Lego has made a game with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Rock Band and Batman, and with these major franchises under their belts it was only a matter of time before they tackled the literary franchise that revitalized reading for kids.

Traveller’s Tales, the developers of all previous mentioned Lego games, released Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 for all system on June 29 2010.  This game, in which is clearly he first of two, is similar to most previous games with the emphasis on collecting and exploring.

Casting, which replaces the Force in the Star Wars system, in an integral part of the game giving you a wide range of selectable spells to change and cast at any time.  As there are many spells available in the game, you use the spell wheel to select your spell. Potion-making is another new addition to the franchise.  After collecting the required items they potions can help you complete levels or, if done wrong, have adverse side effects such as turning the player into a frog.  Other additions to the game include a ‘Student in Peril’ missions, which are a group of challenges to help a student, and Polyjuice Potion, which allows players to temporarily change one of your characters into any other mini-figure unlocked.

The biggest, and most welcome change, is the hub system.  Gone is the basic hub system of the past, the cantina or university, replaced by The Leaky Cauldron for purchasing unlockable extras and returning to previous levels, while Hogwarts acts as a constantly evolving massive hub with the unlockable characters found by picking up their hidden portraits.  If you are lost in-game you can follow a trail of Ghost Studs to the next level. These do not count towards your stud total, but will guide you to the next section of the level.

The bigger areas in Hogwarts have led developer Traveller’s Tales to improve the overall level design. Also include another bonus level that allows players to customize the level just like in Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues.

While Lego Harry Potter is by far the best Harry Potter game in the franchise it does falter slightly compared to the other Lego games.  It is still a great game for any fan of Harry Potter or the Lego game franchises.