LEGO Hobbit

LEGO Hobbit

Type	Action adventure
Single or multiplayer	Singleplayer, multiplayer
Developer	Traveller's Tales
Publisher	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Fun	3/5
Difficulty	2/5

LEGO Hobbit – a game that follows the events of the first and second Hobbit film, an Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug, and does it all with having the character look like LEGO figures. Somehow, it works pretty well.

First of all, all the sounds, music and voice acting were taken directly from the movies, so if you have seen them, you know what to expect – grandiose orchestral scores and appropriately epic cries and shouts and dialogues. 

The backgrounds and the world area is huge and beautifully presented, especially visible during the very first level of the game, or during the eagle flights. The visual representation of the characters, on the other hand, is almost comical most of the time, as they are basically toys. You might see some ridiculous and silly scenes, where Thorin or another main character will have a long, dramatic monologue, and in the background you can see Bofur playing with food or Bilbo almost dropping the ring.

I have to say, though, playing this game made me remember how good the good parts of the Hobbit movies were. We can all have differing opinions about the films, and mine were pretty low after a few viewings, but I can’t deny the quality of certain scenes, even when witnessed in a game like this. Even though it didn’t make me scream out the lines from the movie along with the characters on the screen at 1 AM, like the LEGO Lord of the Rings did, it still made me feel the atmosphere of a faraway magical place.

The gameplay is pretty simple. If you have ever played a LEGO game, then you know what to expect. If not, here it is: apart from the movement keys, you can attack, jump, use special action or change character. It is advisable to play on a gamepad, but I had no problems with the keyboard either. With these four actions you will go through 16 levels packed with action and adventure. Seeing as how there is no permanent death in this game, the tension is almost non-existent.

The biggest problem, which is not really problem in and of itself, is that there is a metric ton of optional material. There are white LEGO bricks to collect, red ones, side quests, mining, blacksmithing, secret locations, collecting treasure items and minikits in previously played levels… This is not bad – far from it, but it can get overwhelming. Following my experience from previous LEGO games, I didn’t even try to collect any hidden items during the campaign. I left it all for later, when all the missions are done, the characters are available for free play, and fast travel to everywhere is unlocked.

The story follows the plot of the movie pretty accurately, with some scenes extended to allow for more gameplay, which is understandable and appropriate. There are over 100 characters, and every character that you control has special powers and unique skills that you will need to use, sometimes in conjunction, in order to progress – Bilbo can use the ring, Dwalin can smash with his hammer, Legolas can jump higher due to his elven agility, and Bombur can eat so much that he becomes a trampoline for other characters to jump on and reach higher places.

Another thing that is introduced in this LEGO installment is the loot items. These are gemstones, rope, wood, and other things, obtained through mining or just randomly smashing objects. They are used at specific places in the game to build LEGO objects, either to advance the plot or to complete side quests. This object building is one the most interesting parts of the game to someone like me, who never could afford one of these sets as a child – cue sad violin music in the background.

All in all, LEGO Hobbit is another one of the nice little games that have this brand name. It’s fun, easy, not too repetitive to be boring, and fun for all ages, just like the toys. If you want to remember why you liked the Hobbit, play the LEGO version and lead a group of dwarves, a wizard, and a burglar over Misty Mountains, through deep dungeons and old caverns, to recover their long forgotten gold.