With every movie release these days comes a videogame adaptation designed to do one or more of three things. Most try to simply cash in on the success of the film, some attempt to cater to the kids coming home from the cinema who want to relive the movie, and a small amount attempt to actually be a decent game. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes aspects of all three and is consequently a difficult game to judge. Is this adventure a worthwhile purchase for fans of the books and the film alike, or could this be one of the few truly great licensed games?

Sadly, Half-Blood Prince would be nothing without its licence and therefore cannot be classed as an exceptional game in its own right. With that said, the use of the licence here is well implemented and while there are obvious hiccups, such as some dodgy voice acting from sound-alikes of the film cast, more often than not you'll enjoy listening to the original actors, accompanied by the original score. In fact, the audio is one of the first signs of the licence, with the familiar orchestral themes occurring often enough to please any Potter nut while also lending the game a welcome sense of familiarity.

As was the case with the last title, Half-Blood Prince is an open world game of sorts. You can explore the whole of Hogwarts as you please throughout the adventure, and the faithful representation of the school is one of the game's strongest aspects. Walking up and down the Grand Staircase (with different sections shifting as you do so), you really feel as though you're in Hogwarts, with every painting and ornament having the same homely (and yet magical) feel. The map is near identical to that seen in the films and key scenes frequently spring to mind as you explore areas such as the Transfiguration Courtyard and the long road to the Quidditch pitch. Even obvious videogame elements have a Hogwarts touch, with the requisite objective-following mechanic being neatly incorporated through the use of Nearly Headless Nick, the most well known of the ghosts that reside in the school [At least with the absence of Peeves the poltergeist in the films! Potty Ed].

It's a shame then that, save for a set of hidden Hogwarts crests to collect and the odd extension to the main story missions, there is very little to do outside the linear campaign. When compared to the open world nature of the previous outing, Order of the Phoenix, this is disappointing. That's not to say this is necessarily a weaker game however, as the focus of Half-Blood Prince makes for a much more authentic Harry Potter experience, but a little more incentive to venture off the beaten track would have been preferable, especially given that Hogwarts and its grounds are so well realised and authentic.

The main portion of the game (which follows a ham-fisted version of the book's plot) sees you taking part in a limited number of activities. Unlike some tie-in games, where the gameplay may vary considerably, , you repeatedly play only three different game types until the meagre five hours it takes to complete the game are over.

The first of these is potion brewing, which takes the simple exercise found in prior games and turns it into a fantastic mini-game that makes great use of the Wii's motion controls. In all three activities, the Wiimote becomes your wand; in potion brewing you cast Wingardium Leviosa over your various ingredients to raise them into the air and pour them into your cauldron like you would if you were cooking (although in real life you probably don't use a cauldron!). This simple mechanic is responsive and at times makes you feel like you're actually pouring to create a magical concoction. Accuracy is vital though, as you are given a target colour each time you add an ingredient to your brew; pour in too much and smoke rises from the cauldron, which must be wafted away with your nunchuk. Things can get pretty hectic, too; you're up against the clock and with perfect ingredient additions increasing the time limit, actions such as boiling (shaking both controllers up and down), stirring and shaking ingredients prior to pouring are all the more vital. I had more fun with the potion brewing in Half-Blood Prince than with any other aspect of a Harry Potter game before, and this may well be enough to help you forgive the faults of the other two activities.

Of the remaining gameplay elements, the most frustrating (and unfortunately most frequent) is wand duelling. It begins well enough with a couple of spells being activated by specific Wiimote gestures, but once multiple spells are activated in an extremely similar way, it becomes very frustrating. There is a great combo-based combat mechanic hidden under the aimless waggling, so it's unfortunate that casting Stupefy (the most basic spell) in conjunction with Expelliarmus is all you need to win every duel in the game. However, when you learn the Levicorpus spell, which is performed in a near identical motion to Expelliarmus, this tactic becomes frustrating, as it's all too easy to cast the wrong spell and the constant need to duel as you progress through the story make it that bit more irritating.

The overly simple Quidditch sections are equally disappointing. Here you simply point at the screen and your character, whether that is Harry or his love interest Ginny, moves in the corresponding direction. Your control is limited at best, as the characters move on-rails the entire time, resulting in a simple flying mechanic that, while fun at first, is far too easy to have the same sense of progression that's found in potion brewing and isn't as enjoyable in the long run either.

While the core gameplay basically boils down to three mini-games, only one of which is really enjoyable, at least Hogwarts looks and sounds authentic for the most part; in fact, the lack of processing power does little to impact the visuals on offer, other than a few harsh textures and rough edges. It seems like the Wii version was the lead product, as the PS3 and 360 versions look surprisingly last gen. The main graphical flaw comes with the game engine cut scenes, where completely static character models recite badly written dialogue; these contrast greatly with the plot development cut scenes, which feature well choreographed camera movements and animations taken straight from the movie.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is certainly prince-like in terms of its presentation but pretty half-arsed when to comes to the gameplay experience. Just wandering around, exploring Hogwarts and its surroundings is wonderfully atmospheric, and the potions brewing game is the most fun I've had with my Wii so far this year, but the other two activities are simplistic and manage to become repetitive despite the almost criminally short lifespan of the game, while the story is hard to follow even if you've seen the film and read the book. It's a backwards step from the superior Order of the Phoenix and especially disappointing given the extra development time after the delay of the film's release; there's only one more chance to create the Harry Potter game we've all been waiting for (or perhaps two, given that Deathly Hallows is set to be a two-part movie) so we just have to hope that EA take the best of what has come before to conjure up something truly magical.

Reviewed by Sam Atkins for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).