Harry Potter titles have been notorious for very linear gameplay in a strong arcade style. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has a decent go at a more open-ended style by presenting a very convincing recreation of Hogwarts, almost in its entirety. Grimmauld Place and the Ministry of Magic both make fleeting appearances in the game as well. Gone are the passages with blocked doors and entrances; now you can enter most rooms and explore the nooks and crannies of the castle from the Slytherin dungeon to the Gryffindor tower, Hagrid's hut to the owlery, moving staircases and all.

The story follows the movie and book quite closely with you recruiting and training 'Dumbledore's Army', as well as having to fight dementors, Dolores Umbridge, the Death Eaters and of course Lord Voldemort himself. The world is also riddled with students and people you remember from the books and movies, all having either supportive comments to make or snide remarks to make, such as "Potter Stinks". Unfortunately these comments become very old very fast when you hear the same ones repeated for the hundredth time. They also remain equally unexciting to say the least.

Similarly, the non-player characters that are littered everywhere become a liability as they jam up passageways and get in the way. This gets very annoying when you are trying to complete a quest for one of the more interactive NPCs. Again, however, at least the world is populated to an extent that makes the game feel authentic. The characters are also recreated fantastically really looking the part and most are easily recognisable, and the use of well done voice acting and lip synching really helps make you feel immersed.

Similar to the problem with the above NPCs, your entourage is equally frustrating. The majority of the time Ron and Hermione will have filled up the small staircase or small space behind you, allowing you not to move back in the other direction without extreme difficulty. Occasionally I have found myself wondering if I were going to starve to death trapped up in the Gryffindor common room thanks to those two. The enemy NPCs are also no brighter and perhaps this suffices for a game like this that is so scripted, but that's just the problem. For all the attempts at making the world feel dynamic and free, it still feels quite constrained and limited.

The castle ghosts also making an appearance, with Moaning Myrtle playing an 'important role' in informing you when you have unlocked new items (developer interviews, interviews with the cast, etc.). Although when you are progressing quickly and she keeps appearing being a real pain, thankfully you can get rid of her with a button press, as with most conversations.

The quests will mainly involve going here and there collecting items, or casting spells, moving furniture, etc. There is not a huge number of them but enough to keep you satisfied for a while. The quest system can be quite confusing, too, as it is easy to forget where you had to go or what you had to complete for a said person. This is where your 'Marauder's Map' comes in handy. With the castle having been made so big, it is easy to get lost, and this is where the new navigation system comes in handy. By accessing the 'Marauder's Map' you can find people in and around Hogwarts as well as find your way to specific locations. When you select a location some footprints appear in front of you and they take you on the quickest route. These function well, and are not too intrusive making getting around relatively simple. Occasionally you will lose track of the footprints but usually you can get back on track within moments. Talking portraits also will allow you quicker access from certain points in the castle to others which makes Hogwarts all the more convincing.

The game, however, is not very long unless you really do want to collect all the achievements and collect all the discovery points, including a number of hidden items. Discovery points are what you get for discovering areas, and using magic on certain objects - for example, cleaning the dishes, or lighting candles and lanterns using the 'incendio' spell.

Several parts of Hogwarts need repairing; walls, statues and the like, and this can be done with the 'reparo' spell. Spells are cast by using the right stick of the controller to move Harry's wand arm. By rotating it in a certain way, or waggling it, you can cast the full variety of spells. You have general and combat spells to choose from which are context sensitive. The casting is relatively simple and is an enjoyable challenge and variation from the usual button pressing and there is a decent variation in spells to cast.

A few mini-games are also included however they fail to be very captivating. These are Wizard Chess; Exploding Snap and Gobstones. They are reasonably fun but could have been much more captivating. With Wizard Chess some niftier animations would have helped, ala Battle Chess. However they are a welcome addition, and hopefully will be refined in later Harry Potter releases.