It kind of feels like the first 2 games, just with better graphics
In this game you don't only play as Harry Potter, but also his 2 friends. Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley. You play along the plot of the Book and movie, which is only being used as a thread that connects the series of challenges, or classes together.
Not a lot of detail or depth has been given to the story at all, and it is really very shallow. You won't know exactly what the book or movie is about if you just had to play this game. You'll be lost.
The graphics is an improvement and if I had to guess, this game must have come out along with The Sims 2, because the animation and facial expressions on the characters in this game look very Simmish. Which is actually not a bad thing. :)
You learn some new spells in this game. Again they don't really exist in the movie or book, but it helps you get through challenges, and not really so much through the rest of the game.
There are a few side challenges you can do. The only reward here is a new collectors card. Yes, they still have those. One challenge I actually enjoyed was flying the Hippogryph around and through markers. That was actually a lot of fun. But just like the challenges, this had nothing to do with the rest of the game. You fly it in the challenge, then forget about it.
It was better than the first in some ways, but really it just managed to be exactly the same as them too. If you're a HP fan, obviously you'll play this, whether it's good, or bad.