L ooking back to the Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 review, I was already concerned that reviews of Travellers Tales' Lego games were getting predictable.

I'm over that concern now and, instead, am wondering how to score this (predictably) charming sequel. It's every bit as good as the first instalment, so does that warrant another five stars? Or should I fly in the face of the "if it ain't broke ..." philosophy and question the lack of advances?

Actually, that suggests the team at TT are treading water, and they're not. Years 5-7 is a marked improvement in many ways, with more variety to the gameplay and richer visuals.

There is the occasional sense that the onscreen prompts are spoonfeeding you solutions, but that soon passes when you're roaming around a level and utterly clueless (literally) how to progress. That, of course, just makes it all the more satisfying (or head slapping) when you finally work it out.

As the name suggests, this collection of games covers the final three books/four films of the series, where the story took a darker turn. That's certainly reflected here although treated with the same irreverence you'd expect of TT.

It's also hard to shake the feeling that the standard Lego MO ? no dialogue, just squeaks and grunts and murmurs ? is a marked improvement on some of the "acting" in the films … and some might argue the same of Lego's efficient abridging of JK Rowling's weighty tomes.

Regardless, the chapters here are affectionate and faithful while sprinkling everything with a nice line in humour. Even several hours in, the boos of Slytherin pupils every time they run into Harry makes me smile.

While the core of the game ? solve puzzles (often through cooperation, if you're taking or encouraging offspring to go the two player route), collect studs, rebuild things, etc ? remains the same as ever, there are some advances.

The most notable of these is probably the Sonic-like stud-collecting broomstick flight across London, which takes several attempts to master in Free Play mode.

As before, however, you won't mind revisiting and replaying , whether it's to hit the "True Wizard" level of stud collection or to go back and explore the areas that were previously locked.

In addition to the previous restrictions ? locks and chains that can only be destroyed by experienced wizards, things that can only be opened by masters of the Dark Arts, etc ? this time round there are some new unlocakables, such as areas that require Weasley Sticky Trainers to explore, or Muggle equipment that only Arthur Weasley can fix.

All told, there's weeks of fun in this package. As you'd expect. It's fun and funny. As you'd expect. I'm utterly hooked. As you'd expect. Can we have Lego Matrix next? Please?

? Game reviewed on Xbox 360