<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Grinding Down]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Paul]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/author/mylifecomics/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Got the itch to&nbsp;Quidditch]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="2215" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/got-the-itch-to-quidditch/ps2-quidditch-impressions/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ps2-quidditch-impressions.jpg" data-orig-size="1024,714" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="PS2 Quidditch impressions" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ps2-quidditch-impressions.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ps2-quidditch-impressions.jpg?w=1024" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2215" title="PS2 Quidditch impressions" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ps2-quidditch-impressions.jpg?w=500&#038;h=348" alt="" width="500" height="348" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ps2-quidditch-impressions.jpg?w=500&amp;h=348 500w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ps2-quidditch-impressions.jpg?w=998&amp;h=696 998w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ps2-quidditch-impressions.jpg?w=150&amp;h=105 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ps2-quidditch-impressions.jpg?w=300&amp;h=209 300w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ps2-quidditch-impressions.jpg?w=768&amp;h=536 768w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>I&#8217;m a huge <strong>Harry Potter</strong> fan, and everything from the books to the movies to the LEGO-ized videogames to the tiny, but fantastic theme parks are laced with pure joy because once I interact with them, I&#8217;m beyond content. Here&#8217;s some photographic proof too, of Tara and I enjoying some frozen butterbeer on our honeymoon, even if it&#8217;s probably overpriced:</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="2216" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/got-the-itch-to-quidditch/76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n.jpg" data-orig-size="720,540" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n.jpg?w=720" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2216" title="76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n.jpg?w=500&#038;h=375" alt="" width="500" height="375" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n.jpg?w=500&amp;h=375 500w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n.jpg?w=150&amp;h=113 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225 300w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/76795_619587864106_31500814_35172222_1231108_n.jpg 720w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>I think the world and lore and workings of the <strong>Harry Potter</strong> universe are stellar, with J.K. Rowling going the extra seventy-seven miles to make sure that everything clicked and made sense in a magical manner. She even made up her very own sport, which, contrarily to what you may believe, is not a simple task: you need rules, goals, strategy, players, teams, fields, designs, logos, tournaments, history, and so on. Quidditch is no <a href="http://www.bartel.org/calvinball/">Calvinball.</a></p>
<p>Quidditch is a mix of soccer, basketball, and football, with the most striking difference being that it&#8217;s played by witches and wizards on brooms and not on the ground. There&#8217;s a lot happening at once, with multiple balls to pay attention to: the Quaffle is a large red ball used for scoring points by tossing it through an opposing team&#8217;s hoops; Bludgers are angry, enchanted balls that Beaters hit away or at other players; and the Golden Snitch is a small, golden ball the size of a walnut that, when caught by a team&#8217;s Seeker, rewards that team with 150 points, ultimately ending the match. It&#8217;s fast-paced and anyone&#8217;s game all the way down to the Snitch.</p>
<p>And so it&#8217;s strange that, for all these years of Harry Potter&#8217;s growing popularity, there&#8217;s only been one videogame take on the magical Quidditch. I mean, what with the big push of online multiplayer and socializing these days, I find it amazing that Quidditch hasn&#8217;t been bundled in with the latest Harry Potter game as a multiplayer option. Instead, we just have <strong>Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup</strong> for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, and Game Boy Advance. Recently, as I searched high and low for <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/pabba/playstation-2-games-i-should-get-sooner-than-later/46-58461/">PS2 games to add to my collection,</a> I found the Ps2 version of <strong>Quidditch World Cup</strong> for $2.99 and said, &#8220;Bloody brilliant!&#8221; Well, no, I didn&#8217;t actually say <em>that.</em> But if Ron was with me, surely he would&#8217;ve.</p>
<p>The game&#8217;s okay. You start out doing some broom challenges, which teach you the basics of passing, shooting, stealing, catching the Snitch, and so on. Then you pick a House team, and it&#8217;s off to try to win the Hogwarts cup. I went with Ravenclaw since that&#8217;s the House I belong to, and I found beating Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor to be extremely easy. Like, they never scored a point against me. Maybe I was just really awesome at virtual broom-flying? Nah, that&#8217;s not it. After the Hogwarts cup, it&#8217;s on to the Quidditch World Cup, and I chose Japan, dueling it out with good ol&#8217; USA. The spike in difficulty was sharp, and the game was super close, ultimately coming down to whoever caught the Snitch first. Thankfully, Cho did her thing, and we won, a victory surely earned unlike those back in the Hogwarts days. After that intense match, I took a break and checked out some of the Chocolate Frog cards I unlocked throughout play.</p>
<p>If anything, <strong>Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup</strong> showed how much of a Muggle I actually am. The game taught me about the Golden Snidget, a small, golden-yellow bird previous used in Quidditch before it became deemed too cruel and unsafe for the animals. I never knew about this backstory to the wizarding sport, and in all seriousness, I just assumed Electric Arts decided to spell Snitch wrong or in a special British way. Go figure.</p>
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