School houses and rivalries have been a consistent theme in the world of Harry Potter starting with the very first book. They’ve always served to spur and create competition, even in the real world. The fact that Wizards Unite chose not to make different house factions a means for friendly competition is both surprising and disappointing. Pokémon GO , on the other hand, allows players to choose a team to combat against other people in real life, despite Pokémon itself never having teams. This adds a fun sense of competition to the game, that Wizards Unite sorely la
This new information leaves some wondering if Wizards Unite will be more than similar to Pokémon GO . Perhaps it could be a straight-up copy. Would Niantic really be so bold as to put out the same Adventure game beginner guide with a pointy hat on it? Let’s break down what we k
This wild-western-themed map was introduced in the game when the Chains of Hate chapter was released, seeing the inclusion of the Gunslinger and the survivor Zarina. There are some opinions within the community this map is overly survivor-sided with the strong loops, such as the maze of chaining walls and the saloon, but skilled killers can easily score their
As a small studio, however, Niantic could only do so much. It made sense, then, for Pokéstops to be in the exact same locations as Ingress portals. It even used a lot of the same systems for things like spawn rates and item product
Niantic could instead monetize the equivalent of incubators from Pokémon GO and cosmetics, which they do with keys and distinct Hogwarts House robes and scarves, but keeping tabs on Spell Energy all of the time has become more and more annoying, to the point where this writer wonders what the point of it all
The holidays are now over, and 2014 is upon us, and with it comes a television premiere/return schedule even more complicated than in the fall. As old and new favorites return from break, even more old and new shows will begin to premiere, and it will be up to you to decide what to and, more importantly, what not to wa
Originating from the movie Saw, the map comes from the meat packing plant that Amanda uses as a base of operations in the third movie, including a room full of monitors, a frozen body, and bloody torture devices designed to twist unfortunate victims’ limbs. Excellently designed, with some challenging loops for survivors to zone killers, the Game stands as one of the stronger in the maps but certainly is not the strong
When developer Niantic finally launched their newest augmented reality (AR) game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite in North America last week, its opening numbers for both sales and unique installations were low. At least, in comparing them to the behemoth that was Pokémon
Here is where we face a problem in the very foundation of the game from the start. With seven books written by J.K. Rowling that built an expansive universe for Witches and Wizards, what is the core fantasy of being a Witch or a Wiz
January starts off with the highly-anticipated premiere of Community season 5, and then the world of television jumps backs in to gear as all of your favorite shows begin making their return from the holiday hia
Now in general, Wizards Unite has customization pretty much handled. However, the game is dropping the ball in one major area—your avatar. In Pokémon Go , your avatar is the only source of character customization and can take on many different looks. The avatar can be seen running across the map, the player menu, and is shown to friends. The avatar in Wizards Unite in comparison is a humanoid blob bearing the color of your chosen Hogwarts ho
The other major point of interest is the circus, including a circle of tents, typical circus music players through a crackly speaker, a trailer players can run through, and even a cardboard character cut out players can put their face in for a bit of fun. But the star of the show is Maurice , the undead three-eyes horse that has become much love among f
There are certainly times where Pokémon Go might feel a little too simplistic, but at least it’s easy to understand. That’s part of its charm: The ability to pick up the game and jump right in, fully understanding how to play and what to do. This is not the case with Wizards Unite . Upon entering the game for the first time, the player is barraged with instructions, lore, and story. Half the words they use don’t make any sense, and it gets a bit complicated a few levels into the game **** when even more rules and features are added. Sometimes a little simplicity is a good th
Niantic has a certified hit on its hands with Pokémon GO . Naysayers will cite the game’s stability problems at launch, or say cheeky things like “people still play this game?,” but no one can deny the phenomenon of that magical summer in 2016 when everyone under the age of 40 was stampeding like crazed herds of Tauros in pursuit of digital critters. Even today, the game makes more money than every other Pokémon mobile game combined. So, it makes sense that Warner Bros. handed Niantic the reins to the Wizarding World’s first AR mobile venture, Harry Potter: Wizards Uni