Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (GameCube)

It was no surprise that the first Harry Potter games were a huge success, but what was unusual was that they were actually pretty good. Millions of fans will be pleased to hear that the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets game is even better.

Taking its visual and audio cues from the movies but sticking closer to the book than a two-hour film ever could, the PS2 game begins as Harry starts his second year at Hogwarts despite an ominous warning from Dobby the House Elf. At its heart Chamber of Secrets is a 3-D platform game, similar to Super Mario or Jak & Daxter, with the same basic controls being used for the majority of the game. However, the nature of the story means the game is peppered with various mini-games and side quests, including Quidditch and Wizard duels.

In between the major quests you get a chance to explore Hogwarts, which is impressively massive and filled with hidden secrets--the collecting of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans being of particular importance since they can then be traded with Ron's brother for everything from Famous Witches and Wizards Cards to upgrades for your Quidditch kit.

If the game has only one fault it's the extremely long and unusually frequent loading screens that keep popping up, and which you soon get very tired of seeing. It's not nearly enough to ruin the game though, which must go down as one of the best book/movie conversions of all time. --David Jenkins

"There's plenty of fun here for younger GameCube owners."

Ignoring Dobby the house-elf's grave warning that disaster will strike if he returns to Hogwarts, Harry embarks on his second year to find Dobby's predictions coming true. Harry soon finds himself entangled in a dark plot against his "Mudblood" classmates, as students keep turning up petrified. Could Draco Malfoy be to blame, or is something even more malevolent at work? With the help of returning friends Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, and Hedwig, Harry will attend new classes to learn second-year spells that will aid him in a quest to uncover the true identity of the "Heir of Slytherin".

Enter fantastical free-roaming 3D environments from Harry's world, becoming Harry Potter and delving not only into his world but also into his personality, via an internal "voice". Conversing with unique characters like Moaning Myrtle, shopping in Diagon Alley, and exploring the convoluted corridors of Hogwarts, you'll make crucial and independent decisions within Harry's world. Additionally, Harry can, of course, cast spells against foes--but these spells must be perfectly executed, or they could be miscast with humorous or critical consequences! Mini-games within levels can be revisited, so players can help Mrs. Weasley with "de-gnoming" her garden, challenge other students in Professor Lockhart's Duelling Club, or complete other mini-games again and again.

Using a Link Cable, players of The Chamber of Secrets on Game Boy Advance can hook into the GameCube version, transferring maps, magical items and secret spells.

Be Harry Potter in a new adventure with more magic, friendship and danger. Learn new spells, undertake new quests, make new friends and challenge new adversaries to confront the powers at the heart of the Chamber of Secrets. Do you dare take the chance that you might face You-Know-Who again? Harry's second year at Hogwarts begins in November 2002.