LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 Review

If you still haven't played or even seen some of the fantastic Lego games created by Traveller's Tales then you must have been living underneath a rock for a very long time. The Lego games have been a constant amusement for me over the years with the Star Wars Saga being the first to have its own Lego makeover, continuing with this craze, Indiana Jones also got bricked for our amusement. However as of late some of the latest games have seem a little flat. Lego Rock band stands out as one of the weak links in this franchise. So will Lego Harry Potter have us spellbound or will it be cheaper than a trick in a Christmas cracker?

The Story of the game follows the first four Harry Potter films and sticks to them well. With the same charm that has been executed before in all of the previous Lego games. However within the first half an hour of the game you will notice that they have added a new play style. Instead of building most of the brick puzzles by hand you will now learn spells to assemble bricks and extra pieces around the world rather than building them your self. In total there is eight different spells you can learn throughout the game. Most characters have most of the common spells but there are characters with different spells which can only unlock or help in certain puzzles.

I must admit the game itself is very long and having six episodes per year keeps you going on the storyline for a long time. However like every game its the free play which will keep you coming back for more with hidden secrets and puzzles, not all of which you will be able to do on your first run through. As well as this, once you have collected enough golden bricks which you get for completing the tasks through out the story mode chapters or for challenges around the game, you will also unlock bonus chapters to play through. In addition to the missions within the game itself there is also Hogwarts castle to explore, with its own challenges for you to over come and secrets to discover. This game will rack up quite a lot of play time if you are like me and want to complete the game 100%. With over 300 characters to unlock in this game, all from within the Harry Potter world this will keep you going to try and get them all.

The graphics and sound are beautifully done by using the musical score from all four movies perfectly to keep the look and feel of the game looking as close as you can with the original movies. The engine in use seems like the same as in the last Indiana Jones game but I suppose if its not broken don't fix it and still looks fantastic on any TV. Of course voice acting is non existent but that is just the Lego way which is made up for by over the top cut scenes which will make you laugh.

The Co-op is fun as well, keeping the same style from the last Indiana game which allows you to split off in different directions on the screen with out having a invisible bungee cord tied to both players. If in this case you do both run in different directions the screen will split diagonally giving both players enough of the screen to see.

For a non Harry Potter fan, the game has been quiet enjoyable. Unfortunately there has been a few bugs which have plagued these games that still haven't been ironed out. The first is the fact that on a number of occasions Ive been stuck behind a object and unable to jump back to where I needed to be and also random deaths of falling when I have been aiming for platforms,jumped for it, it looks like I’ve made it and then died. Also the Flying on a broom stick feels wooden, you never really feel you are in control of the broom, much like I felt when playing the first Lego Star Wars Games but these are small issues in a game which is filled full of interesting and new ideas for the Lego series and after a few people saying that it had gone stale its nice to see that they have kept the game as close to the Harry potter style while maintaining the humour and cleverness of the Lego series so far.

For a Book that has been loved by kids and adults alike, the Lego Harry Potter games must of seemed a no brainier to Traveller's Tales as this is right where the Lego series is placed. A fun game which adults and kids will enjoy and there is never any doubt that this game will keep you going for that 100% until the next one comes out to complete the set. While there is still a few bugs and issues which i would of loved to seen improved these don't shadow the overwhelming hard work that Traveller's Tales have put into this game. Even if your not a harry potter fan you know your going to love it if you loved the other Lego series.