In the bespectacled student wizard's latest adventure, some mass-murdering nutter has escaped from the special wizard's prison, and the weird, wraith-like creatures that run it (Dementors) are all over the place searching for the dangerous fugitive. Harry doesn't even get back to Hogwarts before he gets into trouble, and the first scene where the Dementors search the train sets the scene perfectly. All the characters from the book are here; Harry (obviously), Hermione, Ron (and their pets Crookshanks and Scabbers), Professor Lupin, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Snape, Malfoy, Crabbe & Goyle (who you have regular battles with), as well as the titular, highly dangerous, escaped prisoner of Azkaban prison, Sirius Black (who would appear to want Harry dead).

As you go to lessons during each day you learn new spells. You'll be sent to a challenge dungeon by the teacher and have to find and earn each one. The gameplay is a mixture of platforming, lots of spell casting (you lock on to targets by holding R) and a bit of stealth. The platforming is all pretty simple stuff as Harry & Co. all jump automatically when they run off the edge of a platform, much like a certain well-known Nintendo adventure. The various spells are all vitally important to finding your way through the levels; Flipendo (knocks objects and creatures backwards), Expelliarmus (duelling spell used to disarm an opponent), Carpe Retractum (Harry can pull objects towards him, or him to them), Draconifors (Hermione can make dragon statues breathe fire), Glacius (Hermione can freeze water and put out flames), Lumos Duo (Ron can make light shine from his wand), Reparo (Hermione AGAIN, can fix damaged objects) and Expecto Patronum (Harry can use this to drive off Dementors).

There's a new co-operative element, meaning that you can switch between Harry, Hermione and Ron and use each of their talents to solve puzzles (sometimes the AI will kick in and they'll help on command). This co-operation tends to be no more than carrying objects too heavy for one, or Hermione squeezing through somewhere that the boys couldn't fit, but the teamwork element is there throughout the game and works pretty well. So with a game so focused on co-operation it seems strange they didn't bother with a 2 player mode - playing through the levels with a mate would have been fun, and it would have been an excellent way for parents to play with their kids (I mean, a LOT read the books together, don't they?), and could have turned Prisoner of Azkaban into something very special in the gaming market.

The game mirrors the darker atmosphere of the book and the movie well, and while the game is obviously never going to scare you like the Silent Hills of this world, it does have a few dramatic moments thanks to some smart graphics and atmospheric music and sound.

There is a selection of mini games: Duelling Club (three-on-three team battle with spells), Owl Racing (A choice of four owls, checkpoint race through rings right around Hogwarts) and the Hippogriff Flight Challenge (ride one of four Hippogriffs to catch 20 bats as quickly as possible). Sadly these games also don't feature any multiplayer options (although you can obviously take it in turns to see who can get the best score/time). There's also a Gallery of characters and the trailer for the movie included.