GAME OF THE WEEK:12 cert, EA/Warner Bros Games, PlayStation 3 (also Xbox, PC, Wii, DS) ***

Check out that age cert! Of all the omens that promise a dark journey for young Potter, a 12 cert is perhaps the most ominous. For the few who don’t know what’s happening at this stage of the story, Harry co are looking for Voldemort’s Horcruxes (objects containing fragments of the Dark Lord’s soul).

The game is essentially a cover-based, third-person shooter ( Gears of Hogwarts, anyone?), in which you control various characters, each of who has different spells. There's a hint of exploration, but most of the entertainment is in the spell upgrades and uses. Zap away an enemies shield with one spell, for example, and stun them a moment later with another.

It’s not a bad game by any means, but it’s hard to imagine anyone but Potter devotees buying it. Thankfully it has enough attractive trimmings to please fans, including got John Williams’s lush music, Daniel Radcliffe’s ropey acting (quite at home in a videogame) and set pieces aplenty. The graphics are pretty great – well-rendered, generally nicely animated and faithful to the film – and the episodic nature of the story suits a game format well. Like the film (which, lest we forget, is the second half of a book), the game’s structure consists of brief exposition, action scene, and repeat to fade.

Inevitably, it's not as funny as Lego Harry Potter, and its running time could have been longer. Perhaps it might have been longer if it was based on an entire book? (On a side note, isn't it ironic that a franchise that encourages children to read spawned so many top-selling videogames?)

Still, Deathly Hallows: Part 2is an enjoyable, well-crafted game. Indeed, instead of a solid, action title, they could've released Harry Potter Space Invadersand it would still fly off the shelves, so pointy hats off to EA and Warners for making an effort. And add an extra star to the above rating if you're a Potter fan.