LEGO The Hobbit

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Tolkien’s The Hobbit gets a LEGO makeover. Don’t expect innovation but if you’ve loved the previous games, this is a winner.

Lego The Hobbit won’t surprise fans of the Lego series, but the new gameplay systems add just enough complexity to keep things interesting. New events and mining opportunities make exploration of the open world almost as fun as the main missions. The storytelling presumes you already know the source material by heart, which means things are sometimes a bit disjointed, and the game, like the movies it’s based on, ends at an awkward place. But like almost all the Lego games, this is a journey worth taking.

Does Lego's journey to the Shire deliver?

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.

When it comes right down to it, LEGO The Hobbit isn’t a terrible game, but it’s isn’t a terribly good one either. The LEGO formula may be finally getting a bit stagnant, and the new additions, while cool, may be too little, too late. If the final section had been included at retail, I’m not sure my opinion would have swayed much more in either direction, but it certainly is noticeable in it’s omission.

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.

An unexpectedly dull journey.

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 has plenty of charm and plenty of content, but it’s hard not to feel like the series is lacking some of the verve that it once had. The new additions don’t really do much to freshen things up, and some, like the strange and dull building minigame, feel out of place and even detract from the experience. They feel a little half-hearted, honestly. The game feels much more confident when it falls back on the same mix of discovery, secrets and puzzle-solving the series has alwa...

How do you follow a story as epic as the Lord of the Rings? With great difficulty it seems, as focusing on the prequel, The Hobbit, has turned into something of a love and hate relationship. While fans are excited to see more of Middle-earth there are justifiable questions about creating a trilogy of films that take more time to watch than it would to actually read the book. Stuffed with plot points from some of Tolkien’s other works, bloated by filler material and generally not as interest...

One of the biggest issues with the game are the boss fights which are comprised of QTE events and frantic platforming sections which can still be frustrating due to the camera angles.