Lego Harry Potter: Episodes 1-4 (Xbox 360)

A mini review to start, before the longer main review.
Like Harry Potter books?
Like Harry Potter Films?
Like the other Lego Games on the 360? (LEGO Batman: The Videogame (Xbox 360), Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Xbox 360),Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga - Classics Version (Xbox 360), Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Xbox 360), Lego: Indiana Jones (Xbox 360))?
Enjoy hunting out lots of collectibles?
Have a good sense of humour?
Then go out and buy this now! Don't bother with the rest of the review, just go out and buy it and get playing!

The Main Review

This is a real return to form for the Lego games after the 'blip' that was Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Xbox 360). That game wasn't utterly dreadful but there was a definite dip in quality and more than a few issues with it. And i am happy to report that Lego Harry Potter has resolved all those issues.
Firstly, the issue with the new hub system in Lego Indiana Jones 2 has been sorted out. The idea was good, but the execution was poor. Lego Harry Potter solves them in one fell swoop and adds another dimension to the game. In Lego Indiana Jones 2 you had to endlessly search for the characters you needed to solve a particular problem with. Lego Harry Potter has a simple, fun and efficient way of doing that. Every character you have unlocked throughout the game, and then bought can be swapped over to by means of using a polyjuice potion and then simply selecting the character you need. Absolutely brilliant! A big thumbs up!
On the mention of the hub, Lego Harry Potter trounces any other Lego games hub by a mile because the developers have opened up the area to have loads of puzzles, bags of freedom to explore and collectibles hidden within it. And it certainly helps that the whole of the hub is Hogwarts Castle itself! Brilliant idea again.
The other vast improvement from Lego Indy 2 is the fact that the actual levels are more interesting, longer, with more collectibles and have some excellent puzzles within them.
So, if Lego Indy 2 is putting you off buying this game - DON'T WORRY! The developers have ironed out the problems - and improved on it by a country mile.
Enough of the comparisons though. What makes this game so good? Well, it is pretty big in size, there are loads of collectibles, plenty of well designed levels, the graphics are excellent, the cut scenes are superb (plenty of gentle humour here), the music is in keeping with the films, but most important of all - THE SPIRIT of the books has been totally captured.
Those of you have read the books are going to absolutely love this game and should stop reading this review and just go out and buy it and get stuck in (it is so much fun to play, and relive the memories of the books). It has all your favourite characters - Ron, Hermione, Harry, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Goblins from Gringotts, Voldemort, Snape, Nearly Headless Nick, Professor Sprout, Professor Lupus, Sirius Black to name just a small selection of them. It also has all your favourite locations too - Hogwarts itself,Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, The Burrows (the Weasleys Home), Platform 9 and three Quarters, the Chamber of Secrets itself, all the four house common rooms and loads of classrooms. It has all the best set pieces from the four books too - the battle with Voldemort for the Philosopher's Stone, The Dementors attacking Hogwarts Express, the battle with the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, just to name a few.
The collectibles are really enjoyable to collect too. You collect four parts to the Hogwarts shield in every level - so a part from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin with some only unlockable in free play. You also have to rescue a student in distress in each level, on top of three unlockable characters. That is pretty good to start with, but when the hub contains the now-famous red bricks and even more hidden characters and locations you really feel like you are getting your moneys worth out of this game. The fact that red bricks are collected by Hedwig is one of many, many wonderful touches to this game.
Oh yes, and the way the magic works is so well thought out that you unlock spells so easily, and can flick between them very naturally. Another ringing endorsement!
There are lots of cutscenes to enjoy too and the humour is back to keep you really entertained.
As you can tell, i totally loved this game, and there are very few faults with it that i can think of. The one that springs to mind and has been mentioned by another reviewer is the co-op. It plays brilliantly so don't panic - but most of the completion achievements don't unlock for player two even though they haven't dropped in and out of the game. For me, this wasn't a problem as i am more than happy to play through this whole game again with my partner to help her get the achievements!
I was definitely left wanting more - and i can't wait until the developers bring out Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7.

So, to sum up - if you have loved all the other Lego games you are going to really, really love this game and need to buy it immediately. If you are a huge Harry Potter fan - the books or the films - and you haven't played any of the Lego games, you still need to go out and buy this.

This game is suitable for all ages - no swearing, or really bad violence. It is good fun for all the family. And for adults, it is a guilty pleasure too - we shouldn't be enjoying these sorts of games, but they are such addictive good fun!

Is this my favourite Lego game. Well, it just pips Lego Batman in my view - so it is a big YES from me - Best Lego Game so far.

Last word - the coolest achievement title is on here. It involves Professor Snape and just makes me smile.

We were lucky enough to get our shiny pre-order copy yesterday! As avid fans of the lego series, my husband and I sat down to play last night, slightly worried after the disappointment of Indiana Jones 2 (which looks gorgeous, but not so much loving the gameplay..). Be not afraid, this is WONDERFUL!! Much more has been made of the hub this time, using Diagon Alley to perfection. Also, as a Harry Potter fan, after playing the EA games I thought Hogwarts might seem rubbish. It really is beautifully designed, and the levels work very well. The puzzle elements are great, and the cauldron and invisibility cloak elements are lovely.
My only gripe is actually regarding achievements. We love playing these games together, and find it jolly hard to find 2 player co-op games these days. However, many of these achievements are for single player only. Grrr. Not really the name of the Lego games...
A truly wonderful game, although with some of the magic aim being a little trickier than 'the force' in Star Wars, maybe not the ideal first foray into the Lego games series. But you really do have to have it... (Far better than the recent EA attempts at creating the Harry Potter world!!)

I'm a huge fan of the Lego games and have enjoyed them all. There is something quite hypnotic about collecting thousands (well - millions) of studs and unlocking secret areas / characters / power-ups.
This is without a doubt the best Lego game so far. There are no 'driving' levels - those who've played previous games will know what I mean - but the game is absolutely massive. Lovingly made too! Well done Tt!!