At E3 last month, I was able to spend some time playing EA’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. As I stated in my preview, I had some issues with the gameplay, but was also concerned about the use of the Cruciatus Curse as a standard attack. One of three Unforgivable Curses, the Cruciatus Curse, or Crucio, is used to torture people; if used long enough, it can make them lose consciousness, or even become permanently catatonic or insane. Like the other Unforgivable Curses, Crucio’s effects are devastating, and it is commonly used by Lord Voldemort and his followers, the evil Death Eaters. However, one person who does not commonly use Unforgivable Curses is Harry Potter, and including its use in Deathly Hallows is not only completely out of character, but goes against everything that Harry has always stood for.

(SPOILERS AHEAD!)

When Harry and his classmates are fourteen, they learn about the three Unforgivable Curses: Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse; Imperio, the Imperius Curse; and Crucio, as discussed above. The severity of these spells is not at all underestimated by Harry Potter, the only known wizard to ever survive Avada Kedavra—which is also the spell that killed both of his parents. The Cruciatus Curse also hits close to home for another Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom, whose parents were tortured into insanity by Death Eaters during the first reign of Lord Voldemort. Despite his youth, Harry understands the consequences of these actions, as his entire life has been shaped by the use of these curses.

Furthermore, Unforgivable Curses are not easy to cast. Simply saying the words and pointing the wand won’t get the job done; there has to be a lot of power, and a lot of emotion behind them. This is taught to the students during their fourth-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and later demonstrated when Harry unsuccessfully attempts to use Crucio on the vicious Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. Even after witnessing the murder of his godfather Sirius Black at the hands of Lestrange, Harry can’t muster enough emotion and hatred to effectively use Crucio on the killer, and she mocks him for it.

To be fair, Harry does use two of the three Unforgivable Curses in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but the situation is so dire that there is literally no other way for him to survive. He performs Imperio twice, both times during the Gringotts bank heist, because getting the Horcrux out of Bellatrix’s vault is absolutely essential in defeating Voldemort and the Death Eaters. He finally pulls off Crucio during the climactic Battle of Hogwarts, but then he merely uses it to cause a Death Eater to lose consciousness. Even in the outbreak of a full-blown wizarding war, Harry uses Expelliarmus (the disarming spell) more often than anything else, so much so that the Death Eaters start to call it his signature move. Harry is advised early in Deathly Hallows to use more powerful spells, but refuses to use Unforgivable Curses until absolutely necessary.

While this may seem like a silly nerd rant to those who don’t care about Harry Potter and its detailed mythology, this is actually a pretty important point of contention as far as the game is concerned. It makes absolutely no sense for Harry to be flinging Cruciatus Curses at every Death Eater in sight when there are dozens of other spells that could be used in its place. Why not the Jelly-Legs Jinx, or better yet, the Jelly-Brain jinx? These would have slowed down the victims physically or mentally without torturing or killing them. Some spells were made up for previous Harry Potter games, yet were completely in line with what one would expect from the series; why not do the same for Deathly Hallows? It’s not like there are a limited amount of spells from J.K. Rowling’s wizarding universe to choose from, and a little bit of creativity and research could really go a long way towards making Deathly Hallows a more fitting adaptation.

When asked about the controversial use of Crucio in the game, a representative for EA responded, “This question is still being discussed within the studio. Stay tuned!” If there’s still time to change that gameplay element, die-hard fans of the franchise might be more willing to give it a chance. Granted, taking out the Cruciatus Curse won’t fix the inaccurate aiming or mediocre character models, but who knows, there may still be time to improve them as well. I will indeed stay tuned, and if there’s any new information about the gameplay of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I will pass it on to you. Let Potterwatch 2010 commence!