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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 35 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >
Game Info
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Bright Light Studio
Genre(s): Action, Adventure
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)
Release Date: June 30, 2009
Summary
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn't counted on Romilda Vane's chocolates! And then there's Hermione, simmering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again. In the game, players return to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. They also have a chance to engage in exciting wizard duels, mix and brew magical ingredients in Potions class and take to the air to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch team to victory. Players may even get sidetracked by Ron's romantic entanglements as they journey towards a dramatic climax and discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince. [Electronic Arts]
Also On Metacritic
GAMES: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
GameDaily
While EA did a poor job fleshing out the story, some of the sound-alikes aren't nearly as good as the film's cast (Snape doesn't even sound close) and a few facial animations look bizarre, but for the most part, Half-Blood Prince is one of the best Harry Potter games we've played.
Read Full Review >Playstation Official Magazine UK
A cracking game. [Sept 2009, p.108]
Vandal Online
Electronic Arts has proved how to make good use of a character license, offering hours of fun and a magic world to explore.
Read Full Review >IGN
It's not groundbreaking and it's not the most engaging experience in the world, but there is something fun about dropping worms into a cauldron and desperately looking for 150 hidden crests.
Read Full Review >Gamer 2.0
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a title that gets a lot of stuff right because of its glorious presentation of Hogwarts and interesting bits of gameplay with the potions and duels.
Read Full Review >MEGamers
The game across all systems is a solid effort, a little problems in each department manages to pull the game down however.
Read Full Review >ZTGameDomain
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a solid movie tie-in game with a few setbacks. While light years beyond the mess that was Order of the Phoenix, it still needs a few tweaks to be considered a great game.
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
A fun movie tie-in game, and it certainly lives up to what is expected of it. Although it isn’t terribly long or deep, it will give fans of the series some solid gameplay , and it certainly isn’t too challenging for younger fans who might want to play it.
Read Full Review >Meristation
Harry Potter and the half-blood Prince is a funny game for children that allow us to play as the famous magician. EA made a good job by introducing some features in this game. However, it's a linear game without innovative aspects. Just buy it if you're one of Harry's supporters.
Read Full Review >Game Over Online
Targeted at the younger audience, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a decent game overall, but it doesn’t live up to the potential and grandeur of the Harry Potter legacy.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
Concocting potions and humiliating dark wizards is fun for a while, but once the novelty is gone, Hogwarts loses all of its magic.
Read Full Review >Eurogamer Portugal
Not too long and not properly represent a challenge to players more accustomed to these mechanics, but nevertheless can provide large doses of fun.
Read Full Review >GameZone
Before playing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, you should first be a huge Harry Potter fan. Second, you should have a high tolerance for backtracking and mini-game repetition. Third, you must be able to enjoy a game that isn't challenging (some players just can't do that).
Read Full Review >XGN
Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince is a nice action adventure game. But more depth and variation in the gameplay would have been welcome. The game doesn't always give the player a magic feeling, but it still remains fun to be able to use some magic.
Read Full Review >GameFocus
While the game was delayed for a few months after the movie was delayed it appears the developers did little to improve on the game and if they did it was not in good shape before the delay. A few issues bring down what could have been a great title and makes this a rent nothing more.
Read Full Review >InsideGamer.nl
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is to a certain degree pretty enjoyable but it simply never attempts to try anything special with the universe to which it is connected. It's absolutely not horrible and the true fans will definitely enjoy it but we hope the next game contains a bit more 'magic'.
Read Full Review >GamesNation
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince didn’t really manage to offer something new when compared to its previous iteration, and we suspect not much effort was even made in that direction. It still preserves most of its appeal if you are a big Harry Potter fan, though.
Read Full Review >PSX Extreme
The controls are slow and clunky, the technicals are passable but never really shine, the story and progression through the game is erratic, and we think the potion making part will prove frustrating for some of the title’s audience.
Read Full Review >PSM3 Magazine UK
Fans will love its authenticity but it lacks the cross generational appeal of the source material. [Aug 2009, p.76]
VideoGamer
There's little to no challenge present throughout the entire game, the story only makes sense if you already know the plot and there's a lack of things to do outside of the three main gameplay mechanics. Buy if you're a mega fan, but avoid if you like your games with even a tiny amount of depth.
Read Full Review >Playstation Universe
While Potter fanatics will get limited enjoyment out of the boy wizard's wand-waving antics, everyone else will be left disappointed at the lack of creativity.
Read Full Review >Gamer.nl
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will give fans some enjoyment, but it doesn't offer much challenge and the story is told in a lackluster way. However, the game's visual presentation is impressive and the offered mini-games are fun to play.
Read Full Review >TheSixthAxis
Not quite a triumph, then, but it’s leagues ahead of The Order Of The Phoenix – and if we’re being cheeky with the scores, hardcore Harry Potter fans should treat this as an [80].
Read Full Review >Absolute Games
Get ready to fly on brooms, mix reagents in a pot and swing the magic wand… Until you yawn.
Read Full Review >Playstation Official Magazine Australia
Each time you start [a minigame] it feels like you're forcing yourself to drink your own urine whilst frying in the desert: you don’t want to do it, but must to make it to the end. [Sept 2009, p.66]
PS3bloggen.se
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is quite a decent game that feels like one would expect life at Hogwarts to be like. However, the low difficulty, simple minigames and uninspired graphics detracts from the overall experience somewhat, and the jumps in the storyline requires prior knowledge of what's happened in the movie or the books. Fans might enjoy it, but perhaps they should wait until the price goes down a little first.
Read Full Review >Play UK
It's improved since the last Potter game, though it's still a bland, plodding adaptation of a beloved series. [Issue#182, p.77]
Worth Playing
Terribly flawed audio, bland visuals, cut scenes that make no sense in the context of the preceding or following gameplay, miserable Quidditch, horrible potion-making and awkward dueling all add up to make this title a train wreck from which you can look away.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
The Half-Blood Prince is a lousy representation of the best-selling novel.
Read Full Review >GamingXP
In times of the financial depression you should think twice before you buy this game. Like the movie, the game lacks attributes of a good product.
Read Full Review >GameShark
That’s how I felt after playing the game: that I didn’t really do anything. I’m a big fan of the books – a bit less so of the films, and the games still fail to remotely live up to either.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Roberto H gave it an8:
Not the best game out there, but a very good improvement can be seen between this game and it's predecessors. The mini-games are fun, the controls, though not very accurate serve their purpose, and the history, though lacking some things, is very well carried out. A good game doing what games are supposed to do: being fun.
[Anonymous] gave it a4:
This is just a collection of three below average mini games with little or no attempt to maintain a storyline. You spend the entire game playing quidditch, making potions or dueling with people. The reproduction of hogwarts is half decent and good for a bit of an explore but thats about all this game has going for it.
