Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup - Xbox

In the run-up to the most wonderful, magical time of the year (ahem!) it is no surprise to see another Harry Potter title coming through the mist and murk of winter. Yep, Christmas is coming, and Harry’s gone all sporty on us! Magic!

Quidditch is a fast-paced – and this is where the magical bit comes in – broomstick-based game. It’s a sport that’s been enjoyed by witches and wizards since its eleventh century beginnings on Queerditch Marsh.

Quidditch can be described as a cross between the non-magical sports of football and basketball, combined with the speed and manoeuvring skills found in ice hockey. Quidditch contains all the excitement, teamwork and individual flair of those sports, but it’s played exclusively in the air – and on broomsticks!

If you’ve seen the Harry Potter films, then most of the following will make some sense to you. If you’re a Potter virgin, and a copy of Quidditch World Cup has found its way to you - as if by magic, of course – then pay attention, ‘cos we’re going to try and describe how to play the game. Firstly, your team is comprised of seven players – Chasers, Beaters, a Seeker and a Keeper, and Quidditch is played with four balls, including the Quaffle, the Bludger, and the winged Golden Snitch. This latter ball is the key to winning a game of Quidditch – catch the elusive Golden Snitch, and the match is won. Of course, scoring points with the other types of balls is another path to victory. The Quaffle is used by both team’s Chasers to score by way of firing it through the opposition’s hoops at the end of the oval playing area. Your Chasers will have an easier time of things if your Beaters are on top form. Beaters are the members of your team that prevent the Bludgers impeding your Chasers’ progress. A Bludger will not discriminate; it means to do harm, and will fly headlong at you. All you have to do to deter it is give it a whack and keep it away from your Chasers.

Players learn the basics with five original challenges and the Hogwarts House Cup competition. Once completed, players can enter the international World Cup tournament, choosing from a range of international teams including the USA, the hard-hitting Nordics, England, Japan, Germany, France, and Australia. Each national team sports its own Quidditch uniform, has a unique stadium environment, and different strengths that lend depth and strategy.

Quidditch World Cup is guaranteed to find an audience – albeit a young one – with its novel twist on team-based, goal-scoring action. That and the fact that it has the Harry Potter prefix attached… more