Apps on the iPhone/iPod/iPad are touch and go. There are some great ones out there whether they are paid for or free but one problem with many of them is this: they simply aren’t long enough. When gamers game, they want a game that they can play for longer than an hour or one sit through before mastering or getting sick of it.

This is the refreshing aspect that Harry Potter: Years 1-4 brings to mobile gamers. This is a full game that you can play without worrying about it ending too soon, not relating to the console versions, are selling you short after you’ve paid for it.

This Lego game is no different from any other Lego game you’ve ever come across. You break stuff, you build stuff, you destroy other characters and for all this effort you are rewarded with Lego Studs. Yes! Again you are collecting studs, but this shouldn’t be a surprise to you in the least if you’ve ever played a Lego game before. On the Mobile version collecting studs seems a little easier than the Console versions. There are so many studs for you to collect that are shown on the screen coupled with the ones you get from destroying objects, you’re bound to get “True Wizard” more times than you’re not.

Similar to the Console version of Harry Potter: Years 1-4 you’ll cover the first 4 years of Harry at Hogwarts. You’ll meet the same characters, see similar scenes, and go through some similar situations. The cut scenes are pretty similar as well, if not the same. You’ll go through each scene collecting items, collecting hidden Lego pieces, and unlocking Potter Characters.

But as much as they may be similar, they are different too. You don’t play through the same way and some scenes are different as well. The Mobile version of Harry Potter takes full advantage of the touch screen. You’ll use it to guide your character to where you want them on the screen, you’ll use it to cast your spells, and you’ll use it to get through the menus. The touch screen added more realism to the game as you had all your spells with you at all times and didn’t have to “select” which one you were using at which time.

To cast spells with the Touch Screen you are given a shape to copy. If you copy it right, the spell will be cast and you’ll see the magic happen right in front of your eyes. If you don’t get it correct enough, it will prompt you to try again.

One of the draw backs to the Mobile version of the game are the load screens you get. You get them before each chapter starts, you get them before the mini-games, you get them at the end of the chapter. This disrupts the game flow and wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t see it several times throughout playing a chapter.

Overall, though, the game lived up to any console Lego game I ever played and it was easy enough to control for my son to enjoy as well. As a 4.5 year old at the time of this review, he is halfway through the game and liking it every bit as much as the PSP version or Xbox360 version we’ve played. This isn’t a simple game where you’ll be done playing it in two hours, you’ll easily spend more time than that while having fun doing so, those are two reasons this game is worth the pickup in the App Store.

Overall Score:
Adults – 7.5
Kids – 8.0