You’re a LEGO, Harry…
Game: LEGO Harry Potter Collection
Developer: TT Games
Publisher: Warner Bros
Reviewed on:
(Review code provided by publisher)
I must admit to being quite a fan of the Harry Potter series. I absolutely LOVE the films, have seen all 8 films multiple times (Nope, I’m not afraid to admit that!). However, these LEGO Harry Potter games completely missed my radar as much as one of Ron Weasley’s spells! OK, I thought I had to get the worst Harry Potter puns out of the way in the beginning as I float through with the rest of my review. Yes. Enough!
For those who aren’t familiar with the initial games like myself, this HD collection features both the PlayStation 3 classic games, Years 1 – 4 and Years 5 – 7, allowing you to play through the whole of Harry Potter’s adventure with Ron and Hermione by your side (or at least LEGO versions of them). What struck me throughout my time with the LEGO Harry Potter Collection was how fun it really is, with the LEGO trademark adding to the franchise’s already irresistible charm.
What was disappointing was the voice, or shall I say, lack of in the game. All of the characters are voiced with grunts throughout, with no one saying a single sentence throughout. Looking at the original games, it did seem like this was present before too. I just would of liked this ‘Remaster’ to have a little bit more in terms of actual dialogue. Don’t get me wrong, the grunts are funny and did make me laugh to myself because hey, this is still a LEGO title right? I just think adding a little more overall would of made it even funnier to watch and go through.
On the other side of the coin, one thing I have to applaud the developers on is the upgraded visuals that are in the LEGO Harry Potter Collection. Comparing it to the original, it looks so much better. The textures, the LEGO models and the overall surroundings have all had a lot of work put into them and look as good as ever in 1080p. Of course, it isn’t going to stand up to those such as The Last of Us HD Remaster, but this LEGO title certainly doesn’t look out of place on the PlayStation 4.
It does seem that not much has been added from the original games in terms of content at all, which is a shame. It would of been nice to have some extra levels or something that would make original players of the LEGO Harry Potter games come back for the HD Collection. Instead of doing that, the only thing I could see from the PlayStation 4 version was a feature where your DualShock 4 light bar would change depending on what spell you have selected to use.
Of course, if you haven’t yet played LEGO Harry Potter but you have experience of LEGO games, you’ll find yourself right at home with this collection. It has the traditional LEGO trademark to it; solves some puzzles and go through each level using the skills you unlock along the way to help you. This is Harry Potter! So expect your skills to involve the famous Wingardium Leviosa spell, along with Ron’s rodents that can help unlock some parts of the level. You’ll need to use these spells to stack LEGO bricks in order for you to get to a part of a level you cannot reach at the beginning. I have to say though that the aiming for spells wasn’t quite as solid as I would of hoped. Although most of the time it locks on to the item that requires the spell, I did find myself manually aiming multiple times needlessly due to the game not locking on when it was required to. Quite a strange, yet very annoying glitch throughout my time with the game.
Each level also has parts where you can use the spells you have learned later on in the game, so completionists who are striving for that 100% may want to go back to the beginning years or levels. This, with every other LEGO title before it, is the LEGO way, and genuinely goes so well with the Harry Potter series. This LEGO Collection will also give you great value for money, with around 25 hours of gameplay on offer for the whole collection.
VERDICT
The LEGO Harry Potter Collection is a great LEGO game that pays tribute to the Harry Potter fantastically, and humorously. Whilst there is quite the disappointment that there was no extra content made for players who have already completed these on the PlayStation 3, this is a perfect chance for those, like myself, to get into and go through the whole Harry Potter adventure, LEGO Style! It’s not perfect by any means, but this is another franchise where the LEGO format fits perfectly.
