Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be more than a feature film release this fall, as EA unveiled the same-named video game is in development and will be released later this year to coincide with film based on J.K. Rowling’s sixth Harry Potter book.
Although the game will ship for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PS2, PC and Macintosh, EA is most excited about the Wii version. Apparently, the game is being designed in large part to focus on the Wii’s motion-sensitive control scheme — a logical fit, for a game about wizards waving magic wands.
In the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game, players will return to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. They will also have a chance to engage in 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 toward a dramatic climax and discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince.
In the movie 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, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, 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. Tragedy lies ahead, and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
EA’s latest Harry Potter game is in development by EA Bright Light Studio, the same team that created the previous Harry Potter games.
