For fans like me, this is a fun game with cool mini-activities, but it has the potential to disappoint other players.
Many of the cut scenes in the game were unnecessary and didn't do an amazing job explaining the story. Personally, the problem for me was not having trouble following the plot but getting bored watching some of the cut scenes -- as one of my friends said, "I just want to play!"
Altered a little bit from the last game, Hogwarts Castle came back this year. In my opinion, this castle was much more navigable than before because there were less unnecessary locations and a guide to help you (Nearly-Headless Nick, who is easier to follow than footprints on the ground). I know that not very many people were impressed by the graphics, but you have to admit that EA did a great job of landscaping.
When I saw that crests were going to be in this game, I immediately thought back to the challenge stars and shields that needed to be collected in spell challenges in the first three PC games. I like the concept of the crests, but now that I only need to find nine more hidden around Hogwarts, things are getting a little bit tedious and I don't feel terribly inspired to go back and find the rest. Mini crests are fun to collect at first, but after a few hours of running around trying to get them, the collecting gets repetitious.
The best new features in the game are the three clubs: flying, dueling, and potion making. While I'm not very impressed with Quiddtich, the other two mini-games are extremely fun to play. Here's a breakdown of the three activities:
Quidditch: It's fun when you fly through your first five hoops, but then you realize that you're barely controlling anything. Sometimes I don't have to move my mouse once to win a match. Then, when I try to get five stars in flying events, the grading is so critical -- and I don't even understand what I'm being graded on.
Dueling: This is more fun than Quidditch, but also extraordinarily easy. Once you cast a spell like "Expelliarmus" or "Levicorpus" on your opponent, all you have to do is cast "Stupefy" on him or her until you win. Also, I'm a bit confused by the badge that requires you to lose ten duels; that's more difficult than actually winning.
Potion making: This is the best activity of the three. It's fun, it has catchy music, and the potion making never gets old with over a dozen potions to mix.
To sum everything up, I think that this new game is a fun one for a few hours of playing, but it lacks challenge, excitement, and engagement. While I would recommend this game, I hope that the next game(s) in the series can accommodate for these things like the older games -- I miss the bean collecting, the beasts, and the challenges. All in all, while I enjoyed playing the game, it's more of exploring a landscape than playing an adventure game.