It’s a fair bet that the majority of people my age were given a Paul Daniels magic kit at some point during their childhood. I’m sure we can all imagine faffing about with beakers of varying size to magically make a small amount of milk seemingly disappear, only to get rumbled by your older brother when he noticed it leaking out the side of a secret compartment you thought you’d properly closed, or getting awkward smiles out of watching parents and grandparents when you attempted to do that rubbish bendy wand illusion that you could have done with a slightly less magical pencil. I’d say they were good times, but I’d be lying.

Whilst memories of the above probably scarred the brains of thousands and convinced most that magic isn’t all that swell, let me tell you right now that this is not the case. You see, Harry Potter’s latest PSP game is a perfect example of magic being a cool thing indeed, and not only due to the spectacle-wearing hero’s adventures through the game. No, the real magicians at work here are a development team who’ve crammed a movie tie-in onto a much-maligned platform and actually done a decent job.

Order of the Phoenix is the fifth Potter book from the gold-lined pen of rich-and-hence-attractive JK Rowling, and concentrates on some dark goings-on at Hogwarts School. The game itself follows the events of the book and recently released film, beginning with Harry being hauled before a disciplinary board for casting magic underage whilst trying to save himself and his cousin from some nasty beasties.

The game itself plays out rather like it were Grand Theft Potter, with Harry being tasked with travelling around Hogwarts completing missions and picking up the odd bonus side quest and mini game here and there. Early happenings see you being taught some basic spells that are fundamental to your progression through the game, primarily allowing Harry to fling items out the way, repair them and cause them to levitate. Along the way Harry learns new spells that lend themselves to objectives at the time. Casting magic is as simple a matter as tapping the R button and pressing whichever sequence you require (all of which are listed on the pause menu, helpfully), and although the targeting system is a little tricky to get the hang of and is occasionally a little unwieldy it all works pretty well.

There are a few things that don’t work quite as well, one of which is the save system which requires you to complete a mission before being given the option to save. The missions themselves are for the majority a good size for portable gaming, but having to complete one to save what could be hours of exploration is a little bit of a bind. Other than that there’s a slight issue with the on-screen text going a bit too quick for the voice acting, which occasionally throws you off the conversation thread a little. Still, the main meat of the game is rather compulsive, so these faults aren’t as crucial at they could have been.

Hence, you’ll find yourself pottering (budum-tish!) around Hogwarts, meeting characters and helping them in various ways whilst progressing through the storyline, which on its own will take you a good while to polish off. The school itself is absolutely huge and based upon all the scraps of information that EA could gather regarding its layout, which makes the inclusion of the Marauder’s Map a godsend. Rather than have you flit between the 40+ areas based on your memory of where it all fits together, opening your map and choosing a destination will see a path of footprints that will guide you to your chosen objective. It’s a great feature and it takes what could have been an incredibly frustrating situation of bumbling around like a lost fool and solves it perfectly.

Another main positive is that the world of Hogwarts looks fantastic on the PSP, with the whole school packed full of the kinds of paintings and odd architecture that you’d expect it to. Compared to the home console versions things were obviously going to have to be toned down a little and the PSP version does see a reduction in the number of students dotted around as well as camera angle limitations, but compared to other titles on the PSP, Order of the Phoenix certainly ticks the boxes graphically.

It all sews together to make a great title for Potter fans. There’s an epic musical score, voice acting from the cast of the films and a great deal of missions and side quests to battle through. If the Harry Potter universe isn’t your bag of chips then it’s unlikely that Order of the Phoenix will do much to change your mind and there are the odd annoyances, but as a faithful representation of JK Rowling’s vision and an example of a title doing a good job with the hardware running it, fans will have plenty here to keep them more than happy.