Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 Review

Posted by Jereme Puik at 8:13pm on July 4th, 2010

Traveller’s Tales has been in industry for years and when they discovered you could bring LEGO adventures to console systems, it was a gold mind idea. They debuted with Lego Star Wars and since then have created many Lego games based off of different popular series. Some of which included Batman and Indiana Jones and most recently their next project, of Harry Potter. Here, Traveller’s Tales brings us Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4. The game details the events of the first four books of the series as it’s presented in the films with references from the books as well. Read more below as we take an in-depth look into what makes this an adventure.

From the very first moment and the very first cut scene, the game manages to capture the charm and quality of the series as seen in the past Lego titles. If you know the story behind the Harry Potter books then you should have no trouble keeping up with the many references in the game. The game is full of quality gameplay, enjoyable visuals, a lot of charm and humor. The tried and tested formula of the game shines through especially in the choice to use expression sounds in stead of actual dialogue. If you’ve seen the films, characters will be easily recognizable as well. What made Lego Star Wars so fun was the ability to build things using the Force. The Force was that touch of magic that actually made sense. It was something that you felt was missing out of Lego Indiana Jones and Batman because it didn’t fit right without it.

Unfortunately to keep in line with the story, you start off with very limited powers. However, remember that you’re going to school to take lessons and these aren’t the lessons that force you to write notes and study for tests at the end of the week. These lessons will take you beyond the books to help you learn new abilities and spells to progress through the story. They aren’t difficult to learn and are still fun to do. You’ll be building everything from a staircase out of Lego bricks too a witches pot for potions. Of course, being a product based on an official license there isn’t room for being creative. It’s still nice to see that Traveller’s Tales has managed to be creative with the level design. The level design is still accurate to its influence and also being easy to navigate through. Not everything is perfect and like me, you’ll still find yourself getting lost as you progress.

There are plenty of creative puzzles and collectible items you can find throughout the world if you get tired of the story missions. You can take a simple stroll through Diagon Alley without entering back into story mode. There are plenty of shops and side missions that’ll give you Lego bricks to collect so you can purchase playable characters and spells. There is no multiplayer, so don’t expect to be blowing each other up with death spells. Everything Traveller’s Tales has done to keep true to the Harry Potter experience is incredibly intuitive from riding broomsticks to casting spells and more. Developers certainly haven’t lost their step when it comes to creating a world out of Lego.

With every Lego title adds the addition of co-op play and it becomes a vital part of the game. Unfortunately the co-op play stops at 2 players and a third person is not allowed to join in, though that still doesn’t take away all of the fun. The drop in/drop out gameplay works as well as it has since the mechanic first appeared in Lego Indiana Jones 2. It is up to the users how you set up the option. The game also has four different save slots so that means the whole family can get in on the action without interrupting another players experience. Lego Harry Potter is certainly without a doubt the best Lego game to date. It has everything you could ask for in a Lego title and has brought back the magic missing from the past two releases especially since Lego Batman.

Verdict: A great family-oriented title with a lot of charm and charisma and humor. Not to be missed for Lego fans, gamers and Harry Potter fans alike. Traveller’s Tales has once again managed to capture everything about the world of Harry Potter in Lego form. The only question that should be in your mind at this point is which series will they tackle next?

LEGO | Reviews | Xbox 360

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