TT Games' follow-up to Lego Lord of the Rings is out, making it the third Lego title in six months. How does it stand up? Lego The Hobbit PS4 Review: All These Dwarves Look the Same TT Games' follow-up to Lego Lord of the Rings is out, making it the third Lego title in six months. If you've played any of the previous Lego games, then you already know what to expect from Lego The Hobbit. It's roughly in line with the other Lego games that I've played in the past. My introduction to the series was with Lego Marvel Super Heroes back in October, meaning I've played 4 Lego titles in 6 months (I played through Lego Marvel on two platforms). That means I've played roughly the same game repeatedly, like walking into the same room and sitting on the same couch over and over again with only the wallpaper and upholstery changing. Surprisingly, I'm not tired of it yet. It's a comfy couch. Lego The Hobbit is based on the first two of the Hobbit films, An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug.
The third film, There and Back Again, isn't out until December of this year, so TT Games will be releasing downloadable content covering that movie. It's odd, because it's not like the end of the Hobbit is much of a spoiler, but I suppose the move will give Lego The Hobbit a small boost around the holiday shopping season. It is a bit weird to see the credits roll in the middle of the story. One thing that hit me pretty early on about Lego The Hobbit is how great it looks. I don't know if it's an updated engine or just the fact that I started on PlayStation 4 this time around, but the entire game looks spectacular. Waves of orcs, sleepy towns, rivers winding through mountain crevasses; it's all quite impressive when contrasted with the simplicity of Lego blocks. TT Games absolutely sells the epic feeling at times in Lego the Hobbit. It's not Metro: Last Light on Ultra Settings, but the studio is still pulling out all of the stops for its intended audience. You'll experience family-friendly, humorous Lego versions of all the big scenes from the first two films: Dol Guldur and the battle with the necromancer, the band's capture and conflict with the Great Goblin, Bilbo's meeting with Gollum, being saved from giant spiders by Legolas and crew, and Bilbo's first encounter with the dragon Smaug.
Everything's here in the Lego style you've come to expect: two-player cooperative gameplay, linear beat-em-up levels, ability-based puzzles, and a whole host of characters to unlock. All of this is connected by a world map that feels more cohesive than what was found in Lego Marvel or The Lego Movie. Lego Marvel's Manhattan is grand, but it feels more like a playground than a fully-realized world. In Lego The Hobbit, as you progress through the game, you'll unlock more of the world map, including quests and other collectible goodies to find. At some point, you can wander aimlessly from one side of the map to the other, which goes a long way towards selling Lego Middle-Earth as a living place. Lego The Hobbit features 98 characters to unlock with a host of unique abilities spread randomly across the entire lineup. All of the abilities required to proceed are available in the primary cast, with everybody else just being there for fun. One problem that creeps up in Lego The Hobbit is the lack of distinctiveness in that primary cast;
unlike Lego Marvel or The Lego Movie, the dwarves that make up the cast don't have wildly different looks. Occasionally, you'll struggle trying to remember which one has the bow, or you'll spend a bit of time pondering if you're picking the dwarf with the slingshot or the one with the flail. It's not game-breaking or anything, but it is a bit annoying. TT Games decided to make the co-op play more overt this time around. Many puzzles require two players doing things in tandem, or at least one player switching characters. There's also tandem Buddy Attacks, which are needed to dispatch the larger and harder foes. It does improve the feeling of actually playing together, whereas in Lego Marvel and The Lego Movie there was very little in the way of direct interaction. Since this is a Lego game, there's also a few mechanics built around building items out of the famous blocks. The build mini-game from The Lego Movie returns here: the game builds an object and then offers players the chance to select the next piece in the process.
Choose quickly and you'll get bonus Lego Studs that add to your overall count. There's also the new Lego Loot. When you're out there smashing everything you can find for more Stud-ly goodness, Lego Loot will also drop. This loot takes the form of wood, stone, meat, or even precious gems. At specific stations around the world, you can spend this loot to build new objects. Lego The Hobbit has a pretty robust quest system built around Lego Loot and the objects you can create from it, with the denizens of Lego Middle-Earth requiring your building talents to move on with their lives. Lego The Hobbit is a great little game, even if the source material lets it down a bit. It looks great, but the cast doesn't bring a lot to the table, like it did for Lego Marvel or The Lego Movie. Outside of their extra side abilities, they all play largely the same, so there isn't a strong desire to pick a favorite this time around. TT Games is still at the top of its craft, but if you had to pick one Lego game on retail shelves right now, I'd go with Lego Marvel.
That said, Lego the Hobbit will probably be a great buy this holiday season once the DLC hits and the game has gained some distance from its better predecessors. Lego The Hobbit brings the first two Hobbit films to life in TT Games' great, family-friendly style. On PlayStation 4, the game looks absolutely amazing, especially in the cutscenes and major battles when it matters most. Unfortunately, the source material lets down TT Games here; the dwarves just aren't very distinct when compared to the cast of Lego Marvel and The Lego Movie. All told, Lego The Hobbit is very good, but it doesn't reach the best of those previous titles. This article may contain links to online retail stores. If you click on one and buy the product we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.This site is currently suspended. The site administrator has been informed. Lego Jurassic World Red Brick Guide Scattered throughout the four HUB worlds there are twenty red bricks to find.
When you have found one you can then go to the Visitor’s Centre in Jurassic Park, or on Main Street in Jurassic World, and purchase the brick. When you have purchased a brick you can turn it on by pausing the game and choosing Extras from the list. Jurassic Park I – Visitor Centre Head round the back of the building and you will find an electrical target near a worker in peril. Shoot this with the stun gun to raise a door, then light up the space behind to find the brick. Jurassic Park II – Hunting Plains Near the InGen Arrival level marker there is a vehicle pad. Use this to summon a Gyrosphere and move to the open plain. In the middle you will see a launch pad for you Gryosphere, which will launch you into the rock wall and expose an orange brick. Summon T.rex from the pad nearby and roar at the orange brick to destroy it and get your red brick. Jurassic Park III – Isla Sorna Aviary Head inside the building and use the stairs in the centre of the room to reach the lower level.
Here you can summon a Pteranodon to fly around inside the aviary. Fly to the right where you will see a structure on the side of the aviary. At the top of the structure is a red level that the Pteranodon can pull to raise parts of the structure. There is also a baby Pteranodon that you can switch to and move around in the structure. You need to get the little on to the bottom right hand corner by lowering and raising sections of the path to clear the way. When the baby reaches the bottom it can collect the brick. Jurassic Park I- Herbivore Territory Inside the empty paddock there is a cracked rock on the left wall. Crack this rock open to reveal a large pipe. Get a character with a light to go into the pipe and pick up the brick. Jurassic World – Indominus Territory Go inside the Idnominus paddock and locate the dinosaur summoning pad in the back, right hand corner. Summon the Idnominus and use it’s stealth ability to become invisible. You can then get through the gate on the right without the security camera shutting the door.
In this area use the Idnominus bite to destroy one of the cages to get he brick out. Jurassic World – Isla Nublar Aviary Inside the Aviary you can summon a Pteranodon. Take control of the dinosaur and head down into the aviary. On the floor there are four blue pads and one has a red lever in front of it. Get the Pteranodon to pull it and one of the pads raises into the air with another lever on it. You need to land on each pad and pull the lever before time runs out to opent he cage with the red brick in it. Jurassic World – East Boardwalk Head up into the Pachycephalosaurus arena by charging and using the yellow elevator. On the arena wall there is a Raptor switch which will reveal a sign in the audience. Get Dilophosaurus to spit at it and another will appear. Do this eight times and you will get the brick. Lego Jurassic Park I – Tyrannosaurus Territory From the level marker for Restoring Power, head south crossing rivers as you go. You should then stumble on the T.rex territory.
To the left of the marker for this area there is an electrical target. Shoot this and climb the ladder to get over the wall. Summon a large dinosaur such as T.rex to break a large Lego cage to the right of the summoning pad. You can then collect the brick from inside. Jurassic Park II – Long Grass Head north on the map from the marker for the bonus level Tyrannosaurus Rex Escape and look for a dinosaur summoning pad. Opposite this there is a scent trail for a Raptor that will lead you straight to the red brick. Jurassic Park III – Ankylosaurus Territory Knock down a Lego tree so you can reach a nest of dinosaur eggs. There are some eggs missing and you need to return them to the nest to get the brick. The first egg is lying out in the open, to the left of the nest. Another egg is in the open, lying at the foot of a tree near the dinosaur summoning pad. The last egg can be found behind some vines that you can cut through with a knife or Raptor claw.
Jurassic Park III – Spinosaurus Territory Look for some hollow fallen trees near the dinosaur summoning pad. Get a Compsognathus to travel through the hollow logs and collect the red brick. Jurassic Park I – Carnivore Territory Locate a dinosaur paddock near where the East Docks, that has a man in it complaining that he has lost some eggs. You will need to locate and return all the missing dinosaur eggs. To do this you will need access to a small or medium dinosaur that can roar. I used a customer Raptor dinosaur with the T.rex ead. When you return all three missing eggs the large egg will hatch and reveal the red brick. The first one if behind some vines that you can remove with Dr Grant’s Raptor claw. Grab the Raptor bar next to the agility poles to turn off the electricity. You can then use the poles to reach the egg. Use the dinosaur pad to call your custom Raptor in and locate a large, orange rock. *Press and hold X when in front of the rock to roar and crack it open.
Jurassic World – West Boardwalk Head to the observation deck for the T.rex paddock and use the security panel in the corner to open a lift and uncover an electrical target. Use the lift to head down into the enclosure and hit the target on the wall below the observation deck. This releases the T.rex into the arena. Go over and switch to the T.rex, then use it’s strength to destroy the Lego objects behind it. You can then use the rocks to reach the brick above you. Jurassic World – Mosasurus Arena Head inside the entrance between the stands. In this small room there is a dinosaur summoning device that you can build and use to take over a Mosasaurus. Swimming about you will find three orange rocks. Use the Mosasaurus roar the same way you would the T.rex and break all three rocks. Jurassic World – Safari Plains Look for a small building with the red brick on top. Get a Velociraptor to pull the handle on the side of the building, which will extend the red and white awning.
You can then get a female character to jump onto this so they can reach the brick. Jurassic Park I – Dilophosaurus Territory Inside the enclosure there is a large fallen tree. Break through the cracked part and get the Dilophosaurus to break the black rock behind it. Finally, get Ellie to water the plant to get he red brick from inside. Jurassic Park I – Triceratops Territory Head to the Triceratops paddock and find an enclosed Triceratops right at the back. Break two crates to the left of the hut and build a hacking terminal from the pieces. Use this to X-ray the dinosaur. Click on its head, back leg, and body to get the brick to appear. Jurassic World – Gyrosphere Valley Look for a large orange rock embedded in the rock face and above it there is a black rock. Summon a T.rex using the pad nearby and roar to destroy the orange rock. (You will need to heal the sick Gallimimus first before you can summon the T.rex) When the orange rock is destroyed build the Lego into a Raptor grab bar, then use it to get up to the black rock.