Game Review: Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7

"Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7"
Game Cover

     I'm going to be honest; I don't play video games. I'm generally not interested in them, nor am I generally good at them. The only game I can properly play and win, is MarioKart Wii. However, my brother, James, is highly skilled in that department. I asked him what game I should do for this media review. He simply handed me an old DS, and a game to go along with it. This game was one of the ones he used to play a few years back (he said it was the easiest to play). 

     Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 is a game that can be played on many platforms, such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable (PSP), PlayStation Vita (PSV), Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, and even iOS.

     In this game, you go through the last three Harry Potter stories, with everything entirely made out of Lego. The first chapter of the game is the first scene in Order of the Phoenix, where Harry and Dudley are at the playground. They then go to the Ministry of Magic because Harry used magic outside of Hogwarts, and Dumbledore shows up and fixes everything (everything that happens in the first twenty minutes of the movie).

     The mechanics are very simple in this game: •  A button: pick up/build objects (basically
                                                                                 anything you can't do with the other buttons)
                                                                             •  B button: jump/block in duels
                                                                             •  Y button: cast spells
                                                                             •  X button: change characters
                                                                             •  Control Pad/Circle Pad: move around

First scene in the game: Harry is fighting off a Death Eater.

     I didn't play the whole game because at my pace, you'd need months to do so. However,  I did finish the first year. Personally, I like how simple this game is. It's challenging because you have to use your brain to get through some levels, but it is very easy to control. I also like how close they related the game to the books and movies. The graphics on the other hand, are terrible. Before every new scene in the movie, there's a video with no talking to explain what has happened, and to give you and idea of what to do. These videos are probably the lowest quality videos I've seen in a long time. I also didn't like how long it took to use a spell; it might have just been that I was terrible at playing, but every time I tried to destroy either a death eater or a droid and move on to the next level, it took forever to change to the spell I wanted to use, aim and wait for the spell to be ready. And if I waited too long by a millisecond, I'd be killed.

★★★☆☆

6/10

Print Review: There's Nobody Meaner than Cousin Georgina

     "There's Nobody Meaner than Cousin Georgina" by Bernard Gallate, is a childrens' book published in 2000. Like my last review, I have liked this book for a long time. Although, because I received it when I was around two years old, it has been collecting dust on the bookshelf for a good six or so years. 

           The back of the book reads:

"When Cousin Georgina comes to play,

it's double trouble for poor Harry.

"A hilarious picture book about those

relations we sometimes

could do without!"

        This book is about a boy named Harry, whose cousin, Georgina, comes to visit his family for a week during the holidays (equivalent to summer vacation.) The minute she arrives in Harry's home, she is very irritating towards him; not only does Georgina make him sleep on the collapsible bed and make him dress up as a tree, but she also shaves his head, and throws him in the lions' enclosure at the zoo! In the end, she slightly redeems herself by saving Harry from a bully twice his size.

        One of my favourite parts of the book, is its rhyming paragraphs. If I were to have stayed in Melbourne, I wouldn't have noticed this, but the book can only rhyme with an Australian accent. If I were to choose a worse part in the book, it would have to be some of the irrelevant illustrations. While I understand they're there to be humorous, they make no sense, and have no relevance when it comes to the book.

       This book is, and always has been, near to my heart. Four days from my first birthday, my cousin, Lachlan, was born. For my second birthday, (where he had just turned one,) my aunt and uncle bought me this book. At the time, he was my only cousin and I was his, therefore we could easily relate to the book. (Today, we both have annoying ten year-old brothers.) Of course, I'd like to think of myself as less troublesome than the Georgina in the book. This also connects to me, because I have another little second cousin, whose name is Harry.

         Overall, this book is funny, entertaining, and connects to me in a personal way. Starting on a humorous note, then climaxing to a more emotional scene, then ending in an entertaining way, is one of the keys to writing a true childrens' story book.

★★★★☆

8/10