Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (GameCube)

It's also more straightforward than you'd think. Much thought has clearly gone into providing a gentle learning curve, and picking up the basics of the game is supremely easy. It's helped, of course, by having familiar faces from the Harry Potter world all along the way, guiding you through what you need to know.

The ultimate aim is to walk away with the prize of the game's title, but first there's the small matter of the Hogwart's tournament to win. You align yourself with one of the four houses, and seek to win that before you can move on to the international stages. And that promptly gets you into the heart of the action.

The gameplay, as you'd expect, is frantic and exciting, and while it's not going to keep the older gamer occupied for too long, its target audience is clearly going to be in its element. To keep things going that bit longer, you can earn Quidditch cards as you progress. These are rewards given to you along the way, and can unlock fresh elements of the game. With plenty to collect, it's an added feature that helps prolong the game's lifespan.

Quidditch World Cup is a game with obvious appeal to the many legions of Harry Potter fans. Fortunately for parents the world over, thanks to entertaining gameplay and its faithfulness to the source material, it's not going to disappoint them. --Simon Brew

The magical sport of Quidditch is an exciting and challenging game involving two teams of seven players who fly on broomsticks, four balls in simultaneous play (one Quaffle, two Bludgers, and the elusive Golden Snitch), and a unique scoring system. In Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup, players can control all the Quidditch positions and high-flying moves, scoring with Chasers, defending with Beaters and the Keeper, and trying to capture the Snitch with the Seeker. Gamers can choose any one of the four Hogwarts House teams (including Harry Potter's Gryffindor and Draco Malfoy's Slytherin) to triumph in the Hogwarts Cup, gaining an opportunity to attend the Quidditch World Cup.

In the international World Cup tournament, players can choose to play for professional teams, which include the USA, Bulgaria (featuring Victor Krum), the hard-hitting Nordics, England, Japan, France, Germany, and Australia. Sporting their own Quidditch uniforms and unique stadium environment, each nation has different strengths and tactics that lend strategy and depth as players progress through a unique ladder system.