Reviews

LEGO The Lord of The Rings was released in 2012 and combined the tried and true formula Traveller’s Tales created for its LEGO games along with all of the Lord of the Rings films. The game’s developer also made it more unique than other LEGO titles by allowing players to use a character wheel to choose the hero they’d like to use for their adventure, along with allowing players to complete side quests and travel the world map. LEGO The Hobbit takes the same formula of LEGO Lord of the Rings, though it adds some new gameplay mechanics that set it apart from its predecessor.

LEGO The Hobbit Goes on an Unexpected Journey

LEGO The Hobbit follows the same storyline featured in both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, as well as many of the same dialogue and scenes fans of the films will be familiar with. Just like with most LEGO games, you are able to adventure through the game along with a co-op partner, although you can play alone with one or numerous characters available to you at certain moments within the game.

The cast of characters included in LEGO The Hobbit are numerous and offer unique abilities needed to progress through certain stages. For example, at times you’ll need to call upon a character with a mighty axe to break a barrier that may help you progress through a stage. As you wander through the game, players will be able to unlock characters from The Hobbit films, with some available as soon as they’re unlocked, while others require LEGO studs in order to make them available. When you play through a stage for the first time, LEGO The Hobbit will provide you with characters that should be included. Once completed, you’ll be able to play through the same stage as characters of your choosing.

The Most Resourceful LEGO Game Yet

In LEGO The Hobbit, resources play an important role in the overall experience, as you’ll need certain resources in order to progress through most stages. You can obtain resources a number of ways, which include destroying objects within a stage, purchasing them with other resources, mining for resources or defeating enemies. You’ll need resources at particular points in the game to progress through a stage, as well as complete certain side quests. The use of resources can hinder your progress through the game, as you’ll find yourself forced to break objects or mine within an area to obtain the requested amount of resources. We found this new gameplay mechanic to be a bit tedious if you have nowhere near the amount required to progress, but it can feel extremely fulfilling if you show up with all of the resources you need.

Mini-games Add More Charm to LEGO The Hobbit

During your adventure, you will come across a number of mini-games that are often just quick-time events that require you to press the correct button on the controller within a certain amount of time. The mini-games offer another layer of charm to LEGO The Hobbit, as it can take notable scenes from the films and make them even more appealing. For example, the scene from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that includes dwarves throwing around dishes has become a mini-game and makes the moment even more fun than before. The mini-games can be seen as another method to slow down the action of the overall game, but TT Games presents each one in a fun environment, which will hopefully help in players wanting to play through them more.

A Grand Adventure Spanning Across Three Hobbit Films

LEGO The Hobbit was released around the time The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was released on Blu-Ray and DVD. As a result, only the first two films of its trilogy are included on the disc, which may make the film’s grand adventure feel slightly less grand, since it ends exactly where the Desolation of Smaug finishes. Fortunately, Travellers’ Tales says it will release DLC later this winter in order to include The Hobbit: There And Back Again sometime after its theatrical release on December 17. Hopefully TT Games can release LEGO The Hobbit’s DLC as close to the final film’s release as possible in order to give players the full story.

GAME's Verdict: 8/10

The Good

• Presents The Hobbit films in a fun and unique way for all to enjoy
• The return of the character selection circle mechanic
• Replay value is extremely high

The Bad

• Resource requirements can slow down your progress
• Only the first two films are currently available in LEGO The Hobbit
• Only able to play LEGO The Hobbit locally