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Review: Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4
Posted by Natalie Sit on July 3rd, 2010 View Comments
The original Lego Star Wars games were completed in my household–I mean, completed like 100%-done-every-brick-in-the-game-found completed. There was something magical about combining Star Wars, Lego, and finding every collectible in the game. And after those games, there wasn’t a new franchise that really captured my interest. Either the franchise didn’t lend itself to the format (Indiana Jones) or the gamplay felt derivative of earlier games (Batman). But now we have Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, no doubt to be followed by Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7, and then the inevitable combo pack. And I have to say, I was looking forward to this game because the world of Harry Potter seems perfect for a Lego game. Lots of action, spells that are practically force powers, and beloved characters to collect.
So does the game cast a magical spell over this video-game loving Muggle?
The Story
The stories in the game hew very closely to the movies. In fact, many of the shots from the cutscenes are taken right from the movies (just now in Lego form). Remember the end of Prisoner of Azkaban? Harry’s riding on his new Firebolt and the film ends with a freeze frame on his face filled with joy. Exact same shot in Lego Harry Potter. Perhaps cheesy and cheap? It’s also a sign that the development team wasn’t able to add much more to the game. Many of the gags are straight from movies, albeit a bit Lego-ier. It’s disappointing Traveller’s Tales wasn’t given leeway to put their own spin on the story like they did with Star Wars. It could be Warner Bros. wanted to ensure the world they envisioned for Harry and co. is portrayed the same no matter the location: movie, video game, or theme park.
And if you aren’t familiar with the movies or the books, you’ll be confused on the storylines. The cutscenes give the barest outline of the plot, while missing total aspects of the story. Playing this game with my husband (who’s even read the books and seen the movies), I had to fill him in on the details.
But are we really here for story when it’s the gameplay we’re interested in?
Cornish Blue Pixies, deadliest of all the Blue Pixies
The Gameplay
Yeah, there’s the storylines you can follow but the real gameplay highlight is exploring the world of Harry Potter. You can stroll down Diagon Alley, Knockturn Lane and Gringotts, but the best is Hogwarts itself. All house rooms, classrooms, the surrounding grounds can all be explored. And I like that Traveller’s Tales realize that players will want to explore amidst the storyline and have included Nearly Headless Nick as a guide. You can follow him or his trail of ghostly studs (which are worth 1000 if you find and buy the red brick upgrade that allows you to collect them) to the entrance of the next part of the story. It’s a great way to acknowledge that players will want to explore Hogwarts and not punish them for stepping off the quest path.
Lego Harry Potter retains the same game mechanics as the previous Lego games. Collect studs, solve puzzles, and fulfill an completist’s dreams by finding every damn house crest and character. One new feature is the use of spells. You cycle through the spells using the top shoulder buttons. Each spell has a job to do but each one can blow stuff up real good. The spells are pretty much Jedi powers in disguise. I did like that you could “build” small Lego structure using Wingardium Leviosa.
Lift with your wand, not your back
However, the spell targeting is rubbish. It’s especially apparent with the Dementors. You have to be quick with Expecto Patronum to dispell them lest they suck your soul but when pressing B (or triangle) to trigger the spell; more often than not, my spell would target some unknown target offscreen. It’s annoying and makes the wizards look like they’re bumbling fools.
The split screen is back from Lego Indiana Jones 2 and it makes the co-op play less of an argument trigger between friends. But sometimes I found the split screen wasn’t working great. It’s especially noticeable when one character is going to the extreme edges of an environment, like a player floating really high on a broom. The game tries to provide perspective for both players but ends up cutting off too much viewing area. However, the split is an acceptable alternative to yelling at your partner to come back to where you are. I predict fewer people will be yelling “Get the hell over here” the world over.
There’s also more collectibles within rooms. Things like: light all five lanterns and some gold brick appears. It’s fine if you’re playing on your own and can futz around all you want. But if you’re playing with someone else–especially if they’re not a completist–they can easily dash into another room and you’ll have half-finished mini-quests like that all over Hogwarts.
They game also involves 10 puzzle levels for you to solve. And like Indy 2, you get to build your own levels.
Oddly, the gameplay improves as the game progresses, much like the movies. I found years 1 and 2 repetitive while years 3 and 4 were blast dealing with werewolves and dragons.
The Graphics
Every aspect of Harry’s magical world is lovingly recreated in Lego form. However, the trouble comes when Harry has to venture out of the well-lit areas and into dark nature.
Expecto patronum! EXPECTO PATRONUM!
I didn’t realize how much action of the earlier books takes place in dark places: caves, underground snake dens, shacks. And wow, it is dark. I had to jack the in-game brightness to the max just so I could see where to go next and what I should do.
The Lego look works best when it’s in an environment that can be recreated easily with blocks. So a place like Gringotts looks like it’s an animated version of the Lego playset while the Chamber of Secrets looks out of place with its rock walls and floors.
The Downsides
I think we’ve reached the endpoint of Lego aesthetics. Due to the limitations on the minifigs, it’s impossible to accurately recreate most of the characters. While this isn’t a problem in any of the previous Lego games since everyone’s hair or clothing is very iconic, it’s a major problem for Harry Potter. For example, the torso on the minifig doesn’t allow for skinny, fat, or tall body types. So Neville looks the same as Crabbe who looks the same as the tall Weasley Twins. And coupled with the fact that the majority of the characters wear school uniforms, it’s often impossible to tell the human characters apart.
That's not a rat, it's Peter Pettigrew! Get him!
I know that Harry, Hermione, and Ron come with a bunch of outfits to make them unique but it’s not enough to compensate for the fact that part of the charm in a Lego game for me is collecting my favourite unique character. But it’s definitely diminished when the characters look the same.
Another problem is the bugginess. Most of my experience with the Lego games has been crash-free but with Lego Harry Potter, it crashed twice and extremely frustrating bugs occurred. I had to collect a record–kids go ask your parents what that is–from an island to play on a gramophone. Unfortunately, I missed a lily pad and ended up in the pond. Normally, the record I was holding would respawn at the normal position allowing me to start again but it didn’t. All I could do was restart the level, erasing all the progress I made. This was not my only experience like this while playing through the game. Not fun.
The Bottom Line
I think this is the last of the Lego games I’ll play. The over-repeated procedure of collect studs, blow up stuff, build stuff, and solve puzzles is made only enjoyable by the world of Harry Potter. If this was any other franchise in Lego form, I’d leave the game on the shelf.
Traveller’s Tales has done a good job of creating the atmosphere of Harry Potter. The fact that we get to explore all of the hidden places in Hogwarts is a ton of fun. I’d just wished they’d been more creative in their interpretation of the events in the books and movies instead of copying directly from the movies.
The Good
Lots of rooms to explore in Hogwarts
Using Nearly Headless Nick to guide players from plot point to plot point
Co-op play is still fun and aided with the split screen
Collect and collect ’til the cows come homeThe Bad
Glitchiness in game could have used a Reparo spell or two
Lego representation of characters doesn’t lend itself to people’s unique features
Same game mechanics are boring after the seventh Lego gameblog comments powered by Disqus-
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