This game was given to my by a friend for my new-to-me PS3 after my Xbox broke (by which I mean I spilled wine all over my Xbox. I'm cool like that. Don't drink and game, people. Or if you do, have your console somewhere the alcohol won't reach ('cause who am I kidding, I will continue to drink and game)).
This game is clearly designed to be enjoyable for children, so there is no disclaimer before we get started on the review. Okay, here we go!
Character Design
Omigosh this is so cute. It's Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and Snape, and Hagrid, and the TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!), but as lego pieces.
This game is clearly designed to be enjoyable for children, so there is no disclaimer before we get started on the review. Okay, here we go!
Character Design
Omigosh this is so cute. It's Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and Snape, and Hagrid, and the TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!), but as lego pieces.
Look at the cute. LOOK. AT. IT.
There really isn't too much to say about it. It's adorable, as I'm sure it's meant to be. The animations are appropriately Lego-ish, and even managed some individualisation between characters.
Hagrid's gait, for example, cracked me up so much. It looked like the skip of a little girl who is excited to be going to town to visit her favourite aunt.
I cannot comment on the voice acting, there was so little of it. Words were never uttered, it was more grunts and growls. Still, it all got the point across. If characters where angry or upset, it was easy to tell without the use of actual speech.
Game Play
This game was fun, but not that challenging. It shouldn't have been, really, considering that this game was intended to be playable for the very young. The puzzles were barely puzzling (and really just consisted of blowing up everything around you that can be blown up), as the game pretty much holds your hand the entire way. Again, I can't really complain about this because of the audience age bracket.
I really enjoyed being able to switch between characters to solve certain puzzles. This game would be stupid fun to play co-op with someone.
There was plenty of story, of course, though none of it was particularly surprising. It's not an original, after all. There were some very cute changes to some of the story, however, no doubt to make it a little less dark than the actual story. You don't want to terrify the young kids who are playing, after all, and the tone of the game as a whole is very cutesy. Staying strickly true to the events would probably mess up the overall tone of the game.
I do have a small gripe, however. The levels are all designed in such a way as to permit the player to go back through them once they've finished the playthrough to go pick up anything they missed. That said, it's almost impossible to go about exploring as each level, if played on free play mode, doesn't permit the player to explore as much. I would have loved the option of exploring Hogwarts and surrounds when all is said and done they way I was permitted to run around The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Ally (and Nocturn Ally).
I couldn't do that in this game, or, at least, I couldn't figure out how to do it in the game as a free play.
Hagrid's gait, for example, cracked me up so much. It looked like the skip of a little girl who is excited to be going to town to visit her favourite aunt.
I cannot comment on the voice acting, there was so little of it. Words were never uttered, it was more grunts and growls. Still, it all got the point across. If characters where angry or upset, it was easy to tell without the use of actual speech.
Game Play
This game was fun, but not that challenging. It shouldn't have been, really, considering that this game was intended to be playable for the very young. The puzzles were barely puzzling (and really just consisted of blowing up everything around you that can be blown up), as the game pretty much holds your hand the entire way. Again, I can't really complain about this because of the audience age bracket.
I really enjoyed being able to switch between characters to solve certain puzzles. This game would be stupid fun to play co-op with someone.
There was plenty of story, of course, though none of it was particularly surprising. It's not an original, after all. There were some very cute changes to some of the story, however, no doubt to make it a little less dark than the actual story. You don't want to terrify the young kids who are playing, after all, and the tone of the game as a whole is very cutesy. Staying strickly true to the events would probably mess up the overall tone of the game.
I do have a small gripe, however. The levels are all designed in such a way as to permit the player to go back through them once they've finished the playthrough to go pick up anything they missed. That said, it's almost impossible to go about exploring as each level, if played on free play mode, doesn't permit the player to explore as much. I would have loved the option of exploring Hogwarts and surrounds when all is said and done they way I was permitted to run around The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Ally (and Nocturn Ally).
I couldn't do that in this game, or, at least, I couldn't figure out how to do it in the game as a free play.
Who wouldn't want to be given free reign to run around this place? Hell, I want to do that in real life!
Music
In an unsurprising move, the music for the game was pulled straight from the movies. At first, it filld me with nostalgia, and made me want to pop on the films with some popcorn and wine. It became a little annoying after a while, before fading to the background and having little impact at all.
Final Boss
This installment of the Lego Harry Potter games ends, unsurprisingly, with the fist confrontation betweeen Voldermort and Harry in the graveyeard following the Tri-Wizard Tournament. As a final boss, he's not that difficult, especially since (in the free play, at least), your companion character keeps zapping the deatheaters that show up.
In truth, I found the demontor boss much more challenging, particularly since your companion did jack all when the other demontors showed up, and there were many more steps to take to get the boss' health down.
Ending
... Is not really the ending. It is only years 1 - 4, after all. There's more to the story. Still, it's considerably still a lighter ending than either the films or the books at the end of the fourth year.
If you've read the books or watched the film, none of it will come as a surprise.
Overall Impression
This game was very cute, not that challenging (if a little frustrating. Repeating the levels to get all the things is a little meh), but still very fun.
If you're looking for a distraction that'll put a smile on your face, this is a great option. I had a lot of fun... except when the cat tried to jump all over me while I was playing, which resulted in a lot of unnecessary dying... Damned cats.
Have you played this? What did you think of it?
In an unsurprising move, the music for the game was pulled straight from the movies. At first, it filld me with nostalgia, and made me want to pop on the films with some popcorn and wine. It became a little annoying after a while, before fading to the background and having little impact at all.
Final Boss
This installment of the Lego Harry Potter games ends, unsurprisingly, with the fist confrontation betweeen Voldermort and Harry in the graveyeard following the Tri-Wizard Tournament. As a final boss, he's not that difficult, especially since (in the free play, at least), your companion character keeps zapping the deatheaters that show up.
In truth, I found the demontor boss much more challenging, particularly since your companion did jack all when the other demontors showed up, and there were many more steps to take to get the boss' health down.
Ending
... Is not really the ending. It is only years 1 - 4, after all. There's more to the story. Still, it's considerably still a lighter ending than either the films or the books at the end of the fourth year.
If you've read the books or watched the film, none of it will come as a surprise.
Overall Impression
This game was very cute, not that challenging (if a little frustrating. Repeating the levels to get all the things is a little meh), but still very fun.
If you're looking for a distraction that'll put a smile on your face, this is a great option. I had a lot of fun... except when the cat tried to jump all over me while I was playing, which resulted in a lot of unnecessary dying... Damned cats.
Have you played this? What did you think of it?
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