LEGO has picked up the rights to some of the biggest movie properties around including , , , , and . Now they have another big title (technically two titles) on the way: and . I can only begin to dream of the massive, time-consuming glory these sets will offer. It will probably cost well over $100 for the set, but I want to spend an entire day building Helm’s Deep (I can’t confirm they’re going to offer it, but I’d be shocked it they didn’t). But think of the possibilities: The Shire. Minas freaking Tirith.Hit the jump for the press release and sound off in the comments about what you can’t wait to build. The release of the LEGO sets is timed to coincide with the build up to the first part of Peter Jackson’s adaptation, , which opens December 14, 2012. Part two, , opens December 13, 2013.Here’s the press release:BURBANK, Calif., Dec. 16, 2011 — Warner Bros. Consumer Products and The LEGO Group announced today a partnership that awards the world’s leading construction toy brand exclusive rights to develop build-and-play construction sets based on THE LORD OF THE RINGS™ trilogy and the two films based on THE HOBBIT™.
The multi-year licensing agreement grants access to the library of characters, settings, and stories for THE LORD OF THE RINGS property, as well as films The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. LEGO® THE LORD OF THE RINGS construction sets are slated for a rolling global launch beginning in June 2012 in the United States, with LEGO THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY scheduled for later in the year. “Only LEGO, with their expertise in the construction category, is capable of doing justice to the incredibly imaginative environments depicted in the world of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the two films based on THE HOBBIT,” said Karen McTier, executive vice president, domestic licensing and worldwide marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “These films give life to amazing worlds and characters and we are thrilled to bring fans these products that deliver an imaginative play experience befitting of these beloved properties.” The LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS collection will translate into LEGO form the epic locations, scenes and characters of Middle-earth as depicted in all three films, including The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
In late 2012, LEGO THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY will give fans of all ages a chance to build and play out the fantastical story and new characters of the legendary Middle-earth adventures depicted in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journeyfrom Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, slated to premiere December 14, 2012. “Our collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products has delivered numerous worldwide successes in the construction toy aisle with lines like LEGO HARRY POTTER and LEGO BATMAN, introducing us to loyal audiences who love great stories, strong characters and the toys that they inspire,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president, licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group. “It’s particularly exciting to now be able to create sets based on the fantasy worlds and characters from THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and the two films based on THE HOBBIT, not only because we know they will foster collectability and creative play, but also because these are two properties that our fans have been asking us to create for years.”
About The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of two films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit. The second film will be The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Both films are set in Middle-earth 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar®-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released beginning December 14, 2012. The second film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, is slated for release the following year, beginning December 13, 2013. Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, the character he played in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins. Also reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” movies are: Cate Blanchett as Galadriel;
Ian Holm as the elder Bilbo; Christopher Lee as Saruman; Hugo Weaving as Elrond; Elijah Wood as Frodo; Orlando Bloom as Legolas; and Andy Serkis as Gollum. The ensemble cast also includes (in alphabetical order) Richard Armitage, John Bell, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Barry Humphries,Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Evangeline Lilly, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas, and Aidan Turner. The screenplays for both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are by Fran Walsh,Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson. Jackson is also producing the films, together with Fran Walsh andCarolynne Cunningham. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Ken Kamins, Toby Emmerich and Zane Weiner, with Boyens serving as co-producer.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are being co-produced by New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. with New Line managing production. Warner Bros Pictures will be handling theatrical distribution for most of the world and MGM will handle all international television licensing and theatrical distribution for certain international territories for the films.3DS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One Mixed or average reviews- based on 10 RatingsLet’s face it, LEGO is very in vogue at the moment. There are LEGO products coming out almost too fast to count, with almost every franchise or intellectual property imaginable getting the “block” treatment. To be fair, a great deal of this can be laid at the feet of Traveller’s Tales, the video game developer that has brought us so many memorable hours collecting studs and solving puzzles, all the while laughing at the wry re-imagining of memorable movies and inherent LEGO charm.
However, some would argue that these games have become stale, following the same patterns for years now. While this is true to a certain extent, it is also undeniable that the formula works. This time we return to Middle Earth for LEGO The Hobbit, which is, for better or worse, more of the same. As always, the controls are easy to grasp for anyone. The puzzles are simple enough, although the path forward isn’t always as obvious as it should be. You’ll quickly figure out who is required for which obstacle. Bilbo can use his Ring to build LEGO wraith bricks. Gandalf can shoot blue bricks with his magic staff. Some dwarfs can mine for ore, others use their axes to break through walls, and naturally you can feed Bombur and then jump on him to reach certain high places. This isn’t new by any means, but it’s important to learn who does what. You pass through familiar territory early on, but are soon immersed in new parts of Middle Earth previously unexplored. And there is a lot to explore here.
As has become the norm, there are now side quests and lots of hidden areas to find. Running through the two movies is still a fairly lengthy experience (roughly 6 to 8 hours), but trying to get 100% completion on LEGO The Hobbit would be an achievement to be proud of! Another thing that has become part of the formula, for better or worse, is the fact that you really need to play the whole story mode and unlock the entire world before it’s really worth going back and replaying any of the levels. However, since there isn’t really a “hub” per se, this is less noticeable. You can feel free to explore the countryside at your leisure, always knowing you can follow the trail of glowing blue bricks like breadcrumbs back to the next level. The game looks fantastic on the PS4. The lighting is amazing and there are some phenomenal water effects in particular. If anything, the backgrounds are almost too real, making the LEGO figures and buildings stand out all the more by comparison.
But I’ve said this in the past with other LEGO titles: you can only make bricks look so good. While the music is wonderfully balanced, I swear that the mixing on the lines of dialogue from the film isn’t always even. This is something that has bothered me before; LEGO games that use the actual lines from the movies themselves never sound right, or are out of order to save time. I realize this is me being nit-picky, but it’s jarring and always draws me out of the moment. To be honest, I miss the more dry humor of the silent protagonists from the first games like LEGO Star Wars or LEGO Batman. There is an interesting addition that is equal parts fun and frustrating. At certain points you will be tasked with crafting an item with pieces you’ve collected along with studs during your adventures. But it doesn’t stop there. Once you’ve gathered all the requisite components, a mini-game will start. A LEGO build will begin and then come to a halt, waiting for you to pick the missing piece.
You have eight choices, and can see the ghostly outline of the required piece on the diagram. The trick is that sometimes things are backwards or upside down. Oh, and did I mention there is a timer and a reward that diminishes with both the clock and any mistakes you might make? As I said, it can be fun, but you can just imagine how frustrating. I also found that these segments broke up the flow of a level, which will draw you out of the experience every time. However, one thing really bothers me… why this game was released now, after The Desolation of Smaug released in theaters? What about the third movie in the trilogy, recently renamed The Battle of the Five Armies? I’ve heard rumors that it might be a DLC, but as far as I know nothing has been confirmed. I’d be disappointed if it was a full priced game. I got LEGO The Hobbit for the whole adventure, there and back again as it were, not just two thirds of it. LEGO The Hobbit is ultimately par for the course. But the question becomes, is even-par enough to be worth buying or is more expected?