Pretty much everyone knows the story of Harry Potter and his adventures in Hogwarts, so I won't really go into detail on what the story is about. If you don't know anything about Harry Potter then I recommend reading the books or watching the movies since the Lego Games don't really go into too much detail (especially since the characters don't speak).
Anyway back to the point I would say the Vita version is broken when it comes to the story, it relies too heavily on the fact that people know the Harry Potter story and to be honest it felt like someone was being lazy. Whole sections are missing (main consoles have them) and cut scenes as well have seemed to vanished in the handheld version, some cut scenes are even ended early before they finish leaving me very confused on what was happening.
Example would be in year five where Hagrid takes the kids to meet his giant brother Grawp in the forest, cutscene starts with them walking into the forest and then shows Hagrid pointing ahead with the kids gasping. The scene changes to show what they looking at and ... its a flower by a tree ... then the level starts saying rescue Hermione from Grawp. I sat there for a few minutes trying to get my head around what happened and unfortunately this would not be the first time.
Next example would be year seven part one, the entire ministry of magic section is missing. The biggest part of that year is not in the game and in fact a lot of the camping parts is missing to. The ministry part shows a mini cut scene of Umbridge falling and Hermione catching the necklace then jumps to the tent then jumps to the underwater scene of getting the sword.
So to sum it up into one sentence, the story is a mess! a complete epic fail in my books and I'm very disappointed especially with how good the main console versions are.
Controls
They worked well which shocked me since the rest of the game seems to be one big rushed job. It's very simple to go between normal buttons controls and touch screen, even using best of both. The interface is exactly like the main console versions where the spell wheel is in the top right corner and with a click of button you can cycle through which spell to use. This time though with the Vita you can tap the wheel to change the spell, same for casting a simple button click or hold it down to cast a more powerful version. Vita control just means you tap on the screen or hold down as well, of course if you trying to manipulate a object you need to click it.
One of the things I did really like in the game was the duelling screen, it's completely designed for the Vita touchscreen. You cast spells left or right by touching the top of the screen on either the right or left, more powerful spells you need to hold your finger down. Be warned though if you hold it down too long the spell fizzles out and you just wasted several seconds which can be fatal.
To defend you press the lower right/left sections of the screen but this time it's all about timing. If the enemy spell is just about to hit you and you press to defend it can reflect the spell back which in most cases turns into a tennis match to see who slips up. If you press too early your shield pops up and bounces the spell off to the side which is all good but it's best to deflect.
Overall the controls worked really well and I got nothing bad to say about them.
Length
The game is very short and in fact the whole can be done in a few hours, a lot of levels are missing out the handheld version and there are lot less collectibles to pick up. The only thing that pads out the game is the new Duelling club which as you going up against pretty much all the characters in the game. This was just to pad the game out and attempt to make it look like it was worth buying, it would had been a nice addition to a more packed out game. Shame really because normally you can get 50+ hours on most Lego games and usually you get more money's worth from them.
Graphics
It's very hard to judge the graphics on this game because it's all over the place, one minute they are quite nice and next it's down right awful. The cut scenes a lot of the time are blurry and fuzzy like someone just done an VHS recording on TV, in one scene in year five when you recruit Dumbledore's Army it shows a fight of Harry fighting the Basilisk in year two to impress them. It was so badly done I could not make out the sword or Harry very well, same happens at the end of the year when Voldemort posses him. In the main game Harry looks up showing features of Voldemort on his face yet on the Vita it's so dark and blurry you can only just make out the eyes and mouth.
Check out my post that I did a few days back to see some screen shots on bad it can be, I know the Vita is an handheld but after playing Uncharted I expect a lot more then this, it's quite clear this was just an import. I really want to give it an average score for graphics but the fact how poor the cut scenes are, the fact that sometimes the level look like an old fashion handheld game I cannot give it any higher then Poor.
Gameplay
So my last thoughts on the game? well according to most forum posts it was just an import from the PSP, but after reading walk through guides for collectibles it's the same for the DS version as well. Cannot believe people have been accepting this for a game and I really cannot believe they ported it over to the Vita and slapped a £40 price tag on it. I was expecting something a lot more, in between the main console versions and the handhold's. It's the Vita which is basically a PlayStation 3 in your hands.
It's fully clear that this game was ported over and rushed to get a few quick pounds, hopefully Lego Batman 2 will be a proper game because if that turns out the same then I can safely say I will no longer be buying any more Lego games for the Vita, rent at best if I can put up with any more disappointment.
So what made me stick with it to the end? trophies was one reason, controls where enjoyable and I'm a big fan of the Lego games so I was enjoying the few levels. Duelling club was OK but it was very repetitive and needs work but least it was something unique.
I'm going to be generous and give it an average for the game play because at least they kept the way the game works same and they did not ruin that. Overall though I am very disappointed and I'm quite shocked I said that about a Lego game.
Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 (PlayStation Vita)
Score: 3 out of 10
Gameplay: Average
Graphics: Poor
Story: Poor
Length: Too Short
Controls: Good
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