Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have been waiting for this game to come out for what seems like forever. I'm a huge Harry Potter addict and I've also enjoyed some of the different Lego video games. I had some quality issues with the other Lego games (like Batman "falling" into the side of a building and crashing my game)but overall felt I more than got my money's worth in terms of play value.
So how's Harry? Well. OK. If I was 6 I might say pretty good. I wish I could say "Stupdendous!" but, alas, I cannot. I'm playing this game concurrently with my kids playing the Wii version and boy is there a big difference. Not a direct port, feels more stripped down than any other Lego DS game to me.
Graphically, of course, this is the DS. However I'm a tad bit disappointed with the boxy pixelated graphics that we got. Maybe this is all we can get but I've seen some other games that have really pushed the DS limits. Lego HP does not. It's just boxy all around in terms of the cut scenes. The humor is still there but there are times you cannot really see it through the graphics. The ingame graphics are pretty good - the colors appear muted at times (especially compared to watching the Wii version) but overall mostly satisfy.
Game play wise it is like most of the other Lego games. Run around collecting studs and blast everything in sight. However you do not jump on things or push things like you do in the other games unless it specifically sets up for you to do so and then you are told and shown what to do. So the free exploration of the levels is very stripped down from previous Lego games. There are also some control issues. First I do have to say that the touch screen blue sparklies at the end of the wand are cool. Nice touch. You use your wand to blast things but sometimes the touch screen is just slightly off. You end up switching characters or using a different spell then you intended. All in all the touch screen controls are just a little wonky - it doesn't always track right and your level of control is not what it could be. It's not game breaking but I think adults (like myself) will end up with the buttons for a lot of movement. They just work better and allow more precision control. Some of this is typical for the touch screen and is why I generally prefer the buttons anyway. I also find that the screen when the character moves seems to jump a little - if I am running all over I've gotten a little nauseated (I get carsick too) but this has never happened before in a Lego game. Not sure others would have this issue but thought I would point it out.
Music is fun - repetitive but from the movie so the games ambiance is very good. As far as voice acting it is limited to an occasional "hm" or "eh" or "mm" or similar strange vowel type sounds. Odd but slightly endearing when it goes with a facial expression or action. Quirky in a cute way.
Difficulty is the other area - it's not. At all. Easy with a capital E. Almost painfully so. Everything is pointed out to you and told to you. If you need to interact with something someone will tell you or the item will have a green ring around it. If you can't interact with it there will be a red ring around it or a red X above it. Basically it goes like this: Go to new area, talk to person with yellow above them and get quest. Do quest by doing what was asked and interacting with characters with blue above them. Complete quest. Huh? It would have been nice to have been forced to talk to everyone or interact to see what you were supposed to do - but as far as I am you never do so. It gives it too much of a go here and do this feel and less of a "cool world how fun and let me check that out and OH look at that and let's see if I can blast this" and so on. It brings a bit of monotony into the game - makes it appear a bit too much like the console versions poor cousin from the country.
Also, the minigames are something I feel confident a 3 year old could handle.
In the end what happened for me is I got bored after a while. I've played for several hours but with many breaks in between to do other things. It's not as addictive to me as the Lego Star Wars.
It is not as difficult and challenging as the Indiana Jones Lego games and lacks the charisma of the Star Wars one. It does follow the movie/books very well so far (even having the same lines from the characters). There are cute touches here and there that make for some chuckles. It is fun, in limited amounts, albeit too easy. This is more of a game I can see myself playing for several months a little at a time then something I can see myself playing obsessively for hours and hours.
I suspect children under 10 or so will have a different opinion and I gotta say for that age group this game probably is easily 5 stars. They tend to be more tolerant of repetitiveness, like the fetch quest concept and are generally more forgiving of gameplay flaws provided it doesn't increase difficulty. So as an adult DS game this gets a 3 stars from me. I gave an overall 4 stars to reflect that I do think young kids might have a blast with this game and that the package overall for the DS (not in comparison to the console Harry Potter versions) is still good enough to pick up or try out via rental. I wish they would have done more for free play exploration within the story levels themselves (without going back to them) and cut the hand holding as it takes all challenge out of it. Still it has its moments of wicked fun as Ron Weasley would say.
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Build the adventure from Privet Drive to the Triwizard Tournament and experience the magic of the first four Harry Potter stories - LEGO style! Explore Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learn spells, brew potions and relive the adventures like never before with tongue-in-cheek humor and creative customization that is unique to LEGO videogames!
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