5:42PM

it seems that they could have made some interesting games out of the harry potter series but instead of that they went for a 3d platformer with mini games, the harry potter games are just a cash cow.

DiRT @ Jul 6th 2008 5:44PM

I enjoyed Order of the Phoenix on Wii. Quite a bit, actually.

Mr Khan @ Jul 6th 2008 6:19PM

I heard that the Wii version of that game was pleasantly surprising, too

Superstar90 @ Jul 6th 2008 6:33PM

Yeah, it was decent. I don't know if it was just the HP fan in me squealing whenever I moved the controller like it was a wand, or because it was an above average game for a decent film based on a good book.

Dovi @ Jul 6th 2008 6:16PM

Chamber of Secrets on GBC was a decent FF ripoff...

Ethan @ Jul 6th 2008 6:25PM

Should've said crucio.

Obie @ Jul 6th 2008 7:16PM

NIGEL LONGBOTTOM! YOUR ASS IS MINE!

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/kung-fu-grip/61-GTA-IV-Rejected-Niko-Auditions

Creciente @ Jul 6th 2008 7:16PM

The visuals could be a little less edgy, but this looks surprisingly good.

I'm hoping EA will release a sequel to "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup" someday. It was a fun little game.

Shaq-Fu @ Jul 6th 2008 7:19PM

The 3rd game on PC weren't terrible. The first two were the same game, different plot, but the 3rd one showed massive graphical improvements and more of an open world game play element and such. Tried the 4th on GCN, got through to the dragon level then traded it in. Wasn't bad, just didn't give a good description of what to do and I wasn't all that familiar with GameFAQS at the time. Also, stop with the fuking Harry Potter book discussion. I was a big fan, but even I think this is BS. I don't come to Joystiq everyday to discuss whether or not a certain book is any good.

SPOILERS

Mr. Khan, you forget in the 8th book, Harry Potter and the Magical Mushrooms, that it ends with Harry getting gunned down after a botched drug raid.

SPOILELRS

Creciente: I agree, I spent many an afternoon trying to unlock Bulgaria. Needs to have less of an emphasis on collecting those stupid cards though