Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Gamers will be bored by the mechanics and fans of the lore will be disappointed by the ham-fisted depiction of the series' climax. While saying goodbye to Harry in the final book was bittersweet, I felt nothing but joy as my time with this tedious exercise finished.

The game still falls far short of modern shooters, and the boss battles often fail to add new gameplay tactics to the mix. But when the game rises to the occasion - like during the battle against giants, and in a sniping section set on a bridge - it's a fine conclusion to the franchise.

A mere add-on to the previous game, short and without any improvements to the first game, even losing features like Kinect support.

The short development cycle still hurt the end product. Shooting can be fun, but it gets old when you realize that the game doesn't offer interesting level designs.

Part II has new characters and new enchantments, but overall the game falls short of all expectations.

EA's Harry Potter series unceremoniously bows out in this final game. While the previous games were also disappointments, this one sinks even lower to full-on cash-in status. What you're left with is a confused mess parading around as a barely-competent third-person shooter.

It's all just very basic and uninspiring. [Issue#75, p.78]

The shooting mechanics and levels are getting better but the encounters themselves are too repetitive. I hope someone takes the basic idea and does something more with it. The absence of basic storytelling and scene transitions make it hard to enjoy on its own.

Dull combat.

Harry Potter's latest adventure is basically a nice try to fix everything that didn't worked at Deadly Hallow's first chapter. The shooting scheme is nothing more than a waste of the original atmosphere, but nevertheless, it's still a worth-try-for-rental game if you're looking for something connected to the movies.

They made a few improvements, but overall the game falls short of all expectations.

Not a good game. It's sad that the last game to ever bear the Harry Potter name (well, until the inevitable MMO) is such a disappointment.

New characters and new enchantments aren't enough to save the second part of this sleazy tie in.

Rubbish. [Oct 2011, p.103]

Offers little variation and hardly requires strategic input, which leaves a mindless third-person shooter. The well-executed story and great looking characters make it a tad more interesting, but these elements can't hide the fact that the four-eyed magician often turns to his wands for simple and selfish needs.

The gameplay remains a weak imitation of a third-person shooter and the enemy A.I. is extremely poor. The lack of variety in the set pieces and the sheer number of dopey Death Eaters makes Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 a tedious experience, riddled with repetition.

Devotees may still play along, through fandom obligation if nothing else, but there's no spell that can change the fact that Harry Potter's videogame saga ends with a whimper rather than a bang.

There's no exclusive content, just a new way to struggle with already poor combat.

Both Deathly Hallows titles are a disappointment, and it's abundantly clear that there was never enough quality content to fill two instalments from the outset. Again, the poor collusion between a game studio and official licensing channels has produced a weak platform to support such a vibrant fantasy as Harry Potter.

Sadly we'll have to do with this for now, a bland, unimaginative shooting gallery that lacks the thing that matters most: magic.

This is not a game worth buying for anything other than the amusing oddity of having a Harry Potter-themed cover shooter. It's a short game, but it still doesn't have the variety in environments that a shooter needs to avoid becoming unacceptably repetitive.

The Harry Potter film tie-ins end on a low note with this short, tedious, and conceptually vapid cover shooter.

Rather than end with a big bang, this videogame series goes out like a damp squib. [Oct 2011, p.92]

For fans of gaming, stay well clear. Even as far as movie-tie-ins go, this title is the biggest crime to the Harry Potter franchise since Emma Watson decided looking like a public schoolboy is sexy.

Harry's last venture in the realm of videogames is plagued by a game not only very short, but boring, repetitive and quite broken.

Terrible AI, boring levels and no finesse whatsoever. Avoid this one.

Quotation forthcoming.

Harry's film tie-in career ends with an inappropriately bland third person shooter, that is severely lacking in any kind of magic.

A stripped down version of the last game, which wasn't that hot either, and removing the pointless XP system and terrible Kinect experience just makes Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 even more bare bones. Save your money, or spend it on seeing the film or reading the book as they would both offer a better experience and waste less of your valuable time and effort.