“too much of a good thing” was first muttered when a man, up to his knees in Duplo and unable

to find a single plastic tree, said...

“You know, I like LEGO. But this might be too much of a good thing.”

And after roughly 87 games based on 42 franchises, give or take a few, LEGO video games are starting

to wear a little bit thin. It’s not that they’re bad. It’s not that they’ve become

less fun. It’s just that LEGO Rock Band, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Batman, LEGO Pirates

of the Caribbean...LEGO my freaking Eggo.

It’s this syrupy sense of déjà vu that kinda holds back LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7.

More great co-op, more collecting, more building...and more of the same LEGO.

Released in 2011, Years 5-7 is a follow-up to 2010’s Years 1-4. Actually, it feels

more like an expansion pack, because it’s virtually identical to its predecessor...which

feels virtually identical to prior LEGO games. See a pattern here? Years 5-7 keeps things

excessively familiar, which is both its strength and its weakness.

You walk through linear environments, collecting LEGO pieces and waging some rudimentary combat

on occasion. The game is mostly focused on using the LEGO pieces around you to build

new things and manipulate your environment.

Years 5-7 features six levels based on locations and scenes from the Harry Potter movies...only

done in LEGO. Once you’ve finished the missions, you get to explore Hogwart’s and other familiar

Potter places with a cast of more than 200 unlockable characters...many of whom have

unique abilities.

For example, Hermione Granger has the power to look adorable , to make watching someone

else read utterly captivating and to enchant me simply by tossing her hair. You know, it’s

just...Emma, if you were really a LEGO block, I’d build you a LEGO castle...on top of

a LEGO mountain. I think I LEGO love you.

You know what, let’s get this trending! Emma should date Derek because he has incredible

hair, he has a real-life clone, he would wear Burberry for her...and uh, you know, he also

plays a character who knows magic.

Listen, it’s very familiar...but a LEGO Emma Watson is more than enough to make this

thing worth a recommendation. It’s packed with content and it has great co-op, so if

you liked prior LEGO titles and you’re a Harry Potter fan, Years 5-7 is right up your

Diagon Alley.