Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

List Price: $19.99 Discount Price: $35.95

Features:

• Play as Harry, Ron and Hermione, switching from one player to the next
• Face opponents such as Sirius Black and the Dementors
• Unravel the mystery behind the wizard prison
• Exciting sub quests
• For 1 or 2 players

Accessories:
PC Gamer (1-year)	Games for Windows: The Official Magazine

Customer Reviews:

This game is amazing, but its predecessor is better. [Posted on 2006-06-05]
This game is not as long as Chamber, but it is still extremely enjoyable.
The downs-
1. There are not as many chances too explore.
2. You feel tired with challenge after challenge. There aren't many breaks and side quests.
3. The whole environment is not as lively.
4. You can only trade wizard cards.
5. You cannot make potions.
6. There isn't much motivation to collect the cards.
7. No Quidditch
8. No dueling.
9. Secrets not so cleverly placed.
10. You do not get to choose who you want to be.
The ups-
1. There is a great variety of cards to collect- wizard, witch, hag, vampire, dragon etc.
2. You can revisit challenges.
3. The grounds are much better.
4. Before each challenge, you do not have to master the spell symbol.
5. I love Lapifors and Draconifors spells.
6. There is transfiguration.
7. The Bean Bonus Room is amazing.
8. Many more floors in the great hall.
9. Fred and George's Shop is great.
10. You can collect pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes and beans for currency.
11. Portrait Passwords are great fun.
12. Good change to be Ron and Hermione sometimes.
13. Many creatures and amazing spells.

All in all, this game is fabulous, and if you don't have it, you MUST buy it.

Different (but not necessarily better) than the Console version [Posted on 2006-07-27]
I originally got this game for Gamecube, and after completing that version, I decided to get the PC version because I heard that it was different.

The layout of the castle is COMPLETELY different from the Gamecube version. The layout of the casle in the Gamecube version seems to be based more on the movie than anything else, but it seems like the makers of the game used their imaginations more when the designed the PC version. Also, there are different spells, and different items to collect. However, I liked the Gamecube version better (I don't know about the PS2 or X-box versions because I don't have them).

The Gamecube version was more challenging, flowed more smoothly, and lasted longer. The PC version, on the other hand, was too easy (I completed it the same day that I got it) and seemed to consist mostly of running around collecting Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and other items. The PC version was also kind of frustrating because there were lots of characters that encouraged you to explore, but you could never find time to explore because you had to go to class and what have you. Only when you get to the end of the game can you explore freely. In the Gamecube version, you can explore at the end of every day. That was another thing that frustrated me about the PC version; it felt like the story took place over one long day.

One thing that I liked better about the PC version was the graphics. The Gamecube version's graphics were a very low quality and looked rather rushed. The PC version's graphics, on the other hand, were very richly detailed. But graphics, in my opinion, are very unimportant when it comes to video games.

My final suggestion: If you want a game with good graphics, get the PC version. If you want a good game in general, get the Console version.

A must-buy game [Posted on 2006-11-09]
I loved playing this game, and since I've never played another HP game I have to say itwas the best.
this is why I liked it:
1)THE GRAPHICS ARE INCREDIBLE!!
2)bean,pumpkin pasty,& cauldron cake collecting is great fun
3)the ice slide in Harry's glacius challenge was a bit like the 1 in 3D Mario
4)you get 2 fly around as a mini,fire-breathing Dragon in the Draconifors/Lapifors challenge, which is really cool!
5)great mini-games like Hippogriff ridin' which is a bit challenging but great fun!
6)cool secrets 2 discover
7)you get to fit the controls the way you like them

some things I thought could be improved:
1)some things were not explained fully such as HOW Wormtail betrayed Harry's parents.
2)the great hall was missing

Overall:this was an excellent game,the explanations were not full,but otherwise I
loved it.
rating:4 stars

This game is OKAY [Posted on 2007-06-21]
This game is good but will never live up to The Chamber of Secrets. The graphics are really good but the game freezes so much on my computer that I mostly play it at my friend's house. The final exams are really hard. I am still stuck on the Draconifors/Lapifors final exam! The Womping Willow, Peter Pettergriew, and werwolves, have almost nothing to do with the game, even though they do in the movie. And what's with the big path in the Womping Willow full of skeletons?!! In the movie Harry and Hermione just walk through a little tunnel and they're at the Shreiking Shack! I really don't get why after Harry defeats all those dementors at the lake one time, then goes back in time, reascues Sirius and Buckbeack, goes over to the other side of the lake, and does it all over again! There are some positive things though. Portrait passages help you get to where you need to be faster and Fred and George's shop is a cool new feature too. There could be more spell challenges though.

Hope this review helped!

PS: if have the Prisoner of Azkaban movie and have ever watched the game preview on the extras disc, YOU ARE SEEING NOTHING FROM THIS GAME! I'm not sure if the is some better version of POA out there, I'm only sure that is there is, it's not this.

Fun,and frustrating. [Posted on 2007-12-20]
This game is awesome except for one minor thing. It freezes A LOT. You'll be in the middle of an important thing in the game when it freezes, you have to restart the computer and start your big event ALL OVER AGAIN. This has happened to me so many times and I am starting to get frustrated. And it's not just me either. My friend has this same game and it happens to her too. My advice: Every day, play until you get to a savebook. Then turn off the game and don't play it fot the entire day. Repeat until you have finished the game. Hope I helped!

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