When LEGO first started concentrating on video games in the late 1990s, I was a skeptic. But somehow the company has made a name for itself producing family-friendly titles that capitalize on a license and still appeal to serious gamers. The company can now add LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 to that illustrious list.Gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has played a LEGO game before. Players advance through the game by collecting and exploring. In the Harry Potter universe, this includes unlocking spells and mixing potions. Spells are all recognizable from the books and necessary for successful gameplay, such as using Wingardium Leviosa to reach higher bricks and Lumos to defeat plant enemies. Mini-games come into play with “Student in Peril” missions, where players compete challenges to help a fellow Hogwarts classmate. (more…)