Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 PS3

Here we have what is nearly identical to something we played a couple years ago. That isn't a bad thing at all, however, some more innovation would be nice. I do enjoy the Lego games quite a lot. The tried and true formula of play a level, break EVERYTHING, collect what you can, and come back later to finish the job works great for the games they are building. I'm just saying I am a little tired of it. Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 does offer a few additions that make the game more fun at first, but then become tedious.

Graphically, the game isn't a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination. It does however have a lot more shine and is a bit smoother than it's predecessor. The lighting has been adjusted to work a bit better and the Lumos spell is actually helpful. Platforming is still hard due to lack of shadow beneath yourself to try and line up a jump though. The spells look good as they fly across the screen. The cutscenes look pretty good as you play through the story. The environments are also large and for the most part pretty good looking.

Speaking of sound, I would say that it is just like any other Lego game played. There are no words, just grunts and squeaks coming from the Lego people. The music is pretty good when it's there.

From a gameplay perspective you've pretty much played this game before. It uses the spell casting and basic platforming that the previous game used. There are a couple new spells to play with and some new character abilities such as Weasley Sticky Sneakers and the Aguamenti spell. There is also a dueling mechanic worked into the game that, while fun the first few times, gets repetitive and tedious fast. During the levels you will still go through and blast apart everything you can to try and get more studs to by some new characters or things of the like. There are a lot of things to collect so if you are a perfectionist this game will take you a while to complete. Each book or movie if you prefer is split into six levels giving you a total of twenty-four to play (the last book is split into two like the movies) and the levels are fairly fun to play through. There are still students in peril, gold bricks, evil wizards only blocks, and numerous other reasons to replay each level.

Honestly, I would love to say some more about this game, but there really isn't much that I can add to it. We've done it before, just in a different location. The small additions are welcomed but the formula is getting tired. I give Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 a 7/10. It will keep you playing for a long time if you're a completionist, but as I've said, we have pretty much played this before. See You Online.