The Harry Potter movie games are pretty much interchangeable. Harry runs around Hogwarts in some abbreviated version of the film's plot with a handful of duels and wizard school-themed mini-games thrown in for good measure. The only thing that's changed in the last eight years is the technology, which increases the size of Hogwarts and makes the character models of the Harry Potter cast to look even creepier with every evolution.

The Half-Blood Prince is the penultimate book in J. K. Rowling's seven-book series. However, since Warner Bros. Pictures have decided to split the last book into two movies, we have another two movie tie-in games from EA to look forward to after this. Here's how this year's model stacks up.

Loved
Hogwarts Is Bigger: Instead of confining Harry to a rigid linear path between Potions and the Quidditch pitch, the game world is opened up gradually to include all areas of Hogwarts mentioned in the books (except Hogsmeade Village). Most areas you're free to go to once they're unlocked, although there are some places that you'll only see in cut scenes, like the Room of Requirement. Even so, the game world in Half-Blood Prince is so expansive, you actually have to have Nearly Headless Nick escort you to some places because you could really get lost.

Some Of The Mini-Games Don't Suck: It's common practice in Potter games to turn classes into mini-games. For whatever reason, the only classes Harry seems to have in Half-Blood Prince are Potions and Charms -– but at the very least, the potions mini-game doesn't suck. At least, not the first few times. The thrill of racing the clock to pluck out and pour ingredients with corresponding Wii Remote motion controls kind of wears off when the game forces you to do it five times in a row. Still, once you've unlocked the Potions Club, you can voluntarily mix potions and earn badges right from the main menu without having to dick around with Professor Slughorn. It's kind of fun.

Plot Gets Padded Out: Having seen the movie, I can barely express my exasperation with watching the in-game cut scenes mangle the movie. However, the game sometimes spares me the agony and replaces scenes from the movie with scenes from the book, or at least makes reference to things that happened in the book as a way of explaining the plot. So not only do you get a small fanboy or fangirl thrill from recognizing these parts, but you also get to see characters that were omitted from the movie, like Crabbe and Goyle.

Two Player Dueling Mode: There's a lot of flailing involved, but if two people are doing it together and perhaps you have a stash of liquor nearby, this multiplayer mode can actually be quite fun.

Fan Service: There are bits of the game that are clearly there just for the fans and not for anyone else. For example, the part of the game where you play as a love potion-poisoned Ron is hilarious. And pink.

Hated
Too Much Fiddly Wii Flailing: The game requires a lot of flailing just by its design -– for example, the duel mode is essentially all flailing and if you do anything different, you'll get knocked on your butt a lot. However, because the controls are just plain lousy in certain sections -– especially when casting Wingardium Leviosa to obtain Hogwarts crests -– you'll almost always find yourself suffering from shoulder pain as you struggle to maneuver Harry around sharp corners during a chase scene or guide him through six-pointed stars during Quidditch practice.

The Camera Is a Disaster: Most of the time, the camera remains fixed behind Harry in a third person view. However, the camera is slow and easily confused. Sometimes you'll lose it behind a bookcase, or it will become enamored of a corner while you're trying to get Harry through a doorway.

Plot Gets Padded Out Too Much: I don't mind when the game skips movie scenes and I don't mind seeing additional scenes from the book. I do mind when the game invents scenes and lines of its own that take people like Ginny or Snape completely out of character and just smack of bad fan fiction. To me, this is the opposite of fan service and I'd rather just skip it.

Some Really Horrible Voice Acting: I can understand if the Potter cast is too busy or too expensive to lend their voices to their game likeness, but couldn't the developer at least hire people who can act? It would make the butchering of lines from the movie a lot less painful.

The Liquid Luck Part: There's a very bizarre section of the game where Harry drinks a Liquid Luck potion and then the game goes into Naked Gun Intro mode so you can watch Harry stroll around Hogwarts to bad jazz club music. It's awkward, it's pointless and it actually causes me physical pain.

Fan Service Does Not A Game Make: Half-Blood Prince just doesn't seem like it's trying at all to establish a natural progression of events, a consistent sense of character development or anything that even makes the game worth playing on its own merits. It relies entirely on the Potter plot as a way to appeal to the player and as a means to get the player to forgive it for sucking with gameplay, voice acting and the camera. Subtract the Potter name altogether and you wouldn't even have a "game," just an elaborate torture device to inflict on small children.

The saddest thing about Half-Blood Prince is the part where it could have been a good game. It could have been Rockstar's Bully set in Hogwarts with Harry having free run of the grounds and the ability to interact with the wacky school and his fellow classmates. There is a little bit of freedom to run around at the end of the game, after you've finished the main adventure. By that point, however, you've probably thrown out your rotator cuff and tossed aside your Wii Remote in disgust after being forced to duel the painfully-voiced Bellatrix Lestrange for the half-dozenth time.

As a parting shot, let me reiterate what I said when Order of the Phoenix came out for the DS: If you're looking for a way to savor Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, you're better off re-watching the movie. Or re-reading the book. Or whacking yourself in the face with the book over and over again. Either way, you'll be better off for having not played this game.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was developed and published by EA for the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS and PSP. Released June 30 for $29.99 to $49.99. Played the Wii version and completed story mode, played two-player duel mode and spent way too much time trying to get all 150 crests.

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Harry gets stronger, magical crimes run rampant, and a guy sharing a name with my cat Rufus takes over as Minister of Magic in the sixth book of the Harry Potter series by ridiculously wealthy and famous writer J. K. Rowling, and tomorrow the game based on the movie of that book hits store shelves. With the movie due out in the middle of next month, this could be a good way for fans to get their fix before watching the actors who were once lovable children play it out on the big screen.

I've completely lost track of what's going on at this point. I'm not sure if I should be proud or not.

Form 8-K for ELECTRONIC ARTS INC. [Yahoo, via Variety]

Or they'll just sit on it and move on to the next one. One of those.

EA and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Confirm Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Video Game to Ship with Film in Summer 09

Harry Potter Video Game is THE Place for Fans to Live the Thrills, Action and Excitement of Harry Potter Next Summer

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today confirmed that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ video game will be released globally Summer 2009, alongside the Warner Bros. Pictures’ film based on J.K. Rowling’s sixth Harry Potter book.

“We’re excited about the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game in development and its high level of authenticity and playability,” said Robert Nashak, Vice President EA Casual Studios. “We are creating an immersive game experience that Potter fans around the world will really enjoy playing as they fly and duel their way through the story of the film. The game will feature new Wii gestures and increased gameplay capabilities across all of the platforms.”

“The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game will be an excellent interactive extension of the film and all of the new action that comes with it,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “EA is creating the Harry Potter video games that fans will love, and this game will deliver new gameplay elements and the magic players are looking forward to.”

“We have enjoyed a wonderful partnership with EA in collaborating on the videogames for all of the Harry Potter films,” said Harry Potter film Producer David Heyman. “The visual look of the game for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is incredibly authentic to the film and will provide a truly compelling experience for everyone who plays.”

In the game of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, players will return to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. They will 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.

Developed by EA’s Bright Light Studio, the team behind the worldwide success of the Harry Potter library of games including the most recent game released in the summer of 2007, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is scheduled for release Summer 2009 for the Wii™, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Nintendo DS™, Windows PC, Macintosh and mobile devices.

So what did I expect from Half-Blood Prince on the Wii? Certainly not all the fun I had.

The events demoed at EA’s Showcase were Potions class, Quidditch and Dueling. Before we got to try the game ourselves, we got to watch two cute EA kids go at it in Dueling. They shook the Remotes and mashed the A buttons and bobbed and weaved their heads in time with the motions on screen. Harry dodges Malfoy’s Stupify, Malfoy gets off a freezing spell that knocks Harry off his feet. Back and forth went the magic spells until Malfoy ran out of health icons and the Duel ended with Harry winning best two out of three.

I got spanked at it when I tried it myself, but I was pleased that the controls handled pretty well. Dodging was what I did most, mashing A while moving the control stick in the direction I wanted to go. I was really getting killed until Executive Producer Jonathan Bunney finally bailed me out by showing me how to block, which also reflects spells. I redeemed myself in Potions – but that’s easy to do with such simple controls. The cauldron already has a potion in it and your job is to follow the instructions icons that hover to the right of it. Fan the mixture by moving the Wii Remote and Nunchuk up and down until it turns the right color. The control vibrates in your hand when you’ve nailed the right shade. Point at an ingredient and hold A to pick it up and hold it over the cauldron; tilt your wrist to pour it in.

“The controls are very smooth,” said Mr. Bunney. “We don’t want to break anybody’s wrists.”

I completed the potion and got an A ranking, stepping back to let someone else go at it in Quidditch. Playing as Harry means you’ve got to play as the Seeker and find the Snitch – but there was a hint that you could unlock other characters to play (probably just for the Dueling, though). To win at Quidditch, you’ve got to fly after the Snitch, going through star-shaped hoops to gain speed bonuses as you hurtle along. Like the Potion and Dueling controls, Quidditch looked pretty smooth – with no frantic flailing or extreme flicking to get the on-screen action to occur.

While that was going on, Bunney informed me that this Harry Potter game was built around the Wii instead of the PS2 (like the last one). The Wii Remote looks like a wand, so it was a logical choice; and now that they’ve got the technology of the Wii down, things are looking a lot better for the Potter series.

Let’s hope it works out well for the other consoles.

I had it demoed for me by executive producer Jonathan Bunney and producer Justin Manning, and it came down to a fight.

Actually, the first part of the demo let me try out the potion-mixing minigame; you've got a bubbling cauldron and a desk full of ingredients like little vials, bottles, leeches and caterpillars, and symbol-based instructions for each step of the potion-making scroll up in a little wheel to the screen's right. A potion-making sim was a first for me, and I exploded the thing a few times, but it was mostly pretty fun, especially when you can tilt the Wii remote to spill a beaker's contents into the cauldron and then make a stirring motion to whirl it up until the color changes. It's all timed and ranks your precision, which was pretty fun.

Then, Bunney and I went at it with a Wii remote wand duel. He was playing Draco Malfoy and I was Harry. We faced off at either end of a long room, and you hold up the Wii remote to charge your wand for a powerful attack (leaving you undefended), or simply shake the remote in your opponent's direction to fire off a series of quick bursts.

You use the Nunchuk to move side to side, and swinging both Wii remote and Nunchuk across your body causes you to produce a deflection shield that can send your opponent's projectiles right back at him. Shaking both produces a special attack that can knock your opponent down or stun him.

I refuse to believe that Mr. Bunney politely allowed me to win, and instead, I'll tell anyone who will listen that I beat the game's EP in a wand duel.

In the game, which is aiming for a release to coincide with the movie hitting later this year, Harry returns to Hogwarts for a sixth year. The game will include wizard duels, potion brewing and Quidditch play.

The game hits the DS, Mac, mobile devices, PC, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. What no iPhone? Come on!

EA AND WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE VIDEO GAME
Fans will relive the thrills, action and excitement of the movie this holiday season

Guildford, U.K. – April 22nd, 2008 – EA’s Casual Entertainment Label and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ video game will be released later this year to coincide with the Warner Bros. Pictures film based on J.K. Rowling’s sixth Harry Potter book.

“We believe that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game represents a milestone in the movie tie-in genre,” said Harvey Elliott, Head of EA Bright Light studio in the UK where the Harry Potter franchise has its home. “Building on the technological advancements of previous games in the series and with a particular focus on the unique control system of Nintendo’s WiiTM, the team here is working closely with the filmmakers to create an immersive interactive experience that captures the story, the action, the excitement and, above all, the fun of the film. ”

“Working with EA, we look forward to offering fans a compelling Harry Potter video game, one which captures the thrilling storyline and high visual quality of the movie,” said Scott Johnson, Vice President, Business Development for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “The adherence to the rich fiction is a trademark of this franchise and with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince fans will experience the most authentic and enjoyable game in the series to date.”

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 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, players will return to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. They will 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.

Under development by EA Bright Light Studio, the team behind the worldwide success of the Harry Potter library of games, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is scheduled for release in time for the movie launch this fall for the Wii, PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360™, PlayStation®2, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), Nintendo DS, Windows PC, Macintosh and mobile devices.