Chamber of Secrets rarely focuses on the story it's based on, leading to a not-nearly-so-magical experience.
The Bad: Voice acting and music aren't from the movie; there aren't many levels straight from the book/ movie; the game often resorts to dull collection quests to stay long; the GBA connectivity's a joke; you'd be better off reading the book, as it's cheaper and more entertaining.
I'm a big fan of Harry Potter, so I was naturally very interested in a Gamecube rendition of the famous, bespectacled, literally scarred boy wizard. I certainly was entertained by the game, but there were many issues in there too that marred the experience, and made me feel that I wasn't Harry Potter, which is surely the point.
The story is, to an extent, the same as the book/ movie: Harry's back for a second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and despite warnings that the year would put him in dreadful danger, he wants to see his friends again and play some Quidditch. You'd think year one was dangerous enough, facing You-Know-Who and all. Regardless, he returns, and it turns out the warnings were correct: people are being petrified left and right, not to mention a cat and a ghost.
So Harry has to find out who's behind these strange attacks, and just what it has to do with the legendary Chamber of Secrets hidden in the school, made by the (evil) Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders. Who is this Heir of Slytherin?
I admire the developer's attempts to make a fun game out of the story, which is, admittedly, a weighty task. They made sure to keep the plot together, and made gnome throwing, sneaking through the halls of Hogwarts, throwing stink pellets, dueling, and giant spider and snake battling all playable. But to make the game a reasonable length, many additions had to be made.
The most notable of these is spell challenges, which are a teacher's way of, well, teaching you at Hogwarts. The knowledge of how to cast a spell is kept in a book somewhere, which is sensible enough, but you go through a Gladiator-like challenge to get there, battling all sorts of magical creatures. Surely this is illegal... And why don't the teachers just give you the spellbook? But I went along with it anyway, because still, they tried to make the game fun. And they succeeded... sort of.
Quidditch controls are enjoyable. Even though it's linear, as is the majority of the game, chasing down the elusive Golden Snitch is high speed and fun, as it's supposed to be. The spell challenges aren't exactly bad, but they are a tad repetitive, and you'll be spending far too much time in them. I like the effort, but not the overall execution.
The graphics are reasonably high-end, for 2002. The eyes are way too buggy, and the characters in general too cartoon-like, but there's a certain charm to them regardless. The music is pretty good, and fits the mood, but it's a shame John Williams' masterful work wasn't involved at all.
The game's reasonably long, and worth your money, especially now the game's like $10. But is it worth buying, in 2008?
Frankly, no. Not because the game is bad, but because there's so much better on the Gamecube, especially in the action-adventure exploration department. The game does rip off Zelda quite a bit, but then, you might as well take from the best, right?
You're probably only reading this anyway if you're a diehard Harry Potter fan. There aren't any more books to read, and there are three movies (movie six and a two-part movie seven) remaining. So get this game only if you absolutely must have more Harry Potter, because it's cheap. But if you're not a big Potter fan, don't bother. And even if you are a big Potter fan, it might be wiser to look at more recent Potter games that have more entertainment value to them, and more modern graphics.
Or stay home and watch Potter Puppet Pals. You'll get a good laugh, and save money.