Wonderbook: Book of Spells Review | EuroGamer

EuroGamer: "On a surface level at least, Book of Spells has a lot going for it. Superb production values, witty writing, spirited voiceovers and stirring music all make for an inviting introduction to an idea bursting with potential. Add in some clever and mostly reliable technology and you've got something that should be far more enjoyable and inspiring than it actually is. Sadly, torn between a character license it can't fully use and an experimental format of vague structure and uncertain purpose, Wonderbook's magic spell grows weaker over time, rather than building to a fantastical crescendo."

[b_one]

heh clearly they dont have kids or cant see different markets than hardcore.

[MrDead]

Yup, EuroGamer obviously has no clue who this product is aimed at.

[b_one]

same thing goes with most of Move games...

[DarkTower805]

Thats the problem, how do grown men/women review something that's meant for a child? It would be better if they got a group of kids together (sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, etc) and review the kids' experience with it.

[zebramocha]

@B_one nice try troll,iwaggle3d show various ps move that range from core to casual.

[harrisk954]

I agree that many times reviews tend to not consider the target audience. I also am not a fan of Eurogamer's often unfairly harsh reviews. However, in this review, the reviewer does state the following:

"It makes it difficult to gauge who, exactly, Wonderbook's target audience is. Harry Potter fans tend to skew older, around 8 and up, yet the slightly condescending tone of the text feels more suited to a much younger audience. For the sake of a little anecdotal evidence, my two kids, aged six and 10, each a bright and eager reader with the eldest a casual fan of the Potter books and films, both grew restless after less than one chapter and showed little interest in coming back to it later."

So, he did give the game to his kids, who he says didn't like it. I think that my son (9 years old), who is a big Harry Potter fan and wants this game, will enjoy this, but based upon the foregoing statement, that does give me pause. Plus, the experience does not sound very deep or have a lot of replay value (the book is only 12 pages). Of course, there will be other titles released for Wonderbook, so this may be a non-issue, depending on how much future installments will cost. It is only $40 to get this if you already own the Move, but if each future book is $20 to $30, the cost of ownership will escalate rapidly.

Anyway, didn't mean to write such a long post or look like I am defending Eurogamer (I'm not). But, I am going to wait to see what other reviewers have to say and see if the cost drops over the next month or so before I invest in this.

[MrDead]

@harrisk954

This is the only poor review so far. Have a look at the others.

http://n4g.com/channel/wond...

http://www.wired.com/geekda...

The tester from Wired said his kids loved it and you can see how his kids interact with it unlike the EuroGamer's

[dafegamer]

hell even gamespot gave the game an 8 out of 10

[majiebeast]

Its eurogamer was anyone expecting a positive review from them.

[abzdine]

retarded reviewer. it seems like the game was dead on arrival when i read the review.

"it's not an FPS it's obviously garbage"... What a world we are living in !

[IRetrouk]

The reviewer could be right in the points he has made but it still hasnt stopped my son for asking for it for christmas. I think for kids this is gonna be a hell of an experiance