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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 8, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Dark themes handled with a light touch in this 6th game.

In this game kids can:   battle others, become a hero, improve hand-eye coordination, live vicariously, play multiplayer games, solve puzzles

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

  • Ease of play:

    This game is fun but very easy to play. It is set up so that kids and casual players will experience success. While you may have to retry a potion, or play a Quidditch sequence again to win, you will never lose or have to restart a level -- you just keep replaying a section until you win. And if you are struggling through a section, the game adjusts to become easier.
  • Messages:

    The game teaches kids about the importance of doing the right thing even though you might be putting yourself in peril. Dumbledore's actions show this theme, as do Harry's.
  • Role models:

    Harry, Ron, and Hermione are great role models about being good friends. Harry, Dumbledore, and others all make sacrafices for the greater good.

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    The fantasy violence is represented as magic spells cast from a wand. The spells can knock you down, suspend you upside down in midair, and freeze or stuns you. You will witness a spell that appears to kill a main character. On one scene you will have to cast magic to keep scary undead characters from crawling out of lake toward you.
  • Sex:

    There is a kiss shown between Harry and Ginny. You will hear talk about "snogging" (kissing) and "getting lucky."
  • Language:

    There is an occasional use of "hell."

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was written by Jinny Gudmundsen

Parents need to know that this visually-exciting action adventure game is based on the movie and book of the same name. While the themes in J.K. Rowling's sixth book in the Harry Potter series are darker and more mature than those in the earlier books, this video game does not focus that much on those themes. While kids will fight the Death Eaters at the end of the game, those fights don't seem that frightening because they have been practicing dueling with other kids at Hogwarts throughout the game. Kids will see Harry being kissed. And while the video cutscenes at the end of the game show a main character being hit with a magic spell that causes him to go over the edge of the Astronomy Tower, it happens quickly and then the story moves on.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about why all things Harry Potter are so popular?
  • How can game creators suck you into the game? Is it by presenting an emotionally charged story line? Or do they hook you by presenting fun activities to do. What happened here?
  • Is this game different from the book? From the movie? In what way?
Did this review help you decide?

OK for Your Kids to Play?

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More on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

What’s the Story?

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE is the sixth Harry Potter game produced by Electronic Arts. This time around, Electronic Arts provides kids with the ability to openly explore a beautifully rendered Hogwarts castle and grounds. The retelling of the story of J.K. Rowling's sixth Harry Potter book is shown through video cutscenes that are triggered by the accomplishment of various tasks. As Harry, you will attend class, help others, practice making potions, go to Quidditch practice and play in matches, and practice dueling. The game culminates with your fighting some Death Eaters. Throughout your castle explorations, you will find Crests to collect which unlock new and bonus content, including the ability to duel with a friend.

Is It Any Good?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a good game for kids and casual gamers who are fans of Harry Potter. Because it is an easy game and relatively short (about 8-10 hours in the story mode), it is not a good fit for video game enthusiasts. Because the story is compacted, it might not make sense to those who have not read the source book or seen the movie on which it is based. It is not as deep as previous games; in this one you will basically be brewing potions, dueling using magic, and flying during Quidditch.

What the game does well is provide realistic animations of all of the actors from the movie – you can even see emotion on the characters' faces. And many of the actors have lent their voice talents to the game including Rupert Grint as Ron and Bonnie Wright as Ginny. The wizard dueling is easier than in earlier games because the controls are more responsive (especially on the Wii) and you can now move Harry while he is casting magic spells. Likewise, the navigation is easier because you always have an option of calling up Nearly Headless Nick (a ghost) to lead you through the castle. We also found that flying on a broomstick had improved from previous games.

Publisher’s Details

Developer: Electronic Arts
Released on: 6/30/2009, Price: $29-$50, not online enabled
ESRB Rating: E10+ for Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    I rate this title on for age 9 and give it 3.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Easy to play

    Good short game for children

    Great game but it took me 2-5hours to complete so its quite short! (also if you read my review of tekken 6 the bit about the women i didnt mean)

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in South Carolina
    I rate this title on for age 10 and give it 3.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages
    • Good role models
    • Easy to play

    Good Game; though, Short, However.

    This is a good game, but it is way too short. I suppose they put those clubs on there make it a longer game; however, I do not know.

  3. I rate this title on for age 9 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Easy to play

    Nine and older

    I played this with my sister, who was nine at the time, on the wii. It was fun to play, but we were often stuck on one task for hours on end. The inferi are scary for really little kids, but should not be to anyone over eight. The only problem was that it was only one player.

  4. I rate this title iffy for age 9 and give it 3.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Negative role models
    • My highlights are:
    • Easy to play

    ok game

    i got this game for my b day and it was not the best game ever but it was pritty good. kids under 8 wont really understand the game and plus the game is inaproprete for there age. but if your child is 9 this is a good game for them to play with some iffy content. if your child is older than that then this game is ON for them.

  5. Adult Reviewer
    I rate this title iffy for age 15 and give it 3.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Good role models
    • Easy to play

    its a good game if you are trying to get them all

    I liked this game there was some stuff in it that could have been twecked i like the dolling the only thing i didn't like about this game was the story stops just like the movie dose

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