Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2003 video game)

Did You Know?

• The player controls Harry Potter from a third-person perspective.
• The game was criticised for reusing assets from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Plot

A giant named Rubeus Hagrid leaves the orphaned Harry Potter on the doorstep of his cruel relatives, the Dursleys, after Harry's parents were killed by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. Harry grows up with the Dursleys for a decade, completely unaware that he is a wizard and famous in the magical world as the only person to survive Voldemort's attack. Then a letter arrives, inviting him to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he learns the truth about himself. He buys his school supplies in Diagon Alley and boards the Hogwarts Express from platform 9 and three-quarters. At Hogwarts, the new students are divided into four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Harry begs the Sorting Hat, a talking hat, not to put him in Slytherin, which is known for darker witches and wizards including Voldemort, and the Hat places him in Gryffindor. There he befriends Ron Weasley, a boy from a large but poor pure-blood family, and Hermione Granger, a witch whose parents are non-magical Muggles. Harry starts his magical education and learns more about his past. After catching a remembrall on a broomstick for his classmate Neville Longbottom, he becomes the seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Harry, Ron, and Hermione come to believe that Professor Snape is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, a magical item that grants eternal life, and they decide to stop him. They face several guardians: a three-headed dog, a dangerous plant, a flying key to catch, a giant game of chess, and a puzzle involving the right potion to pass through magical fire. Harry expects to confront Snape but instead finds Professor Quirrell, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Quirrell unwraps his turban, revealing Voldemort living on the back of his head. Harry grabs the stone, and touching him burns Quirrell's skin. Harry collapses from the struggle. He wakes up in the hospital wing with Headmaster Dumbledore, who tells him the stone has been destroyed but that this won't stop Voldemort from trying to return. Dumbledore adds that if their battles only slow Voldemort down, he might never come back.

Development

Rumors of a new Philosopher's Stone game for sixth-generation consoles surfaced in June 2003. The following month, EA confirmed it was making a GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox version, using the engine from the 2002 Chamber of Secrets game. Warthog Games handled development, aiming to address issues like long loading times from the previous title. Character and location designs resemble those in Chamber of Secrets and earlier console versions, now rendered in full 3D.

Reception

The PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox versions received mixed reviews from critics, according to Metacritic. The GameCube version scored an average of 62 out of 100, the PlayStation 2 version 56 out of 100, and the Xbox version 59 out of 100. Worth Playing described the voice acting as probably the game's best aural aspect, with actors delivering lines in a believable and fitting style. IGN found the voice dialogue well acted and very crisp. GamePro said the game was more interactive and enjoyable than the PlayStation version. Computer and Video Games commented that Hogwarts was a curiously flat experience, not helped by a chronically jerky frame rate. X-Play said the camera angles were the worst offender, a maddening and uncooperative system. Soundtrack Geek's Jon Blough identified Jeremy Soule's music as too short, adding that the menacing and relaxing cues failed to provide anything definitive. GameZone observed that the tasks and quests were not as compelling as in Chamber of Secrets, and the puzzles seemed a little lacking. In Japan, Famitsu gave the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions a score of all four sixes for a total of 24 out of 40. Both versions received multiple nominations; the sixth generation versions were nominated for a Golden Joystick Award in 2003 for MTV Film Adaptation of the Year but lost to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.