Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets X-Box Price: $49.99 See More Product Details

Even though they were clearly aimed at children, the first Harry Potter games nevertheless managed to be quite good--an extraordinary feat considering that film-license games are usually awful. For this second crack at the gaming wand Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for X-Box moves to next-generation consoles too, and, from the two-level demo we played, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is looking even better than 2001's efforts.

Looking and playing similarly to Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda, the first level of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" has you zapping gnomes with a stun spell and ejecting them from the garden they're roaming around in. Although simple in gameplay terms, this first little section allows you to get used to the pleasingly intuitive and flexible controls. A subsequent level is based on more traditional action set pieces, with you as Harry Potter jumping about on platforms, avoiding elves, and using a magic spell to chop down ropes. It’s a real surprise to see a game this high profile, which would easily have sold a million if it’d been a blank disc with the Harry Potter logo, being made with such care and imagination. In fact, so good does it look so far that the old lie about nonfans of the movie/book being able to enjoy it might actually be true. --David Jenkins