LEGO The Hobbit Reviews
LEGO The Hobbit is a tried-and-true LEGO game that could've been better. Still, it's worth checking out if you're a fan of the fiction and/or TT Games' familiar interactive formula.
A minor issue I found too was while playing co-op with my wife. The game lets you visit two different areas of the map and work on separate things, which is nice. However, if I was working on a specific quest and then my wife started talking to an NPC to gain a new quest, the game collapses the split screen and reads you the quest. This becomes increasingly annoying when one person is in the middle of doing something and a quest is started, sometimes accidentally. This would be fixed with an option for online co-op, however that has still not been realized in the series sadly.
Fans of Lego games will find more to love with Lego The Hobbit, as long as they're not growing weary of this increasingly familiar formula. There's nothing unexpected about this journey, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.
Lego The Hobbit is a handsome game, but it's also proof that the formula Traveller's Tales employs for most of its Lego titles simply doesn't work for everything it adapts.
Overall, though, it's a solid rendition of the Lego formula. If you're a fan of the series or are looking for a family-friendly game to play with your kids, then Lego The Hobbit will likely be a precious experience for you.
LEGO The Hobbit has some strengths, and it's perhaps tempting to look at the sheer size of the world and volume of content and give it a pass. However, we feel that the frequently poor design and shoddy gameplay experience represent a low in the franchise. We're often supportive and complimentary of the LEGO series for what it does achieve despite some flaws, but this is a sloppy effort from Warner Bros. and TT Games. A typically rushed movie tie-in, and an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise excellent franchise.
All in all, LEGO The Hobbit is a great addition to the LEGO family of games. Besides a few minor frustrations, the game succeeds at its goal of translating the epic adventure of The Hobbit films into a fun, light-hearted experience that's suitable for everyone.
It's not the most revolutionary game in Lego history, but Lego: The Hobbit delivers everything fans expect from a Lego game, with the usual grace, great humour and engaging, puzzle-packed gameplay. It makes the best of its unwieldy source movies, and it has enough new ideas to feel like more than a reskin of Lego: Lord of the Rings. It's also still a great game to play with the kids.
Fans of Tolkien's work or the recent movies are sure to enjoy the journey there, and back again. For everyone else, this is another LEGO title. For better or worse, the series keeps on chugging. Thankfully it is always of high quality.
In the pantheon of LEGO games, LEGO The Hobbit isn't the worst by a long shot – but the formula's certainly getting tired. While the decision to release the game with only two-thirds of the story complete is an odd one, there's still more than enough content to keep you occupied for a good while, and the presentation is still as charming as ever.
The similarity of the various dwarf characters can prove to be a challenge. The sheer number of dwarves in Thoromir's party and their similarities in Lego form makes finding the right character with the right ability for any particular task more difficult than it probably should be. I do not discount my unfamiliarity with the movies being a contributing factor here but in the other Lego games I've played, character designs are varied enough for this not to be an issue. There's really only so much detail you can put on a Lego character yet there's no mistaking R2D2 with an Ewok, is there?
It is not to say that there is no fun to be had in this re-imagined Legoverse, because even with tired familiarities, Lego The Hobbit does plenty to satisfy you with its charm and whim, but the franchise needs a modest makeover if it wants to keep its youthful patrons engrossed.
Even if you're not completely sick of the LEGO formula, you will be by the end of LEGO The Hobbit. This is a simple action game with light puzzles and an overwhelming cast of characters. It's also a disappointing retread of games you've probably already played. There are a few memorable moments sprinkled throughout this adventure, but this newest LEGO game covers too much familiar ground.
LEGO The Hobbit is what everyone expected, which can be good or bad depending on your exposure to the series. There is plenty to enjoy here for Middle-Earth fans, children, and those who haven't been burnt out yet by the series, but for those who were hoping for a fresh take on the LEGO video game experience there are few unique experiences to be had.
Warner Bros.' latest plastic block adventure is a blast, but also a bit misleadingly titled since it only covers the first two films.
It feels good to finish on a complaint. When I was writing about Path Of Exile a few days ago, I felt a bit mean finishing on a sour note, but The Hobbit left me feeling a bit grumpy. Admittedly, burning through a Lego game as quickly as possible isn't the best way to play, and I'd probably feel more fondly toward this one if I'd dipped in and out over a period of weeks.
After the impressive voice acting and general spectacle of the main adventure starts to fade, you're left with an altogether dull world in which to roam.
Although a decent jaunt for fans of either franchise, this is an example of a game created purely because the developers had the means to create it. This franchise is no longer essential, and there is serious work to be done if TT want their over-fed baby to remain fresh and current, and not merely soullessly lucrative. An enjoyable romp in of itself then, but by this point no one but kids and fans need really apply.
Despite its sudden conclusion and its familiar gameplay, LEGO The Hobbit is a fitting adventure, adapting the films for younger and older players alike.
It's very faithful to the movie and manages to embellish enough so as to not be a simple retelling, yet doesn't quite cover enough ground to be anything other than a companion to the films. It's probably the best Hobbit game you're going to get – just don't expect a massive deviation from the LEGO formula.