Harry Potter Related Product Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for GameCube

For anyone who reads and keeps up with the Harry Potter craze, it's only natural to want to experience it at it's most real and from the comfort of your own house.

Gamers can experience life at Hogwarts and the magical beyond as they play through various sequences taken right from the book itself.

You start off on the Hogwarts Express running after Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers which leads to dueling with Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. As the spells are casted back and fourth, if hit by a casted spell you may find your head momentarily turned into a pumpkin.

From there, you end up watching the surroundings grow cold as Harry Potter faints and you're now playing Ron Weasley, your duty being to pull Harry to safety.

As the game continues on the trio finds themselves back at Hogwarts as they go from class to class, given special tests and obstacles to pass to learn new playable spells to defeat their enemies.

All throughout the game play, story scenes cut through at random, telling of Sirius Black and his escaping from Azkaban and rumors of him coming for Harry Potter.

As you play out the story itself, switching between members of the trio, different obstacles call for different trio members while each one has a few of the same spells able for casting but they also have specific individual spells which is why during game play you'll need to pay attention to who can do what and what one may not be able to do, another will be able to.

While you're playing out the story that isn't included in a cut scene, you can also collect Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans to trade to Fred and George Weasley for special items. You can also sneak about the school checking bookcases and various other places for items such as Bertie Bott's Beans, Dung Bombs and Potions to help you when you need them most.

Eventually the game leads to you finding out the truth of Sirius Black being innocent, Scabbers real identity being that of Petter Pettigrew and how Professor Remus Lupin who doubles as a werewolf all fit into the storyline.