The Hobbit

"It's a good thing I only rented this game..."

First off, I'd like to say that I had some decent hopes for this game. The games based off of Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers were great. However, the Hobbit seriously disappoints.

The story is based off of The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien. If you haven't read it, do it now. It's a good book (why wasn't the game the same way?)

Graphics (7/10): Wonderful graphics. The graphics shine when compared to several other of the dime-a-dozen crap GBA games that take a month to create.
However, they're nothing special. Well done games like Golden Sun beat it without comparison.

Controls (7/10): Your standard adventure controls. Nothing worth noting, really.

Sound (3/10): Yuck. The same sound is played over and over and over again as you attack, making you want to toss your GBA against the wall. It also doesn't help when the sound is all that good to start with

Music (5/10): Decent, but nothing that stands out. I imagine Sierra must have had some all-purpose adventure music that they just stuck in.

Gameplay (2/10): For an adventure, it sucks. You get only a few basic weapons to use, a sword and some firecrackers. I was expecting to get some more weapons, to add some diversity. Not the case. Oh well. Enemies are also everywhere, making you mash the A button all the time. The gameplay gets incredibly repetitive, as you hack the enemies, keep running to another place, hack more enemies, heal, run somewhere else, etc. I was able to beat this game within an afternoon. Way too short.

Replay Value (0/10): Where?

In conclusion, The Hobbit is a good diversion, but nothing else. If it were longer (which it should have been), I would have given it a better score. I was expecting a much better game that would actually do the game justice. Unless you're incredibly bored, don't get close to this game. Don't even THINK about buying it.

Final Score: 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 05/23/04