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

Infobox VG| title = Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone


developer = KnowWonder (PC)
Warthog (GC, Xbox, PS2)
Griptonite (GBA, GBC)
Argonaut (PS)
publisher = Electronic Arts
designer =
engine = Unreal engine
platforms = PC (Windows), Mac (Mac OS 9), GBC, GBA, PS, Xbox, GameCube, PS2
released = November 2001 (PC, PS, GBA, GBC)
9 December 2003 (GC, Xbox, PS2)
genre = Third-Person Action Adventure
modes = Single player
ratings = ESRB: E
OFLC: G
media = CD-ROM
requirements =
input =

"Harry Potter Philoso pher's Stone" (known as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the United States) is the name of five distinct video games. The first four versions were released in 2001 by Electronic Arts for the PC, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and the Sony PlayStation. The PC version was ported to the Mac by Aspyr in 2002. Another version, for Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Xbox, was released in 2003. The game is based on J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", the first novel in the Harry Potter series. Most reviews for the games were rather negative due to the simple game play making them only suitable for a younger audience, with the exception of the PlayStation 2 version, which is slightly more challenging.

Overview

Playable characters

Harry Potter, the protagonist and only playable character, is a member of the house of Gryffindor. He has quite a lot of spoken dialog except in the PlayStation version and computer version, in which he is almost silent.

Non-playable characters

Students:
Hermione Granger sometimes helps Harry find his classes.
Ron Weasley also leads Harry to his classes sometimes.
Fred and George Weasley are Ron's twin brothers. Known for their mischief-making capabilities, they teach Harry the basic actions of climbing and jumping in the beginning of the game. They also trade Bertie Bott's Every-Flavoured Beans for Chocolate Frog Wizard cards during the course of the game. Neville Longbottom occasionally appears to both help and hinder Harry.

Draco Malfoy is Harry's archrival. Malfoy is usually seen with his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

Teachers:
Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts. Dumbledore gives Harry some useful advice during the game.
Quirinus Quirrell is the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Professor Quirrell is controlled by Lord Voldemort.
Minerva McGonagall is the Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House.
Rolanda Hooch is the Flying teacher.
Severus Snape is the Potions teacher and Head of Slytherin House. Professor Snape tends to favour students in his own House.
Filius Flitwick is the Charms teacher and Head of Ravenclaw House.
Pomona Sprout is the Herbology teacher and Head of Hufflepuff House.

Others:
Rubeus Hagrid is a friendly half-giant usually found in his cabin on the grounds.
Lord Voldemort, also known as the Dark Lord, is the most evil person in the game. Harry has to defeat him at the end of the game.
Peeves is a poltergeist that enjoys making chaos around Hogwarts. If Harry runs into him, Peeves will cause trouble for him until Harry has got rid of him.
Argus Filch is the caretaker of Hogwarts and a somewhat nasty piece of work. He is a squib, which means he cannot perform magic, but he is always patrolling the corridors and the library for mischievous students with his cat Mrs Norris.
Madam Pince is the librarian, and can be seen patrolling the library during the daytime, making sure no books are harmed.
Nearly Headless Nick appears in the PlayStation version usually as part of a tutorial or mini game.

Plot

Harry Potter, an orphaned eleven-year-old boy living with his uncaring, neglectful and magic fearing (they already had prior knowledge that Harry was a wizard) aunt and uncle, learns that he is a wizard and leaves to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Over the course of the year, he learns the spells that will help him defeat the most evil dark wizard in the world, Lord Voldemort.

Reception

*In the Xbox, Gamecube, and PS2 versions of the game, Norbert is not mentioned nor does he make an appearance.

*In the Xbox, Gamecube, and PS2 versions of the game, despite claiming that old challenges can be revisited for more completion, doing so does not award additional completion points even, and so it is impossible to gain more than 84% completion.

= External links =