The Lego series of games is pretty awesome, I’ll be honest. They manage to mix up a wonderful children’s brand with some of the best films made, creating an environment fit for everyone of all ages, and then essentially making the original film a lot funnier without the means of any dialogue, apart from some mumbling. And now a new film series is getting the Lego treatment. But is Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 looking any good?

Well first off, the gameplay has taken some major changes. Since you’re in a world of fantasy and magic, you now have numerous different spells to be using in order to solve the puzzles of the world. On show in the demo were spells Wingardium Leviosa, which allows you to levitate certain objects, and brings in a whole new puzzle of stacking blocks to make a set of stairs. The other was Lumos, which seems to just be used for fighting “Devil’s Snare” and making the environment slightly brighter. I can’t help but feel that these new spells take away from the experience of playing a Lego game, which have always been fun to play due to their simplicity and ease of access, whereas now you have to mix and match different spells to complete tasks. Call me unintelligent, but I preferred the original Lego Star Wars, which was combat heavy and with simple puzzles, perfect for everyone of any age.

There are some choices of gameplay that I pick fault with too. The block-stacking puzzle that requires levitation is a tad tricky, as sometimes the Lego blocks don’t click together, and that can lead to all kinds of catastrophe when the blocks start going crazy. It looks like characters are sometimes unlocked within the levels now by finding their specific studs, which means exploration will be even more necessary to 100% this. And just as a geeky side point, since when could Hagrid use magic? He’s a half-giant!

Anyway. Graphically this game is no different to any of the other Lego games, which is no bad thing I guess, and I suppose it must be hard to improve the graphics of an already established brand. You can’t make Lego bricks look prettier, no matter how hi-def you get. Still, the graphics work and are pretty decent, and it’s always moderately funny to see the slight shoddiness of Lego bricks in a video game.

Voice acting is totally non-existent, so it’s difficult to comment on, but the soundtrack is all correct and present, making it feel like you’re in a Harry Potter adventure, but not getting too loud so as not to intrude. The sound effects have plenty of whooshing and booming to make everything that bit more magical, and are bound to keep the youngsters happy.

And yet, while it’s all advancements on gameplay and sticking with the tried-and-true graphics and sounds, I found it exceptionally hard to like Lego Harry Potter. Again, maybe it’s because of the over-complication of the controls and puzzles, but maybe it’s because the Lego series of games is turning into yet another franchise that’s being whored within an inch of it’s life. Fair does to them; it’s a wonderful moneymaker and if it makes you cash, why not do it? But at the same time, there’s something not altogether wholesome about it.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 hits shelves June 29th.

Any thoughts of your own on the game? Let us know in the comments!