Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (PS Vita) Review

The Lego series has a habit of being extremely addicting no matter how old you are. Nothing is better than sitting on the couch and playing a game where you don’t have to worry about the hardships of a kill/death ratio or saving the galaxy from a race of harvesting aliens. In Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 for the Playstation Vita, players will assume control of Harry and company and duel their way through the last 3 books in the series leading up to the final duel with Voldemort.

With Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 already seeing a release on all of the other major consoles, will this entry add anything different to make it worth a purchase? Or is it just a copy and paste of what we have already seen? Here are the Hots and Nots of Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 for the Playstation Vita.

Hots

Fun Gameplay In A Portable Package

Lego Harry Potter offers the same fun gameplay that you would expect to find in a Lego game. Its also extremely easy for anyone to pick up and play right from the start. The game also provides helpful hints for those who may get stuck on some of the game’s puzzles. Harry Potter adds its own magical twist to the gameplay by allowing you to cast spells and create potions for combat and puzzles and players will once again collect the various bricks, stubs, mini-kits and secrets that the game has to offer. The game includes over 150 different characters for you to collect from the Happy Potter universe. The game spans the final 3 movies (The Order of the Phoenix, The Half Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows) with The Deathly Hallows split into 2 different parts bringing the count to 4 different movies with 5 levels each all packed to the brim with goodies to find.

The dueling mode also returns in the portable version letting you duke it out with various characters from the HP universe in one on one magic duels. These play out like puzzle battles and tend to keep you on your toes in the later fights with harder characters. You have to cast your spell either to the left or right while either shielding or deflecting your opponents spells. These can get hectic when spells are flying everywhere and can be really fun when you are simultaneously casting your own spells and deflecting your opponents spells back at them. This mode is definitely a good diversion from the main game.

Great Soundtrack Brings In Music From The Movies

Even the portable version of Lego Harry Potter utilizes the excellent music that was found in the movies. You can also expect the usual clinking of the studs and other sound effects that you would normally find in a typical Lego game. The spells crackle through the air and the Lego versions of the characters make their funny voices during the cutscenes. Telltale Games really did a good job of bringing the entire Lego experience to the handheld.

Tons of Collectibles to Be Collected

As with every Lego title that has been released so far, there is a ton of things for you to find in the Vita version of Lego Harry Potter. Players will search each level for mini-kits, red bricks and studs in pursuit of the 100% completion. Players who want to get 100% in the game will have to collect all of items in a level, earn True Wizard in every level, collect all 150 characters and complete all of the different duels. There is definitely quite a bit for players to do and find in the game. Not to mention a big chunk of the things that you have to collect in levels have to be collected in free play mode with different characters meaning you will have to run through the story at least twice to get everything.

Nots

Lack of Any Sort of Co-op

Lego Harry Potter for the Playstation Vita lacks a multiplayer component of any kind. You can not connect with other players via ad-hoc or online in order to play the levels cooperatively. You can’t even connect with others to play the dueling mode. Without being able to play the story levels with a friend, it doesn’t really feel like a true Lego game. Not to mention it takes the flow out of things when you have to switch to the character you need rather than playing with a friend and having them play as another useful character. Maybe the next Lego entry will include a co-op feature.

Graphics Are A Bit Bland

The graphics in both the pre-rendered and gameplay scenarios could have been a bit better than they actually are. They tend to be really muddied and run together giving it a very bleak and bland look. The character models don’t look terrible but they can be a bit jagged at times and the game slow down when the action picks up with a big grouping of characters on the screen.

Doesn’t Offer Anything New

The Vita Version of Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 doesn’t really offer anything different from what can be experienced on the console version. The game includes touch function but you will find that it isn’t worth using since the same functions are also more conveniently mapped on the face buttons. Therefore if you have played the game on a different console then you really won’t find anything new here unless you are looking for a portable Lego experience.

Verdict

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 for the Playstation Vita is a game that should only be bought if you haven’t played it before or are looking for a portable Lego experience for a road trip. The gameplay is fun and easy to pick up and there is quite a bit for you to collect, but with it lacking the co-op experience and not offering anything new, this really isn’t the defining Lego game for the Playstation Vita. You may be better off waiting for Lego Batman 2 to hit the Vita.

[Editor’s Note: Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 was reviewed on the Playstation Vita hardware. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]