Alright, it’s time to change gears a little bit. I’ve been covering games that even adults enjoy. But what about those that are appropriate mainly and solely for children? Well, Sony has just released its very first game that uses the Wonderbook called Book of Spells. The idea behind this Wonderbook is to include an additional degree of innovation and functionality to the Playstation Move. Couple that with J.K. Rowling’s creativity and storytelling from Book of Spells and you have yourself a magical duo.
Fans of Harry Potter will then be able to perform various activities as a wizard or witch with magical and fantasy objects flying all about. This provides a lot of interaction for the kids to engage in while they immerse themselves in this magical world. The whole idea behind Book of Spells is that you participate as a student as you learn to cast old as well as new spells with the Move controller serving as the wand and the Wonderbook serving as the spell book.
Both the graphics and audio are pretty decent for this type of game as you get both a pleasing and uplifting experience that’s appropriate and stimulating for the children. The Wonderbook itself consists of pages of codes which the Playstation Eye Camera will interpret and form images on the screen in an Augmented Reality sort of fashion. As a result, the wand and spell book actually appear and move according to the motions you make. There are also some interesting effects you get to witness. For instance, while wiping your book clean, there’ll be dust that floats about.
Throughout this experience, the player will be engaged in a few moments that function as mini games. There may be plants coming to attack your spell book in which case you’ll need to shoo them off with your wand. Or you may end up in a darkened room thereby forcing you to use your wand to provide light. You will also be going through lessons and casting spells. This not only involves moving your Move controller accordingly but also speaking out the spells so that the microphone on the Playstation Eye picks it up. Therefore, this adds some authenticity to the world of magic. Unfortunately, Book of Spells is meant to be participated by only one player. So if you want to get a friend involved with the fantasy, you’re out of luck.
In terms of the functionality of the controls themselves, the Playstation Eye accurately detects your movement and translates this on screen. This turns out really well as there’s hardly any moments of lag or distortion. However, the sound detection is a bit too generous. Although the directions may tell you to say a certain word while casting a spell, you could actually shout any gibberish and you’ll still get away with it.
Book of Spells consists of five chapters each divided into two parts. Within each of these parts, there are three spells to master. When you reach the conclusion of the particular chapter you’re in, you’ll have to take a test which will evaluate you on spell casting abilities as well as the amount of control you have over them. Afterwards, you’ll be awarded house points based on your performance from the test.
Despite the amount of innovation that Wonderbook has added to the Playstation 3, the game itself offers enjoyment that has a short life span. Getting through the whole Book of Spells experience takes a matter of approximately five hours, which is also good news to those of you who are aiming to get a Platinum trophy. You may also come across some annoying situations like the pages turning longer than they should be or the gaming freezing during transitions.
The introduction of the Wonderbook is a nice touch to the Playstation 3 that aims to expand the Move capabilities. Do note that the Book of Spells is meant to be enjoyed by children. Adults may get some moments of satisfaction with this. But even so, the amount of entertainment will be short-lived. And once you complete the experience to the end, there’s very little incentive to replay the whole thing. Nonetheless, if you have children who are fans of Harry Potter, you will bring a smile to their faces with this ambitious Playstation 3 title.
