Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Guilty pleasure"

Lego games are nothing new, with there being a game for the most popular Lego set series. But anyone who believes that this game is the same as the others is sorely mistaken. With classic humor and addictive game play, there are few if any reasons to pass this one over.

Overall, fans of the Lego games know the typical formula. Everything is more or less the game but with many more additions. Each of the 4 years (or movies they are based on) has only 6 missions per year, but in between these levels you must learn spells and travel to the location of each level by exploring Hogwarts itself. The design of the school is incredibly detailed, and any fan will recognize countless locales from the films. There are many more bonus levels and easter eggs here which I won't spoil and have no doubt yet to find myself.


The game play is basically no different than the other Lego games. Visuals are no different either. There have been slight modifications to the gold brick system and unlocking characters for freeplay mode. Cutscenes have classic humor, and no matter how old you are you'll probably still laugh.

This game is actually quite addictive. As of now I'm only through the first year, but there is still plenty to do. The difficulty is a bit easier than other Lego games, as there are less enemies. More of this game relies on clever puzzle solving than the brute force method of Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones. This is actually more enjoyable. There are way less cheap-deaths, but platforming miss-steps can still be quite painful, especially without camera control. Overall, this game is worth a purchase, and at the least a playthrough of the story, in all Lego humor.

Kevin VanOrd's Gamespot review is spot on. Check it out for more details. You'll be sorry if you miss out on this worthy Lego product and Harry Potter game achievement. It will grow on you!