The Hobbit

"Very good game, true to the novel (kinda)"

The Hobbit is one of the most beloved novels in the history of literature, partly because it spawned the Lord of the Rings trilogy, partly because it's absolutely spectacular. So, with the LOTR films and their respective games, instead of making a movie based on The Hobbit, there's a video game! And what a game it is.

Gameplay - 8/10
This game plays very well. At first, without the sword/walking stick combos, it's annoying to have to fight. But once you have two or three attacks together, fighting it a blast. You just plow through the enemies, with a Zelda-like, albeit occasionally loose and frustrating, targeting system. The jumping is perfect, and you always make it, even when you think you won't. You basically jump around or fight, and occasioanally stealth it up. It's a good mix, and the stealthy stuff is very fun.

Graphics - 9/10
The graphics are really really good in this game. They have a hand-painted look to them, very suitable for a fantasy game. The character models are excellent, and work very well in the environments. Enemies are everywhere, and many are on screen at once, each looking as good as the next. The environments are enormous and flow into each other very well, with little to no load times. Everything looks great, except Bilbo's a bit twitchy in the in-game cutscenes.

Sound, Music, Voice Acting - 10/10
The sound effects are excellent. Everything sounds crisp and real, with no problems at all.
The music is fantastic. What seems to be a fully orchestrated score, it never fails and gives a feel similar to the movies based on Tolkien's other three. It may loop here or there, but it's overall really good.
The voice acting is where the game stands out. You can talk to every person you come across (there are a lot) and each one has at least one thing to say, most have more. Bilbo and Gandalf (who sounds a lot like his film counterpart) are the best acted and sound absolutely amazing, and show every ounce of emotion intended for the story. The dwarves and other characters also sound great.

Following of Novel - 6/10
This game only loosely follows Tolkien's epic tale. The basic story is there (Bilbo is taken along with Gandalf and his dwarves on a quest to recover treasure from the dragon Smaug), but the game adds a lot of stuff to chapters of the book. Also, major chapters are left out. This game could have been 20 times longer if it included everything from the book (and the book could easily have converted more parts into the game). Also, the game has characters the book doesn't, or puts them at different parts (like Beorn), and vice versa. However, the same basic plot is there, and it's an excellent plot.

Miscellaneous - 7/10
The load times are really long, but only once per level. Other parts of levels will load as well, but quickly.
The game is not very hard, but it can be very frustrating. It'll keep you playing, though.
The game is also very short. It's worth it, but it can be completed in a rental (which is what I did).
No extras are available. It doesn't even save after you beat it. No multiplayer, or CG Theater, or even level select. Oh well.

Rent or Buy
Buy it, it's only $20, and you'll wanna play it again. But if you only wanna do it once and never read the book, rent it. Hardcore fans of the series should buy this game, though, it's really good and very cheap.

FINAL - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/04