Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 has been released on PS3 and been provided for us to preview/review by the publisher.

Believe it or not we are still playing it. Here are some extracts of what we made of it in chronological order:

"Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 shines by not taking itself too seriously. By being allowed to poke pantomime fun at the films and books, and focusing on local co-operative play, it turns a good game into something rather special..."
- Dressup Gamer (Sat, 07 Jan 2012)

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Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 PS3 Release

14/11/2011 15:01

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 provides another chance to get excited about the finale of the gripping franchise. Possibly the Lego finale has me even more excited than the movie.

There's something about the way the Lego games manage to capture the essence of what makes a story great that seems impossible to achieve in other formats. As a case in point, when the original games for Star Wars were released, it was the Lego retelling of the classic saga that captured hearts, helped along by very solid and entertaining game-play

In keeping with this, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (PS3) appears to be a bit poor, Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 is a great chance to experience Harry's final three years at Hogwarts while enjoying some great gaming along the way.

It's the wealth of characters which makes the world of Harry Potter so incredible and the Lego games thrive on a great cast. All of the series regulars are here, as well new opportunities to face the thoroughly skin-crawling Dolores Umbridge (boo!) and finally face He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (Voldemort, shhhhh!). The Lego versions of these characters are sometimes startlingly accurate caricatures.

If you've never played a Lego game before, this will give you the chance to play the most advanced title in the series. There is a return to the signature drop-in, drop-out two-player co-op which has been so popular with players, especially in families where an older player can help the younger ones through difficult sections. It's also a good way for younger players to enjoy the darker final Harry Potter stories, as the Lego representation does much to lower the maturity of the content.

For seasoned players there is unlikely to be many new features other than the innovations made by Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4. Nevertheless this is the franchise finale we've all been waiting for the Lego games to deliver!

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 is out on the 18th November 2011 for Playstation 3, XBox 360, Windows PC, PSP, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii.