Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix PlayStation 2
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21

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  1. JamesD.
    Aug 1, 2007
    10
    This is the best Harry Potter game for PS2 with interactive enviroments and full run of the entire Hogwarts castle!
  2. MartinO.
    Jun 27, 2007
    10
    The best harry potter game yet.
  3. JessicaBodford
    Jun 30, 2009
    9
    i just got the hp and the otp game for the ps2 for $9.95 at the flea market. i'd pretty much given up on the hp videogames after the third one...i usually can't stand them. the third (for game boy) was almost exactly like fire emblem / zelda, except it was 100% magic and no weapons. the battle modes and health potions were the exact same! it was crazy. the first, for mac, was probably my favorite because it was more problem-solving and strategy instead of rapidly pressing buttons and hoping you don't die before your foe. even so, the flying techniques are so miserable that i never got past the flying keys on my way to the sorceror's stone. it's a miracle i passed quidditch practice.

    ANYWAY. hpotp is AH.MAZE.ING. everyone online was raving about hogwarts, but i didn't understand until i actually started playing the game (it starts out with the dementor attack, then you go to grimmauld place for a bit and THEN you arrive at hogwarts). the creators actually took apart all five movies and all six (or seven, by that time?) books to make a hogwarts EXACTLY as it would be. it's HUGE. i'm already 24% of the way through the game and i've only seen about 12% of the castle. there are times when i'm completely lost, and the graphics are jaw-droppingly, mind-numbingly amazing (not with the characters so much as the scenery and surroundings).

    the one thing that keeps it perfect (and not just a dauntingly impossible prospect) is the marauder's map: you can do a search for specific people (like angelina johnson, to ask about quidditch practice) or specific places (like umbridge's office, to do your detention), and little footsteps appear before you to point you in the right direction. you can turn them off at any time, though. AND there's an invisibility cloak!

    it's evident that the game was originally designed and made for the wii. you can definitely tell that when playing it on the ps2...instead of pressing a button for a spell and another button for another spell, you use the r analog stick in different movement combinations to cast different spells, almost like the wii remote. incendio is up down up down, wingardium leviosa is up left right left right, accio is down down, protego is up up, reparo is counterclockwise rotation, stupefy is clockwise rotation, etc. it would be SO MUCH COOLER with a wii remote!

    anyways...hogwarts really is stunning. the game is based so much more around exploration and tasks than simple dueling, although there is dueling as well. every single tapestry and painting and broom cupboard and student can be interacted with, and i've even learned how to play wizard's chess (but am still losing miraculously. i'm quite good at exploding snap, though).

    instead of corny little mini-tasks used by most games (i remember in ps2's hp and the cos game that ginny "lost her quill and cauldron while using floo powder to get to diagon alley"--which was obviously a complete waste of my life and just a desperate attempt by the creators to keep the player occupied for just a bit longer before arriving at hogwarts).

    each task is relevant to the game and is rather fun to carry out...they require thinking and careful tactics. for example, in order to recruit ginny to the da you have to get a bottle of doxy venom fred and george were using to make skiving snackboxes. the problem? it's been confiscated and is in umbridge's office, which is guarded by umbridge on the inside and by two students outside. how do you distract them long enough to slip by while wearing your invisibility cloak? hm...

    anyway, this is easily my absolute FAVORITE hp videogame, and possibly one of my favorite videogames of all time. i'd recommend it for people looking to have a storyline and a great time manuevering throughout the game, who AREN'T just looking to throw spells around.    … Expand
  4. lumito
    Nov 26, 2010
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Magnificent game. Good:
    I love the concept of being able of walking all over school.
    Great music.

    Minus:
    Is there a mute-button for Hermione's nagging?    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
61 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 17
  3. Negative: 3 out of 17
  1. IGN
    70
    It is by far the most immersive journey to Hogwarts to date thanks to the realization of a truly enormous, often-beautiful world that is wholly connected without any load times.
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  2. Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
    80
    The best Potter adventure ever and the best licensed game on PS2. For fans, it's essential and for everyone else, it's highly recommended. [July 2007, p.74]
  3. Gamer 2.0
    80
    Order of the Phoenix is without a doubt the best entry in the Harry Potter game series to date.
    Read full review
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