Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 – Review – Xbox 360

Story: The game follows the first four years of the Harry Potter series and it does this really well. If you’ve read the books or have seen the movies this game really presents the story pretty well and they insert the traditional Lego game humor as well. Though I do feel if you’ve never encountered the series you may be a little lost. The story is told through missions but you don’t have to do the missions one right after another like the Lego games of the past. You can explore the Hogwarts Castle or steamroll through the missions. Missions are located in specific parts of the castle and the game guides you to these areas through the use of a ghost guide. Each level follows the Harry Potter story beautifully.

Gameplay: The game plays exactly like other Lego games. The big difference is that the game feels much more open. There’s no central area where you enter missions like Lego Star Wars. You can explore the entire Hogwarts castle at points and you don’t even have to follow the direction of the game. At one point I entered into a spell training session with the game telling me to go somewhere else. In Lego Star Wars you were limited to the weapons your character had on them. In this game you learn spells that can be used to do different things in the game. Like levitate objects and put together Lego pieces. As you progress through the game and complete each year of the story you learn new spells; which allows you to explore new areas of the Castle. Your earn Lego studs while playing through the game. These studs can be used to buy cheats and playable character’s you can use in freeplay. There are a ton of hidden objects in the game you can find that add up to your total percentage completed.

Graphics: The game looks just like the past Lego games. Blocky characters and great looking environments are the norm. The game is really pleasing to the eyes and is presented very well. Walking around Hogwarts castle shows the depth of the art and how the environments were masterfully created. Each local feels different and but maintains the entire feel of the game.

Multiplayer: Just the basic offline co-op found in the Lego games of the past. I was hoping for online co-op.

Overall: This game is great and can be enjoyed by all ages. The game is really open and doesn’t feel linear at all. I can honestly say this is the best Lego themed game I’ve ever played. The story will take you about 10 hours to complete and about 20 to collect everything hidden in the game. If you like Lego Star Wars you will love this game.

Score: 8 out of 10

A Copy of this game was provided to the reviewer from the publisher for reviewing purposes

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