LEGO The Hobbit (Video Game Review)

LEGO The Hobbit is the newest release for the LEGO video game series from developer Traveller's Games. The new title follows closely to the narrative of the two Peter Jackson directed blockbuster films and is based upon the original J.R.R. Tolkien works as well. Players take control of a little hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who somewhat reluctantly joins an adventure with the great wizard Gandalf to destroy a dangerous dragon and recover unimaginable treasures hidden within its lair. LEGO The Hobbit features the same great humor the series has been known for over the years and adds some new content for the series including more RPG like elements including loot drops and item crafting to make LEGO The Hobbit one of the most exciting releases for the entire series. Couple that with a great storyline, plenty of playable characters and tons of secrets to unlock, and it seems the team behind the game have another great release ready for players to explore starting today!

LEGO The Hobbit is one of the largest and most impressive LEGO games to date and will take around 8-10 hours to complete on the first run through the game. The game lasts over 16 different missions based off of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, so players get the full experience of the entire storyline in one sitting. There are plenty of playable characters in the game from Bilbo and Gandalf to the whole gang of Dwarven adventurers and Thorin. The game spans many key areas inspired by the film and book including The Shire and Goblin Town as well. All of this is contained within a fun narrative that is family friendly and features simple drop in/drop out multiplayer that makes it a great game for kids and adults to enjoy together.



Though LEGO The Hobbit is based on the films and book of the same name, there is a lot more humor contained within the game's campaign that can't be found anywhere else. This makes LEGO The Hobbit well worth playing for fans of the popular fantasy franchise, and it's definitely funny to see some of the characters act a bit out of context for their blocky new adventure. Where the films seemed to rely heavily on the likes of Gollum and some precarious situations to produce some humor in the films, LEGO The Hobbit manages to make each character in the game more enjoyable whether its Bilbo playing the reluctant hero or catching Thorin in a down moment where the character doesn't appear quite so perfect and noble. LEGO The Hobbit is always fun, and it's a game players will enjoy for multiple playthroughs with no problem.

Gameplay hasn't dramatically changed for the release of LEGO The Hobbit, but players will definitely notice a much more RPG feeling has been added to the series that only further strengthens the immersiveness of the great fantasy setting for the Tolkien and Jackson franchise. Players will still battle against plenty of foes with simple controls in standard action platforming fashion, but now, there are plenty of loot drops from defeating enemies that give important items needed to craft better items and equipment. Additionally, the game has plenty of classic puzzles scattered throughout the game's campaign for players to solve in order to progress, and there are a lot of secret characters, locations and items to find in the game as well just as fans would expect from the LEGO franchise.

LEGO The Hobbit also follows similar mechanics to previous releases in the series in that players will be allowed to easily switch between a group of unlocked characters to complete specific missions. There are dozens of playable characters featured in the game, many which must be unlocked through completing chapters or finding secrets. Most characters come with different weapons and abilities associated with those weapons. Dwarves get mighty axes that can attack, parry and but open cracked LEGO blocks, Thorin can equip swords to fight off enemies and also use shields to deflect attacks, and Gandalf can use sword and staff to fight hordes of enemies and light up dark areas and bust special LEGO blocks. LEGO The Hobbit gives lots of options to players to complete any fight or solve puzzles, and switching between different characters and trying out their skills is most of the fun in a game that is nearly impossible to not complete thanks to a forgiving difficulty setting.

One really cool new feature for LEGO The Hobbit is the game's item crafting system. The new loot system means players will find valuable materials such as gold and diamond as well as man made products such as ropes. These items can be combined when the right combination of items are acquired to make new items and weapons to use during the game. Many crafting recipes require players to find the rare Mithril Brick in order to complete, so players need to always be on the lookout to pick up these special items when available. While it might not be nearly as in-depth as some other RPG's crafting systems, LEGO The Hobbit's item crafting mechanic a welcome change for the franchise we'd like to see added in releases for the future as well.

Additionally, players can actually craft their own LEGO characters into LEGO The Hobbit. The create a character is pretty neat and allows players to make their very own fantasy character to explore the game with. Like in other RPG fantasy games, players have many different options when creating a character including what race and what type of weapons the character will be proficient with. Though LEGO The Hobbit features a massive roster of characters to play in the game, it's still great that Traveller's Tales added this new feature to players even more options while playing through the new release.



LEGO The Hobbit features great high quality presentation fans have come to expect with the LEGO series. Graphics are colorful and sprites bounce around the screen with truly blocky animations. The world of The Hobbit looks great running on next generation platforms and performs well on other systems as well. LEGO The Hobbit features the return of some great voicework that has helped recent releases for the series excel. LEGO The Hobbit is easy to pick up and play, and multiplayer is very simple to join and leave during sessions locally. There are also more reasons to play the game in multiplayer with all new combo abilities available when certain characters combine their attacks against enemies, though sadly the game still doesn't support online multiplayer, so players will be left out without a couch coop friend to play with. Still, there aren't very many reasons not to rush out and pick up a new copy of LEGO The Hobbit on release day for longtime fans of the series.

Most players already know if they enjoy games in the LEGO franchise by now, and LEGO The Hobbit doesn't do a whole lot to draw in a new audience. RPG fans may find the new loot system and item crafting compelling and enough of a reason to pick up the new release, especially since it is available at a lower price that many other releases on some platforms. The game is fun and hilarious, and there is plenty of content packed into the game that will keep players enjoying the game for a long time. The game doesn't offer much in the terms of challenging gameplay though, and the LEGO series isn't for all gamers, though that could be said for any other video game as well. LEGO The Hobbit is a great LEGO game, and it creates a really entertaining world for world created by Tolkien and popularized by Jackson. Check out LEGO The Hobbit in stores now!

LEGO The Hobbit is now available from all major retailers for the MSRP of $59.99 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, $49.99 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii U and $29.99 on PC, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS. LEGO The Hobbit is rated E by the ESRB for Cartoon Violence & Comic Mischief. For more information on the game, check out the official LEGO The Hobbit website.

Game Features:

• Offline Multiplayer 1-2
• Massive Roster of Playable Characters from The Hobbit Films
• Item Crafting
• Drop In/Drop Out Support on Consoles
• Trophy/Achievement Support

Game Information:
Developer: Traveller's Tales
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360 (reviewed), Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS & PC
Release Date: April 8, 2014

Score: 9.2 out of 10