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Now don't be shy. I've read all the books and love them all, can't wait for the 7th book. This is a great use as a wand, I'll definitely look into this game!

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SPOILERS!!




Sirius Black dies!



End Spoilers

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lol, hvnlysoldr. good one

However, that's not a spoiler. People have had since 2003 to find that out. And Sirius isn't really physically murdered, he was pushed "beyond the veil". Oops... hope I didn't spoil that *sarcasm*.


Free roaming through Hogwarts... I'm almost tempted to buy this.

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don't call harry potter a children's book. it discourages people from reading them

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But they ARE children's books.

I'll let others decide if that's good or bad. It does, at least, make them accessible to everyone who's reading comprehension never passed 4th grade (most people). In the same vein as the Wii, people find the books fun because they're simple, comfortable, and easy to get into; with a little twist to make them just different enough to stand out from the thousands of other formulaic boy-wizard books choking the shelves at your public library.

I personally found them simplistic, boring, and trite. While I enjoy mini-games compilations as video games, when I sit down to read I prefer something deeper. It's all a matter of personal taste, but to call the Potter books anything other than children's books would be a bold-faced lie.

This game looks fun.

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Like how Mrs. Rowling says they aren't children's books?
Like how there's murder, blood, torture, numerous accounts of brutality, cursing?
Many adults enjoy reading these books. Grandparents, mothers peoples of all ages.

They're only boring to those without an imaginative mind. And they're easy to get in to because any person can relate to them. I personally grew up reading them exactly as they came out. When Harry was 11, I was 11. As I grew older the books grew bigger as did my life. It was/is something that I could/can relate to, as I have had some of Harry's experiences in my life, metaphorically speaking.

A children's book would be something like "Clifford's First Walk" by Ally Sue.

Woooo! July 21st can't come fast enough.

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I think originally the target audience was younger children. But the books are written with such depth and mystery that they are fun for everyone to read. What with the violence and death that the later books include, I would say they've skewed away from the young end of the spectrum.

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The books were certainly never intended for "younger children." Pre-adolescent and teen, maybe -- but not "younger children."

These books are several hundred pages long. Not exactly the kind of books you write for young children.

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Anyone who says that the Harry Potter books are for children are bold-faced dumbasses. Yes, I'm looking at you Chocolate Starfish. Smart people here have already noted the length of the books and the amount of murder, violence, and many other things generally not accepted in childrens books. The only people who say that the books are for children, and they they are not deep enough, or complex enough, are the people who are too stupid to understand them. Yes, it is a fun adventure of a boy and is friends who can do magic, but its a heck of a lot more than that. The book demonstrates virtues everyone whould have: courage, wisdom, ambition, loyallty, and love. It also teaches kids, adults, and everyone in between, about living their life, not in the shadows, but to actually do something worthwhile and LIVE your life. Its like Harry says-Its the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arean with your head held high. You will NEVER find a childrens book with an such an important life lesson as that one. So to all the doubters, to all the naysayers, to all the Chocolate Starfish like people out there, all I say to you is this-stand up, hold your head high, and read something worthwhile. Stop wasting our time with the pointless drivle that are your comments.

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*excuse me
The pointless drivel that IS your comments.
My bad.

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My wife loves the Harry books, and she's coerced me to play through most of the first four games on various platforms while she watches (and sometimes plays along). I've been waiting for one that actually lets you have some freedom [though the 4th one (Goblet of Fire) wasn't too bad].

I've always thought that if somebody really took the time to work on it and put thought into good design, HP would be a perfect setting for a Metroid-style game, where progress is defined by what you have and what you know. Think about it: in Metroid, you get bombs and double-jumps to access areas you previously couldn't reach... in HP you have unlocking and levitation spells. With a little thought, they could create all sorts of access restrictions based on material from the books. It's just a matter of introducing the right gameplay elements and incorporating good level design.

I hope the hell they fix Quidditch, though -- it's usually a fly-through-the-rings race, instead of an actual *sport*. Ugh.

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Those are some strong words, Ben, but name calling? Tsk tsk. It's clear you feel strongly about the Harry Potter books, but there was no need to insult others here.

Amazon lists these books as suitable for 9-12 year olds. I believe that's 4th grade, or there about. Stating that the books are accessible to this age was more fact based than opinion. While murder is a dark and, arguably, mature topic, the style with which these books is written is, in fact, simple. As I said before, I'll leave it to others to decide if they think that's good or bad.

For my piece, I was bored out of my mind. So bored that I put the second book down halfway through and never picked the series up again. Up to that point, I really don't recall coming across any content I would find objectionable for anyone of any age.

Furthermore, just to help put out the flames (or fuel them, depending on how you feel), many children's books discuss the virtues you listed. A quick keyword search on a randomly selected library website (http://www.lib.muohio.edu/pictbks/search/keywords.php?keyword=loyalty) yielded many picture books discussing loyalty. Browsing through other associated keywords, everything you mentioned shows up -- even self-esteem, a word I might use to describe "an important life lesson" such as "walking into the arean [sic] with your head held high."

The point here is that these are in fact children's books. There is nothing that says children's books can't also be enjoyed by others. I, myself, did not enjoy them but will certainly not stand in the way of anyone else doing so. Certainly no one should be insulted because the books they enjoy are suitable for children. And, because this is a Wii blog, and I hate hijackers: the same sentiment is true with every discussion regarding Nintendo making "kiddie" games. I love my E for everyone Nintendo games.

(Damn. Look at that post. I got trolled...)

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-Chocolate Starfish

I do apologize for my hostility. You just got me very riled up. I suppose we will just agree to disagree on the classification of the Harry Potter books. I do wholeheartedly agree with you that yeah, this game does look really fun.

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Open-ended, nonlinear gameplay in the Harry Potter universe? Sounds to me like a licensed game that could very well be worth buying..

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