{"id":10202,"date":"2013-05-20T20:00:12","date_gmt":"2013-05-20T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=10202"},"modified":"2013-05-08T01:09:01","modified_gmt":"2013-05-07T18:09:01","slug":"bring-the-spells-of-harry-potter-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/bring-the-spells-of-harry-potter-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Bring the Spells of Harry Potter Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sony<\/p>\n

by Lori Cunningham<\/span><\/p>\n

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One of the top 10 gifts for Christmas for kids<\/a> we recommended in December was the PlayStation’s Wonderbook Book of Spells<\/a>, which is a great game to have if you have a Harry Potter in the family. \u00a0My ten-year-old daughter is a huge fan and has read all 7 of them and has watched the various movies countless times.<\/p>\n

We first reported on the Wonderbook Book of Spells for the Move motion controllers with PlayStation when we saw it debuted during the big E3 gaming conference last year. \u00a0In fact, we were so impressed, we named it as one of the Best Upcoming Family Games<\/a> from the show.<\/p>\n

Using the PlayStation 3 Move controller and a nondescript \u201cbook\u201d with no words that comes with the\u00a0Book of Spells<\/a>\u00a0game, you can interact with the game on your TV making magical things happen with the spells you are learning. In front of you, the book and Move controller are boring. \u00a0But look at your TV and instead you are holding a Harry Potter type wand and see a book full of color and vitality. \u00a0You can write with fire, conjure up dragons, and making mystical things happen. It is truly a fascinating concept. \u00a0Sony worked closely with R.K. Rowling to develop the book and all of it\u2019s spells. \u00a0Many of the these spells are the basis from which the Harry Potter movie series were based on.<\/p>\n

To play the game, you need to ensure you have the Move camera and Move controller ready. \u00a0Place the book that comes with the game in front of you and ensure you can see yourself in the Move camera which displays on the TV. \u00a0After calibrating your Move controller, you’re ready to play.<\/p>\n

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The Wonderbook itself has no real colors on it, except for blue and light blue. \u00a0Yet, when you look at the screen, it appears to be an old rustic book with a lot of dust on it. \u00a0You are instructed to dust it off with your hands and you actually see the dust fly off of it while you’re doing from the TV.<\/p>\n

\"Wonderbook\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"Wonderbook<\/p>\n

\"Wonderbook\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"Wonderbook<\/p>\n

There are five chapters in the book to learn, each of them with new spells to learn and mini-games to master your newfound skill. \u00a0Although you learn the latin-like words of each spell, the key is learning the movements of handling your wand to invoke various spells.<\/p>\n

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\"Wonderbook\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"Wonderbook<\/p>\n

To make the fire spell, you draw a Z with your wand. \u00a0To invoke water from your wand you make a wave like motion. \u00a0Want to make birds appear? \u00a0Make your wand flash a bird-like “m” and birds hover around. \u00a0To levitate items, using the “Wingardium Leviosa” spell, you simply make a J with your wand. \u00a0After you master a skill, you receive a letter telling you that you’ve mastered the spell and you earn points as a result. \u00a0It’s important to memorize the spells and their movements as you will be tested on them at the end of each chapter.<\/p>\n

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\"Wonderbook\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"Wonderbook<\/p>\n

This game is truly modeled after the likeness of a book, the book is read to you as you learn various spells. \u00a0There are also a few old-fashioned\u00a0plays available throughout the book where you can sit back and watch how a spell was originally created. \u00a0There’s even some audience participation where you can make fire or make the audience laugh, etc. \u00a0As you listen or read along the book, various 3D objects\u00a0appear\u00a0to either look at or play with, according to which spell you’re learning.<\/p>\n

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\"Wonderbook\"Wonderbook<\/p>\n

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At the end of each of the five chapters, you are given a test, which is a game where you combat mythical animals and objects. \u00a0You are required to remember the last 4-5 spells you just learned. \u00a0I thought they were going to show a list or remind me of the spell, but there were no visible clues of any kind.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, my memory isn’t the best, so I tried a number of spells before getting one right. \u00a0But the game tells you that you are invoking the wrong spell and encourages you to try again. \u00a0There is even a button you can press to get some help if you absolutely need it.<\/p>\n

I noticed that when I started learning chapter 2 spells, I was asked to invoke 1 or 2 of the spells I learned from Chapter 1. \u00a0This is helpful to ensure you don’t forget the skills you learned before.<\/p>\n

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Pros<\/strong>:<\/p>\n