LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7

Developer: Traveller's Tales
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Release Date: November 18, 2011
Platform(s): X360, PS3, PC, PSP, DS, 3DS, WII, VITA (tba)
Genre: Action Adventure

 

Harry and his strange friends aren’t impervious to being scaled down and turned into blocks, only to be scaled back up into an unnaturally bendy universe. Say what you will, but in my day, Lego didn’t bend and shift shape and on that alone the Lego-themed games are a bit lesser in appeal. Though, I suppose it’s harder to create a decent world by using your imagination, but that’s what developers should strive for, right? Atari games look more like Lego games than the actual games do. Now, on to the point: Harry Potter Lego is back to complete the saga, just like the books before it and recently, the movies as well.

 

It's Harry Potter AND it's Lego; there's no way it's going to look hardcore.

 

Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 continues the epic tale from ‘The Boy Who Lived’ and relives adventures in the same way as before. Completely drowned into the Lego mindset, the wizardry universe is filled with building blocks, constructions; even right down to animals and the people themselves. It’s a bright and cheerful world, even in muted scenes, due to its recognizable squared shapes and added lighting effects. By using the power of imagination, magic and engineering, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermine Herman Heroin Hermoine Hermione solve puzzles, build new things and save the world.

Gameplay is set around casting spells, breaking stuff, then reassembling it into new things or trying to solve simple puzzles. On their way, our heroes will collect tons of Lego cash and can search for special unlocks by completing additional puzzles. Though the game tries to aid by telling you which spells do what, the spell circle doesn’t actually state what spell that is, leaving a bit of confusion to the whole. Sure, fans of the series won’t have any issue with it, but Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 certainly isn’t the right time to drop into the lore.

 

 

Once figured out, gameplay unfolds simply enough: Find the appropriate spell, cast it, use your minions on certain sections, build stuff, get paid and so on. As an addition, the game also follows up on different story lines, with different characters, such as in flashbacks. This gives some additional depth and breaks away from the main story pacing. Also possibly its greatest feature; the game is playable with multiple people seamlessly and there’s nothing better than playing with Lego together. It’s also a way to get around faster, as some puzzles will require specific characters to complete. And besides the main story, there is also the inevitable Free Play, because what would Lego be without mucking about?

 

 

Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 looks like it will be more of the same, rounded out and amplified to complete the epic tale. It’s still as colorful and cheery as ever, with some darker undertones to underline the severity of Voldemort’s threat and final showdown. There might be slight accessibility issues to overcome, but it looks like it will once again be a simple, good clean fun title to look forward to. The game will release on just about any platform available today and is set for an 18 November 2011 date in Europe. Abra cadavra!

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)