The days of awaiting a new Harry Potter book passed years ago, and now so have the days of the Harry Potter movie franchise. Harry Potter’s world remains vast despite the story’s summation, and so do the marketing opportunities. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 for the Xbox 360, the latest franchise release developed by Traveler’s Tales and published by Warner Bros, serves as a reminder of this.
LEGO games are wildly popular not only with children, but with nostalgic adults, as well. There’s something to be said for the way LEGOs feel in your hands. They snap together with a click that is the most comforting noise only after the sound of knocking over an entire tower and hearing all the pieces scatter. In digital form, however, I’m not as impressed. I’m a moderate fan of Harry Potter and LEGOs, so I didn’t have any high expectations of how the game should progress. I think it’s fair to say that the progression of the game matches the movie version quite well, and the scenery within the game paints a vivid recollection of locales. The game injects simplicity where other games in this genre opt for overly complicated. New again are the flat, painted backdrops of old JRPGs, and made old are the intricately laid out methods of combat that fall just short of using combination moves in an arcade fighter. Some games aim to create beauty and function in an effortless manner, and this is one of them.
Harry Potter is a franchise with an amazing musical score, and anything carrying its name is usually fortunate enough to also have rights to the music. This is part of what makes the LEGO Harry Potter world so appealing and welcoming. Unfortunately, the omission of vocals, while done exquisitely in series like Zelda, doesn’t fit as well here. This is primarily due to far too many little grunts and yells throughout the game. The bold, dark colors and enchanting musical score take center stage due to the omission of any truly original or inventive gameplay. That’s not to say the simplicity of the action genre is not suitable for children. I can imagine plenty of children enjoying this game immensely. For those who grew up with the series, however, and are now in their early to mid-twenties, I feel enjoying this game for more than a few hours requires a great deal of effort.
If you’re not familiar with a LEGO title, players are introduced to the licensed world and get to play as LEGO versions of their favorite characters. The characters are then whirled through the main storyline of said licensed world, tasked with missions like collecting special LEGO bricks and building things out of LEGOs by pressing and holding one button. Boss fights could be swapped out for one another, as they all follow the same mechanism. Again, enjoyable for children, but not so for adults. This is a game geared for children, so I don’t view this entirely as a criticism.
What I do find disheartening, however, is the lost potential of LEGO games in their neglect to try emulating exactly what is so engrossing about them when they’re in handheld form. LEGOs are a worshiped childhood toy because of the creativity they foster. In LEGO video games, however, the originality ends at pressing and holding a singular button. There are plenty of structures to build and destroy within the game, but they are entirely too formulaic and require too little effort on part of the player. An option to change level difficulties and allow a more hands on approach would be a great improvement to allow more fun for all ages. Also, simply more options to allow individuals to create objects from scratch and in free-play mode would be a welcome addition, in my eyes.
Multi-player mode allows the player to introduce another character to help them in their quest. The intuitive and seamless split-screen are an advanced method of allowing players to take off in their own directions. I feel this game is best experienced in multi-player, as silly actions like throwing Hogwart’s students off balconies becomes far more amusing and helps to detract from the repetitive gameplay. It’s just too bad there is still no online play after all these LEGO video games.
Overall, LEGO Harry Potter harkens back to an older style of game with its gameplay revolving around collecting objects and its artwork built by the uncomplicated refinement of primarily static backdrops. The quirks and multi-player offer great fun for youngsters, while the lost potential of creative components rings a sour note for me. Pick up this game if you love LEGO games, want some mindless collecting with a great atmosphere, or most of all, you have a kid who wants a game that is accessible and fun for them.
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