Book of Spells is a title for the Wonderbook on the PlayStation 3 video game console. It is developed by SCE London Studio in conjunction with J. K. Rowling as a companion to the Harry Potter series. It was introduced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June 2012 and is the first release for the Wonderbook. It was released in the United States on 13 November, 15 November in Australia and 16 November in Europe. The game received mostly positive reviews from critics, praising the use of Augmented Reality and the Playstation Move, while criticising the game's short length. It is rated "E10+" by the ESRB for Crude Humour, an Alcohol Reference and Fantasy Violence.
The user casts spells by drawing shapes with the PlayStation Move controller, while the book itself uses augmented reality technology to appear on screen via the PlayStation Eye. The Move controller itself appears on screen as a wand, and may draw patterns on screen to launch spells. Players are allowed to interact with elements appearing on screen, such as dragons.
The game is designed to be an interpretation of learning spells at Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter universe, with the "book" itself having been written in the Harry Potter universe over 200 years ago by Miranda Goshawk. At the end of each chapter, a poem will describe a failed Hogwarts student in order to teach the user a lesson in the manner of Aesop's fables.
The game is designed to be an interpretation of learning spells at Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter universe, with the "book" itself having been written in the Harry Potter universe over 200 years ago by Miranda Goshawk. At the end of each chapter, a poem will describe a failed Hogwarts student in order to teach the user a lesson in the manner of Aesop's fables.
