Dueling against your fellow Hogwarts students is another fun activity in HBP, especially in the Wii version since the Wiimote acts as a wand. No button pushing is required to cast spells such as Expelliarmus, Protego, and Stupefy. The Nunchuck Thumbstick is used to move your character. During the demo I played as Harry while another journalist played as Draco. Although Bunney didn’t show us how to execute specific moves, we were still able to battle successfully, with the Wiimote equivalent of button mashing i.e., swinging it at the TV in random directions. And yes, I beat him. Twice. Go Harry!

Although the dueling and potion segments were fun, I didn’t get to try any story-related gameplay so it’s difficult to make any further observations of this game. At the same time it’s still a movie tie-in, and we all know how they usually turn out. Speaking of which, Half-Blood Prince is set to make its debut in November to coincide with the release of the film. However, with the film delayed to July 2009, it is unclear if this will affect the game’s release date.

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