Wii Reviews

Who is Batman to you? The violent lawman of the modern comics? The wink-wink star of the 60’s TV show? Tim Burton’s gothic icon, perhaps? The point is this: Travellers’ Tales have never had a subject so open to LEGO interpretation, and with it, playful experimentation. And boy, do they love it. Did you feel that Indy was a tad shackled to his tombs and dusty continents?

You get a rough time of it as a Harry Potter fan, not least if you’re a Harry Potter fan over the age of 12. For most people this involves hiding your literary shame by buying the ‘adult’ versions of the books (no, we’re reading Dostoyevsky’s Konstantin Potter and the Goblet of Dense Russian Prose) or obscuring your replica lightning-bolt scar under a shaggy haircut and a porkpie hat. For those of us who quite fancy running around Hogwarts and blasting Dementors in the face, we’ve had to endure worse: a series of lame, lazy or frustratingly not-quite-there games, all of which failed to make the most of Potter’s wizarding world...

If you have played any of the other LEGO games you already know what to expect with LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7. Set in the LEGOfied wizarding world, the newest iteration never delivers on moving the series beyond what has already been done, but it does provide solid gameplay, plenty of fan service, and the charm the LEGO games have become known for...

The golden rule of LEGO: the more bits there are, the better the model will inevitably be. Bits mean more work. More fun. We love bits. Traveller’s Tales love bits too: LEGO Indiana Jones 2 has thousands of the blighters. Let’s look at the numbers: six hubs, each with five story missions, five puzzle scenarios and five level creator levels.

How can a game that’s identical to the brilliant LEGO Star Wars in almost every respect not be as good? Simple - the setting. The Star Wars universe is vibrant, colourful and fantastical, while Indy’s real-world ’40s setting is more subdued. This works in the context of the films, but recreated in LEGO it has none of the outlandish flair of Lucas’ galaxy far, far away.

Above: 360/PS3 screenshot

Half the fun of the LEGO games is seeing how they’ll render new movie universes. While combining a film series based on a ride with a videogame series based on toys might sound like a recipe for the biggest sellout this side of a Gaga concert, the LEGO series wards off cynicism by the boatful. That is, unless you're hoping for a LEGO game you haven't already played...

Band rivalry is the bedrock of, well, rock. Beatles vs Stones. Blur vs Oasis. Jedward vs Anyone cursed with the capacity to hear. Rock Band and Guitar Hero’s rift is the worst of the lot. Releasing practically the same products on practically the same Friday, this is a playground war of attrition, like two child enemies holding their parties on the same day to see who has more friends.

So, a real baseball or a digitised one? It’s really a question of circumstance. A sunny park and a few mates and you’ve got yourself a catch on. But what of rainy days? Or the friendless? Or those banned from public places after that misunderstanding with the dog last March? Developer Prope’s buoyant catch-’em-up is a year-round remedy for a grumpy face.