Platform: PC
Developer: In-house
Publisher: Electronic Arts

I wasn't really sure what to make of this game when I first installed it and started playing. I had originally bought the PC version as I had rented the PS2 version from my local video store to see what the game was like. The advertisements I'd seen implied the game could be fairly interesting, and I have to say the PS2 version caught my attention fairly quickly.

Despite being aimed primarily at the younger generation, the game design appealed to the platform-junkie in me. And as I tend to buy the PC version of any game I buy that is cross platform - mostly because of the better graphics resolution I get from my PC - I bought the PC version, thinking it would be the same.

Now, I know there are generally differences between the versions of games on different platforms - after all, the Gameboy Advance can't compete graphically with a PC - however it quickly became apparent that the two games of the same name were in fact two totally different games.

This is not to say that either version is bad, or one version is better, just that they are different games. For example, the control system on the PS2 is very forgiving, and has a form of auto-aim built in so that you don't have to be pointing exactly in the right place. Again, the PS2 version allows the player to assign various spells to each of the primary buttons (Square, Triangle and Circle) depending on the perceived need for individual spells. And the level layout and goals are also much different, with the most obvious immediate difference being at the very start of the game.

In the PS2 version, you start the game at Ron's house, learning how to use the various spells at your disposal, and even indulging in a spot of de-Gnoming. The PC version however starts you when you and Ron crash into the Whomping Willow.

And unlike the PS2's console-style third person game where you have a single controller to move and aim, the PC version is a more traditional third-person type adventure/platform game. Control is through the usual "WASD" key combination, with aiming and turning controlled by the mouse. Here we see the slight differences in interaction also creeping into the game.

Obviously, as Harry Potter is a wizard, a lot of the interaction with the game world is through the use of spells. During the course of the game you will learn to use various new spells through mini Space Channel 5-style sub games, which will let you interact further with the game world. Unlike the PS2 game, in the PC game areas where you can cast spells are clearly marked, and of you aim at a particular "hot spot" within the world, the character that symbolizes the spell you can use will appear.

So rather than choosing which spell you want to use on a particular object, the PC game tells you visually which spell will work, and only if you have learnt that spell. You are given the opportunity to learn each spell as you progress through the game, and once you have passed the - fairly easy - sub game, you are presented with an individual challenge level that helps you learn how the spell is used.

Each of these spell-specific sub levels is actually quite challenging, and each has numerous hidden areas and secrets hidden within. It is possible to return to these challenge levels once you have completed them for the first time, so if you feel you haven't found all the secrets you could, you can go back and try again.