I spent the better part of the past two weekends cursing Harry Potter.
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 was released for most major systems at the end of June. The game couldn’t be a bigger hit for Harry Potter fans and LEGO gamers as it has sold about 456,000 games worldwide according to http://hub.vgchartz.com/.
While I appreciate the homage the game pays to the Potter legacy, I grew aggravated with the challenges the game offered. Below is a list of why you should love and hate LEGO Harry Potter.
LOVED:
1) The game designers did their homework by sticking with the plot line of the books and borrowing visuals from the movies.
2) Traveller’s Tales, developers of every LEGO game since LEGO Star Wars, have stepped up their game as play is more interactive. Gone are the levels where you have to collect 10 mini-kits, one power brick and select characters.
3) There are five different ways to play: Story, Free Play, Hogwarts, Bonus levels, Diagon/Knockturn Alley.
4) There are about a lot of playable characters.
5) This is the best LEGO game to start playing if you’re new to the gaming phenomenon as it offers more challenges than their typical game. If you are a Harry Potter fan, this is the game to play to feel like you are a part of the wizarding world without having to travel down to Orlando.
6) This is the first game to use a split screen, allowing two players to roam independently. Previous games forced players to stay close and share a screen.
HATED:
1) You need to nerd out for 14 hours straight each day to beat the whole game.
2) New additions are a blessing and a curse. And yes, there is a lot of cursing, especially in the flying car vs. spider level. Unless you can control your vocal outbursts of aggravation, do not play this game with children. Also, I suggest muting Moaning Myrtle and the mandrakes.
3) You, like Neville, can get lost very easily in Hogwarts as there is no map or ghost to help guide you through the rooms.
4) There are too many characters and character versions. Half the time you can’t even figure out which character you are playing.
5) Glitches galore roam the halls of Hogwarts, including a gold brick indicator in the restricted section a room that disappears after free play.
6) There is an inconsistency with the split screen as with some rooms you can break free from your counterpart, like Diagon Alley, but others where you have to stick together, like the Leaky Cauldron.