14 DAY TRIAL // 
You must be under twelve years old or searching for your inner child to even think about playing this one. It seems that with the sexual maturation of Harry, EA decided to go educational and center this new production on under-aged gamers. This was to be expected. There is a Harry industry out there, and all that matters is the gain. They know that a good father will not refuse his son "the new adventures of Harry and Co.". The rest of us - those who are not parents - will have to settle with the hope that someday there will be a gothic-kinda'-RPG involving J.K. Rowling's universe.
Story The in game-story remains true to J. K. Rowling's novel; a competition is taking place at Hogwards between their team and the other two largest European schools of wizardry: Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. The contest, called the Triwizard Tournament, involves three challenges; the prize is the highly coveted Triwizard Cup. The three challenges are: fighting a dragon, an underwater rescue and a run through a magical maze. The maze brings Harry in front of the tongue-wiggling Lord "No-Nose" Voldemort. Voldemont needs Harry's blood to resurrect himself, so once again the young Wizard will have to confront a much stronger adversary. But as all bed-time stories end, pride is the downfall of all villains. Of course, there is also a catch of moralizing nature: those ambitious and diligent always prevail. Get a life!
This was the bad part. The good one is that this hunk of junk (I'm not Harry Potter fan, nor do I like this form of literature) has a new and original aura of darkness about it. It resembles very much the mind of a teenager. The older Harry gets, the abundant the darkness around him. I do not know if this is a coincidence or the result of hard work and great talent, but Rowling and her "followers" (Warner Brothers & EA) managed to create a world that corresponds in its deepest resorts with how a fourteen-year-old boy understands and feels things around and inside him.
The plot unfolds as we advance within the game served between the quests Harry and his friends (Ron and Hermione) will have to undertake. EA have outrun themselves providing the in game-cinematics with a story-book feeling that preserves the game nature and intensifies the grimness that surrounds the entire plot.
Gameplay It is clear as daylight that Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire is designed for children. The gameplay is greatly simplified compared to the other titles of this franchise. It looks like a puzzle game, but it is more of a hack-and-slash, a straightforward one.
The game is divided in stages or chapters. Most of them are open to play as many times you want. For you to play, you will be requested to choose from one of the three wizard friends: Harry, Hermione or Ron. The game was designed for team-play, so in many of the missions you will have to undertake, all three young wizards will be present. Unfortunately, after entering the stage of your choice, you won't be able to switch between the three. I would have ignored this shortage if it wasn't for the crazy AI. (I will get to it right away). Every stage will request different things from you and your friends, ranging from collecting items and jinxing different malevolent creatures to fulfilling your destiny by wining the Triwizard challenges.
To attain your goals, you will have to rely on your wizard skills. The number of spells is decent. The problem is that you won't be able to cast what spell you see fit in a certain situation. The game works on the system 'cause and effect'. Everything is predefined for you not to bother about what spell is requested where. So you are actually left with three spells - according to what you encounter: Accio (draw small objects), Jinx (you can either stun a beast or perform a curse on it that will morph it into a flock of crows depending on the type of the creature, pull into the ground, inflate it, or engulf it into a magic whirlpool - lots of effects, no real difference) and Charm (interact with the world by lifting things into the air, by grabbing objects and pulling them, by summoning springs of water, or by making plants blossom).
Here comes the fun part. Most of the curses and charms require team coordination. The AI is so well programmed that every child in this world will find patching the game much more easy than playing it. Let's say you want to lift a large chunk of rock. For this you will need the help of Ron and Hermione. But one of them has a blank look on his face, and the other contemplates the effects of Carpe Retractum on an iron door. It is possible that all the programmers are licensed in philosophy, otherwise how can I explain this pacifistic behavior? A very unfortunate case, because I cannot rely on philosophy-addicted wizards when fighting the forces of evil. They tend to be all to passive about it -"make love not war" and such. And this is why I find the switch-character option useful.
The thing is you won't be able to advance in the game if you don't count on your companions. To open new stages, or unlock areas inside them you will have to collect triwizard shields. Collecting these shields is almost every time tricky for you will have to solve some puzzles that require team-work.
Also the game is provided with a system of level-up. For you to level-up, you must perform a good series of spell casting. The better the spell casting, the higher you level. Leveling-up is important in unlocking decks of cards that improve your spell casting or your vitality. Also, they raise your magic dump. If your magic dump is full, you can activate Magicus Extremos - an ability that resembles with the "quad damage" from quake. So making it last longer might prove very useful.
There are different cards in the game: character cards (which can be bought with the magic beans you collect throughout the game), monster cards (that become available after successfully defeating a specific monster) and adventure cards (which can be acquired by completing a specific mission). The progress in the game is saved automatically. You can quit a stage anytime, and all your progress will be saved (by progress I mean successful casting and collected objects). And this is a very useful thing because most of the stages need hours of playing.
Concept GoF is like his predecessors, the consequence of social phenomenon. Unlike Star Wars that provided a universe ripe with features that made possible dozens of gameplaying forms, GoF thrives on what the book and the movie has to offer. It is like a pen made to promote a product. Or - if I am permitted to say - what it is left after the cow was milked to death.
This hack and slash approach mocks the quality of the story. The design programmers worked their butts out to provide us with excellent dialogs and an inspiring movie-like story. And it is a shame that the game couldn't be much more than this. Well, I guess marketing always prevails over quality.
Video There are no video settings in the game. The graphics are neat and tidy: the spells are bright and full of color, the landscape looks like brought right from E. A. Poe's works. And the sky is blue, and the grass is green, and birds are singing the hard work of EA concept artists and graphic designers.
Still there is something amiss in this scene. The view is isometric. And it would have been fine, if it weren't for those moments when you literally do not see what the heck is going on there. The monsters can be in full action outside your line of sight, your spells can have effect outside the area you see, and there are many moments when a column or a wall covers your entire view. I bet children will be very happy to admire the full fledged polygonal architecture of a brick stuck in one of their eye-balls. Or in both of them!
Sound GoF deserves an Academy award for this. Like I said before, all that is implied by the plot is very well polished and trimmed. It has everything to keep your heart pumping up blood to your gameplay-tired brain.
Multiplayer Implementing a cooperative mode is a fantastic idea - thanks to this I've lost the opportunity to further bless this game with my indecent critics. Having your friends by will give you the opportunity to damn someone more corporal than the AI. Otherwise, if you are the father of two or three lovely children your only duty will resume to acquiring three game-pads. Be advised: four is not a lucky number!
Conclusion Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire would have make a great movie. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. The forth Harry Potter cinema performance is one of the greatest - it represents a great shift in the series, by trying a cruel and mature approach and leaving aside much of its bright and full of optimism nature (although I can't say I'll jump around with joy about it, if you get my meaning). But it is by far a lousy game for those addicted to gaming. Well, at least young parents will be happy. This may be the best Christmas present ever! And the easiest path for you to make the one you love, love you back.
