HARRY POTTER GAME WON'T CAST ITS SPELL ON ALL FANS.

Byline: REDMOND CAROLIPIO

>LA.COM 

Attention, Harry Potter fans: For about $60, you can take a virtual tour of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

You'll also cast a few spells while you're there. That sums up my time with "Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix," a mostly sluggish gaming experience that drowns itself in its own sense of the Hogwarts mystique.

If you're familiar with the books and movies at all, then you know the game's plot. With the Dark Lord stepping up his hunt for Harry, it's up to Harry, his friends and a select few students at Hogwarts to teach themselves the right magic for self-defense. Of course, you assume the role of Harry.

In terms of general pacing and gameplay, this title sort of reminds me of "Bully." No, you're not running around and punching people or stuffing them in lockers, but you are in a massive school that serves as your personal playground. You'll be asked to participate in tasks and missions all over the grounds, using a variety of spells ranging from levitation to stunning opponents.

Hogwarts is the visual star of the game. Every landmark in the school -- from the Owlery to the Room of Requirement to Dumbledore's office -- sports an exquisite attention to detail, even to the way the light pours into the main hall.

Spellcasting is handled with the right thumbstick (or remote for the Wii version), and "waving" your wand in various ways grants you the power to cast magic.

Here's the problem: Hogwarts is too big for the game's good. You'll certainly get an eyeful of everything the school has to offer, but it's because you're forced to endlessly wander from one end of the school to the other.

Sure, there are a few secret passages along the way, but not enough to justify spending an eternity running back to the Room of Requirement just to practice a few spells before running back to the Owlery. No matter how beautiful the backgrounds were, I ended up getting sick of seeing so much of them.

This is where the "Bully" comparison ends -- "Bully" was extremely adept at breaking up the monotony of travel. You could go to class, break up some fights and make your own trouble in a variety of entertaining side missions. You could grab a skateboard or bike and zoom all over campus.

But at Hogwarts, you're on foot, and you'll be stuck in a lot of seemingly mundane busywork. You'll be doing stuff like trying to find talking gargoyles or getting someone's book off a rooftop. You'll have to gather each of your friends -- 28 of them -- to meet for magic lessons. Which means more walking around.

Much of the time, the only way to add spice to the wandering was casting spells and attempting to unlock little secrets around the castle. That could be fun for diehard fans or young/casual players, but it's not necessarily for hard-core gamers (unless they want the Xbox achievements).

There are some pretty good gameplay sequences. For instance, the aforementioned book/rooftop mission features a nice blend of spellcasting and "Tomb Raider"-esque wall climbing, representing the first real change-of-pace mission in the game. However, those instances of small brilliance get bogged down by a lot of the dull moments.

If you're a diehard Harry fan, you'll probably enjoy an odyssey through Hogwarts. But if you're one of those gamers looking for a little more magic -- you might be better off with the book.

Redmond Carolipio, [phone],

[e-mail]

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX - Two stars

E10 for Everyone 10 and older

For multiple platforms.