There are some locations that instantly evoke memories of iconic movie scenes and the Old Hall at Lincoln’s Inn, London with it’s late 15th Century intricately carved wood panelling and rustic iron chandeliers is plucked straight from Harry Potter’s world so was the ideal location for EA to share their demo of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 2.

For those of you who have been living in a box underground for the past 14 years, the game and forthcoming film bring J.K. Rowlings magical series to it’s classic conclusion. She kept fans guessing for ages, how would it all end? Now, the final battle to end all battles has arrived and the fate of the wizarding world lies with Harry, Hermione and Ron squarely facing up to Lord Voldemort’s dark forces.

As the battle rages in the game, the big news is that you will get to play eight key characters each with their own unique spell/ability including Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus, Ginny, Molly and the powerful Professor McGonagall, all featuring the likeness and vocals of the famous film cast members. Whichever wizard you are, you’ll always have 2 other friends helping you along the way, telling you what to do next as you travel through some instantly recognisable locations.

The tone of the final game fits rather well with the bleak settings of the book. We started in the middle of a snowy Hogsmeade village and instantly black wisps of smoke announce the arrival of the Death Eaters. From the word go, you’re ducking behind walls and carts, locking on to enemies and firing off spells as quickly as possible. As the game progresses, you can learn new spells but initially it’s all Stupefy and Expelliarmus.

Switching between spells is easy as each spell is assigned a different button but in the heat of battle, you’ve got to have your wits about you as correct spell selection is key. The Petrificus Totalus spell makes the job much easier as you can take down the more difficult Death Eaters with one or two high impact hits – job done. Working your way through the village to safety, you can collect items that will unlock extra art work, characters and music which fans of the Potter universe will enjoy but I couldn’t help feeling that the overall hide in cover, shoot some spells, hide in cover again pacing slightly removes the threat and dark atmosphere so present in the books and films.

You get a sense very quickly of when enemies are approaching and there’s always plenty of time to duck out of the way. With a PEGI 12 rating, perhaps there are moments in the game that come across as less intense than those we’ll see on the big screen although with a variety of epic battles to play out including the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort, this interactive war of good verses evil should be the most exciting and satisfying yet.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 2 the videogame, licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will be available for Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3, Wii™, Nintendo DS and PC on 15th July 2011.