• Explore a 3D world filled with expansive environments

• Play massive levels in recognizable areas such as Rivendell, Mirkwood, Laketown and Lonely Mountain

• Jump, ledge grab, shimmy, climb ropes and ladders

• Play through 11 massive levels in recognizable areas such as Rivendell, Mirkwood, Laketown and Lonely Mountain.

When you take the game itself, ignoring its namesake and the source material upon which it is based, it is a 3D action platformer with some very colorful, cartoon-like graphics. The art direction is regrettable, but it will surely appeal to younger gamers (and so will the "E" rating). Even so, children could become frustrated with some of the game's levels, which are challenging. I found sneaking past the trolls in "Roast Mutton" frustrating myself, mainly because of the game's less-than-stellar stealth-based gameplay (when the situation calls for it). Combat in the game is extremely basic and not overly exciting, but the platformming elements of the game work well enough. What's more, the levels are sometimes interspersed with charming animated sequences that further the storyline (but ususally are just bookended by cheesy artist's sketches that depict the happenings of the book). The game's soundtrack is quite good, and inspires images of rural Britain long ago. Voice-acting is not bad either. What you ultimately have is a game that is uninspired despite its source material (more on that in a moment), but should still provide some entertainment to gamers with a taste for the kinds of things it offers.

Now, as an avid Tolkien fan who grew up on "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," I must regretfully report that this video game adaptation takes unnecessary liberties that spoil the Middle Earth lisence. Aside from the childish graphics, which fail to accurately depict our beloved world, the game invents its own ridiculous bestiary and occasionally thrusts Bilbo Baggins and company into situations that are not found in the book. Purists beware, for you will be annoyed. Even so, the game does try to follow the overall storyline of "The Hobbit," and the rendered cut-scenes in particular do adhere to the novel. And yes, I know a game is about gameplay, and adapting a beloved book into a game requires some artistic license, but I can't shake my irritation at some of the game designers' decisions. Nowhere in "The Hobbit" should Bilbo have to face fish-men or things that appear to be giant mutant squirels.

If you're a Tolkien fanatic and an adult gamer, you would do well to either pass on this game completely (assuming you can't stomach the kiddish graphics or, worse, the game's departure from the source material) or wait a while for the price to drop. There's some fun to be had here if you're more open-minded than most Ringers, but I certainly don't recommend it heartily at this point.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:


Surprisingly good  Dec 30, 2003 By Gaby
When I first saw the graphics of The Hobbit I thought : "pf, just another kiddie game" - but then I played it myself and got hooked. Despite the colorful graphics it is more challenging than it looks like. Being a tough gamer myself and loving playing games like Hitman I must say The Hobbit was surprisingly good and for a change "not bloody". It is not as brutal and there is no blood or shooting; Bilbo has to fight spiders and ugly goblins thus making The Hobbit a relaxing game.But be aware: The Hobbit is not as easy as it might give you the impression! At times it is quite challenging and can be even frustrating. And there is a lot to do: exploring, solving riddles (you always find hints), fighting with a stick or the blue lighted Sting sword and throwing stones - (you get advanced tactics during gameplay making your hits stronger). What really makes it special is that you can use The Ring (I mean this is what the story is about, isn't it?) which you gain in a later level. The Ring makes you "invisible" to some creatures helping you to sneak past them. What is nice too is that there is no time limit to it (well of course there sometimes is e.g. opening those chests) so you can explore your surroundings. This to me was an extremely nice feature since Bilbo is small (he is a hobbit after all!) making some sceneries mostly impressive like the Dwarves'halls!
You have to cope with your tinyness here since some obstacles are huge! But there is always a way out and you will enjoy the victory of having made it. In fact some scenes kept me behind my PC for hours - I just couldn't stop until I finished them! I wouldn't exactly recommend it to younger kids under 10 since they might get frustrated when not being able to make their way but it is a hit for the older ones.
Get it and play it! Enjoy it! It is a nice challenging game that is good for your nerves as it is as I said not bloody - it is a great fantasy game!

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:


Excellent!  Nov 17, 2003
This video game is awsome! It has solid graphics and great gameplay. 'The Hobbit' is a prelude to 'The Lord of the Rings' which, I guess, is one of the reasons it is so cool. There is a lot of fighting, puzzle-solving, and adventuring to do in this game. 'The Hobbit' is not an easy game because it is very strategic and gets pretty hard at some points. Fans of Zelda, such as myself, will really enjoy playing 'The Hobbit' video game for the Sony PlayStation2.

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:


A Tolkien addict reviews "The Hobbit"  Dec 15, 2003
Let me begin this game review by stating that I am a J.R.R. Tolkien fanatic, and "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" are my all-time favorite works of fiction. I am also an avid computer and console gamer. Though "The Lord of the Rings" definitely doesn't lend itself very well to most types of interactive adaptation (even if it's made a few decent forays), "The Hobbit" is quite another story entirely. It's surprising how rich the source material could prove in the right developers' hands. Unfortunately, the right developers weren't the ones behind Vivendi Universal's cross-platform effort. That's not to say that "The Hobbit" is a bad game, but it certainly doesn't live up to even a fraction of its potential.

So, as a Tolkien zealot, how true is "The Hobbit" to its source material? In strict terms of the overall story, it's fairly faithful to the novel. However, I regret to inform the purists out there that many annoying liberties were taken. Yeah, I know, I know, it's a video game, not a book (or a film), but that doesn't excuse the inclusion of the completely made-up characters that appear rather frequently throughout the game. I'm referring to enemies as well. At one point, Bilbo (the hobbit protagonist) actually squares off against what appears to be an armor-plated badger. Other times he'll face leaping fish-men, wicked pixies, and gigantic worms. Given the depth and detail in Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, it's highly unnecessary to INVENT new characters and creatures. Purists will find this rightly offensive.

Graphically, "The Hobbit" is closer in tone to the Rankin Bass animated production from the 1970s than it is to Peter Jackson's appropriately gritty take on the ensuing "Lord of the Rings" saga. I suspect this was done to appeal to children - but the game could have appealed to the younger set regardless, and the cartoonish style of the game is really a cop-out, and is not representative of the material. I think the developers were probably inspired by the more recent "Legend of Zelda" games, and it's a shame.

In a perfect world, a video game adaptation of "The Hobbit" would play less like "The Legend of Zelda" and more like "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell" - and no, I don't suggest transforming Bilbo Baggins into Sam Fisher, but I think the game should emphasize stealth above all things. The Bilbo from the novels only rarely gets into a scrape, and he certainly doesn't have an easy time of things when trouble comes calling. He isn't a warrior, he's a so-called `burglar' - and a small one at that. In this take on the beloved classic, though, he IS a warrior. He can battle several goblins at once and come out of the fray unscathed. More unfortunate still, he's apparently a hairy-footed cousin of Mario and Luigi. "The Hobbit" is essentially a platformer that has our halfling friend leaping, climbing, and collecting things from the beginning of a given level all the way to the end. Memorable locations from the book seem more like footpaths for Sonic the Hedgehog than actual Middle-earth real estate.

Other gripes are ripped from a gamer's standpoint. Take the combat, for instance. It's clunky and simplistic, and therefore quite unexciting. As with most 3rd person behind-the-back games, camera control can certainly be a problem every now and again. Some levels are completely indistinguishable from one another - how many same-looking caves do I have to wander through?! Yes, to be sure, I definitely have my share of issues with "The Hobbit."

On the other hand, I must admit that I did eventually warm to the game's style of play, ill-suited to the license though it may be. If you like platformers, then you could do plenty worse than "The Hobbit." The game controls quite well and offers a decent challenge, and it's strangely addicting. Naturally the game's stealth-based missions proved to be my favorite (particularly the game's fairly faithful take on the novel's "Barrels Out of Bond" segment), and though they are basic and disappointingly few, they are still rather exciting.

In the end, I fear that this adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's literary classic is much like the One Ring itself. It can be strangely compelling, but if you wear the Ring for too long, you will definitely get a feeling that something just ain't right. As a Tolkien fan I lament the game we'll probably never get to play. As a gamer, I say you could do much better than "The Hobbit," but you could also do considerably worse, and it certainly has its charms. If you want a poor man's "Legend of Zelda" with a touch (and I mean a TOUCH) of Middle-earth magic, this is for you.

Final Score: C

15 of 18 found the following review helpful:


Rent first, buy only if you still enjoy it  Dec 05, 2003 By Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast"
The Lord of the Rings trilogy has been getting quite popular in the past few years. It was inevitable that the original story - of Bilbo Baggins finding the ring - would become a new computer game.

Bilbo Baggins is enlisted by Gandalf to go along with a group of dwarves to explore and steal back a treasure from the dragon Smaug. As you go you gain skill with your sword and courage for your hobbit brain.

The game is on the cutesy side and bears no resemblance to the movie hobbits. It's more based on the infamous cartoon version of the Hobbit by Arthur Rankin Jr, with round-bellied short creatures that refuse to talk of adventure. The game involves a lot of jumping from pillar to pillar and going on eternal quests fetching needles and hammers and nails. Yes, there's bashing involved too, mostly of the jump-and-slash, jump-and-slash, jump-and-slash kind.

Don't get me wrong - I *love* Lord of the Rings and will eagerly buy any game based on the series. But I also love great gameplay. I would play Zelda for months and months, and the games based on the movies in the Lord of the Rings trilogy were superb. This one is on the cute side and is more about running through bushes and shrubs gathering up "courage gems" than any actual real thought. You could easily win this game in a few hours. Sure, you can then go back and find "every last gem" ... but really, running around every square inch of ground hoping mysterious gems pop out of the ground isn't my idea of fun.

I'd recommend renting this one and playing it for a weekend. You'll easily win the game several times in that period. If you still find the game fun, buy yourself a copy and enjoy! But if you've tired of the incessant repetitive music, jumping platform areas and tediously long speeches by then, you'll be quite happy to trade the game back in and get something else. I recommend Return of the King - now there's a game I love playing over and over!

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