I have grown up in the Harry Potter phenomenon, I read the books, cover to cover and I watched the films sat on the edge of my seat. I have even played some of the games that came about in the wake of the films, although I never really got into them they just weren’t hands on enough for my liking. I wanted to be part of the game, I wanted to be the one casting the spells and learning the ways of the wizarding world.
PlayStation must have heard my childhood cries, and now even though Harry Potter is all grown up with children of his own, J.K Rowling has written a new chapter, and in this chapter we are introduced to The Wonderbook – Book of Spells.
The
Wonderbook – Book of Spells is an interactive book that transports you into the wizarding world, where you embark on your own personal journey to becoming an accomplished witch or wizard. With your wand in hand you learn spells and encounter dangerous dragons on your journey through the magical spell book written by Miranda GoShawk, that you discover while having a nosey in the restricted section of Hogwarts library.
I was invited along to the launch of the Wonderbook a few weeks ago, a day that was promised to be full of fun for the entire family. And it truly was an event that I won’t be forgetting in a hurry. PlayStation went all out and put on a magical shebang for everyone in attendance, from the fire beacons lighting up the purple carpet at the entrance hall, to the dragon taking flight in the hallway.
The event was held at the Freemasons Hal which is a grand old building in it’s self. It was very easy to imagine Harry, Ron and Hermione running around. There was a fair old crowd gathering outside the entrance and many whispers as to what was going on inside past the flaming beacons. We didn’t have to wait long to find out, we were soon greeted by a wizard. A wizard who hates children. He spun his words at everyone, picking out the odd few children to personally make squirm, some of them laughed, others cried. Leo…well he wasn’t flustered at all.
Inside the great hall the magic continued, the dragon hanging above my head was taking flight and we were soon face to face with a real life owl. In true Harry Potter style of course! Leo was so fascinated by the owl, as were Luke and I. He could contort his head all the way around to face us even without moving the rest of his body. There was of course a notice saying ‘do not touch the owl’ as owl’s do tend to have a little nip, so what does Leo try to do? You guessed it…Leo tried to touch him on multiple occasions.
The magic continued upstairs where we met more witches and wizards who helped us guess their tricky riddles; I don’t think the wine I was sipping helped me with this however!
As we progressed up the levels to ultimately have a first play with the Wonderbook, we came across a fantastic traditional sweet shop, where they were giving away complementary, sweets and cakes. They had absolutely everything you could imagine, and as I was deciding what I would like to try, Leo took ample opportunity to pick up a pure sugar mouse and stick it in his mouth. The man did question whether I was happy to let him eat it…But by the time I had realised…That poor mouse was a goner. May he rest in peace.
It was now time to have a play with the Wonderbook it’s self, sitting ourselves comfortably on the floor we picked up the magical wand and opened up the book. The PlayStation Eye camera was fixed upon us and there we were on the television screen.
In front of me on the floor was the Wonderbook, it looked empty and lifeless but on the screen it was a completely different story. The Wonderbook was full of writing, illustrations and magic. The book was guiding us through the levitation spell and Luke was making a glass pot float past our heads.
It is truly a fantastic bit of kit and is set to be a big hit this Christmas, the game was released on November 13th 2012 so if you, like me are a big Harry Potter fan and want to get swept away into the wizarding world, I highly recommend giving the Wonderbook a play.
You will be absolutely amazed by the move controller turning into a real wand and you probably won’t be able to believe your eyes.
PlayStation put on a fantastic launch for The Wonderbook and I would just like to say thank you for having us along. We all had a fabulous time and even got to take the magic home with us in the form of our very own Wonderbook.
I will be posting a full review very soon on this new interactive book of spells and I look forwarding to sharing the magic with you all.
Disclaimer: I was invited along to the Wonderbook launch event, my travel costs were paid and I was provided with a Wonderbook for review purposes. However all views and opinions expressed are completely honest and my own.
