Hot on the heels of the fifth installment of the Harry Potter books (The Order of the Phoenix), a brand new game for the series has flown in, and this one's all about the high-flying game of Quidditch.

Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup: The Game

In this Xbox video game, you can play with any of the four teams at Hogwarts (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin), or in World Cup mode you can choose professionals from countries around the globe, including Australia, Japan, England, the States - even Bulgaria, who features Harry's old rival from The Goblet of Fire, Victor Crum. Of course each team has their own strengths, weaknesses, structured plays and techniques. (Hint: watch that Nordic team, they play a mean game. Ouch!)

Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup Hits

Quidditch World Cup has a lot of cool things going for it. What's really nice is the fact that it's way easier to learn how to play Quidditch than you would think. (It's actually a lot like basketball). The training ground gives you the tricks of the trade quick, and drops the action almost right away. (You play every position and the pop-up hint/help actions come in handy). Each team's special moves are pretty cool and the graphics are pretty awesome, especially in the cutaways; the overall action is great fun - and initially furious ('til you get the hang of it). Even though you end up using just about every button on your controller, it never feels overwhelming.

Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup Misses

Well, just like some of the games mentioned in the books, they can take a while before the snitch is spotted, which moves the game into a totally different phase, and totally shakes things up. Some of the games I played just lasted way too long before the "Golden Snitch Switch" (try saying that five times fast) came about. The problem with that is that once you know how the game works, it never seems to move fast enough and can get boring - quick. Bummer.

Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup Thumbs Up:

Graphics have great detail.

Feels like the movie.

Special moves, both individual and team.

It's way-cool to actually get to play Quidditch!

Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup Thumbs Down:

Game feels too slow sometimes.

Occasional kooky camera angles.

Gets old, quick.

Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup Game Rating:

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