To the great surprise of no one, the Lego games are finally going there and, well, not quite back again in Lego The Hobbit. The game follows the first two films of the Hobbit movie trilogy, giving us a chance to lead Bilbo and company all the way from the comforts of Bag End to the dwarf home beneath the Lonely Mountain. It’s a fun journey to be sure, but confusing at times, and not entirely satisfying. Lego The Hobbit clings to the series’ standard combat and exploration, but, as usual, a handful of welcome twists make things a bit more interesting this time around. A few different rhythm-based challenges, an item creation system tied to resource collection, and the “find the missing piece” mini-game from February’s Lego Movie game make The Hobbit more than just a button masher, although it is still mostly just that. Thankfully, the environmental challenges and enemies are sophisticated enough to keep the action engaging. In comparison to the roster in last year’s Lego Marvel game, many of the characters in the Hobbit feel like, at best, minor variations of each other.
It certainly doesn’t help that they all sort of look alike, and it can get a little confusing to tell the dwarves apart. But you’ll need to pay attention, as each dwarf has one unique ability, like Bombur’s ability to turn into a bouncing platform or Bofur’s mining power, that needs to be applied to the narrowly scripted environmental challenges. Chip the Glasses and Crack the Plates The extended action sequences and sometimes slapstick humor of The Hobbit films make a good fit for a Lego game. Honestly, there’s always been something a little disjointed about watching Cyclops wreck the X-Mansion or Luke Skywalker destroy Yoda’s house, but seeing the Dwarves go to town demolishing absolutely everything in Bag End or Rivendell makes perfect sense. When you see them literally start smashing Bilbo’s cupboards and Elrond’s tables, it just feels right. From the plate juggling in Bilbo’s kitchen to the golden toilets in Smaug’s hoard, there are also loads of humorous little touches that keep the charm going.
Lego The Hobbit also looks beautiful. The settings are very convincing, with loads of little details and plenty of suitably moody lighting. The world is filled with fantastic creatures and monsters, and developer Traveller’s Tales has done a great job adapting the giant eagles, goblin kings, and dragons to the standard Lego models. The only real problem with the graphics is that the more realistic color palette and sheer density of some of the scenes can make it very difficult to see who you are or what you’re doing. The sometimes inconsistent camera angles don’t help things much. More than once, I just found myself just attacking and jumping at random in the hopes that I would eventually figure out where I was. To Dungeons Deep and Caverns Old The main story clocks in at about six hours, but there’s much more to do and see in the world once you’ve completed the main missions. Each mission unlocks events around the map, and you’ll be able to spend hours digging into the recipes, errands, and encounters around Middle-earth.
A campfire system lets you change the time of day to open up new events, and you can always call on a giant eagle to get you from one end of the map to the other. While most of the missions are fairly predictable, I was impressed with the Hobbit’s take on the solo sections. For Riddles in the Dark, Bilbo’s joined by a dazed goblin, for instance. There are also some tremendous set pieces where the characters are facing off against the dragon, or climbing up the body of a very active and very angry stone giant. Unfortunately, the story sort of goes by in a flash. Last year’s Lego Marvel showed what Travelers Tales can do with an original story, so The Hobbit’s abbreviated, sometimes scattered storytelling feels like a step back. There are narrative bits tying the missions together, but the whole game presumes that you already know the source material well enough to fill in the gaps yourself. (You probably do, but if you’re playing with kids it might not be clear to them.) It’s particularly troublesome to track the events between the spider attack and the dwarves’ arrival at Lake Town.
The game also ends where the second movie ends, which left me wanting more – and not in a good way. Lego The Hobbit won’t surprise fans of the Lego series, but the new gameplay systems add just enough complexity to keep things interesting. New events and mining opportunities make exploration of the open world almost as fun as the main missions. The storytelling presumes you already know the source material by heart, which means things are sometimes a bit disjointed, and the game, like the movies it’s based on, ends at an awkward place. But like almost all the Lego games, this is a journey worth taking.Show all reviewsLego hits it out of the park, as usualFormat: Video Game|Missing Battle of the Five ArmiesFormat: Video Game|Good Family FunFormat: Video Game|The game only covers the first 2 movies which is too bad because this was a really fun gameFormat: Video Game|Lego does it again!Format: Video Game|... with all the lego series games) are so much fun. My favorite part is that a second player ...
My sub and I love playing itFormat: Video Game|Game CrashesFormat: Video Game|←Previous...Get fast answers from reviewers See all 9 answered questions Customers also viewed these itemsLEGO Lord of the Rings - Xbox 360507LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 - Xbox 360396LEGO Jurassic World - Xbox 360 Standard Edition408LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 - Xbox 360262LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean - Xbox 360266Need customer service? Then, enter one of the following codes to activate the corresponding cheat function. Note: Characters unlocked with codes cannot be saved. Thus, you must re-enter codes to activate the characters again each time you quit and restart the game. Fast travel to Hobbiton. When you arrive, select "Bofur" as your character. Then, follow the river east until you see a box full of bread on the right. Destroy the box, and collect the wood and bread. Next, go straight through the fence to reach a small cave that contains random loot that can be mined. The random loot can be gold, silver, copper, iron, sapphire, ruby, emerald, diamond, or stone.
After collecting the loot in the small cave, turn left to see a box of fish next to the bridge. Destroy the box of fish, and collect the items. After collecting the loot, pause the game, select "View Map", and choose to fast travel to Hobbiton again. All loot will respawn. Repeat this process as many times as desired. This trick allows you to obtain enough loot to forge all the weapons and tools in the game. Fast travel to Esgaroth, and go to the tower on the far right. Stand in the tower for two seconds to make this area your save location. Then, collect the nearby sapphire, ruby, emerald, and diamond. After collecting the loot, pause the game, select the "View Map" option, and choose to fast travel to Mirkwood. When the eagle drops you off, hold Up on the Left Analog-stick to cause your character to fall into the water. You will then respawn back at the tower in Esgaroth. Repeat this process as many times as desired. Successfully complete the indicated tasks to obtain all stud multipliers.
Stud multipliers can be activated in conjunction with one another. Collect and activate all five stud multipliers to receive a x3840 stud multiplier, giving you 3840 studs for every one stud collected. Mithril Flail schematic location: At the beginning of the "Over Hill And Under Hill" level, change to an elf, then shoot arrows into the yellow slots on the cliffs. Swing on the arrows to reach the schematic. Then, forge the Mithril Flail item in the Bree blacksmith shop. Red Brick location: Successfully complete the quest in Hobbiton during the daytime. The person giving the stud quest is in the far northern section of the map. Trade the Mithril Flail item to be able to purchase the x2 studs multiplier for 500,000 studs. Mithril Shadow Blade schematic location: Go south and slightly east of Bree, and look for large yellow and purple sign post with arrows. Follow the yellow arrows; if you see a purple arrow, go the opposite direction to find the next yellow arrow. If you go the correct way, two yellow arrows will appear above some loose dirt.
Dig in that area to find a key, then jump over to a special altar. Give it some crafting items, which can be purchased in Erebor, to obtain the schematic. Then, forge the Mithril Shadow Blade item in the Bree blacksmith shop. Red Brick location: Travel to the High Pass east of Rivendell. Climb down the giant Lego brick cliff, swing across the gap, and then climb up to find the person giving the stud quest. Trade the Mithril Shadow Blade item to be able to purchase the x4 studs multiplier for 1,500,000 studs. Mithril Construction Hat schematic location: On the road between Dol Guldur and Rhovanion, locate the goblin wall, and climb up it with a goblin character. Jump across the platforms, and plant a flower to reach the jump pads above. While on the mountain path, go to the cave entrance, and solve the puzzle by moving the large block to the high ledge. Then, set a fire, and smash the chest to get the schematic. Forge the Mithril Construction Hat item in the Bree blacksmith shop.
Red Brick location: The person giving the stud quest is on the southern shores of Moria, next to a Lego tent near the water. Trade the Mithril Construction Hat item to be able to purchase the x6 studs multiplier for 4,500,000 studs. Mithril Beanstalk schematic location: In the snowy Pass Of Caradhras, far south of Rivendell, is a cave covered with mithril rocks. Smash the rocks to find the schematic inside, near a snowman. Then, forge the Mithril Beanstalk item in the Bree blacksmith shop. Red Brick location: On the path south of Bree's entrance from Hobbiton is the person giving the stud quest, on the edge of a cliff. Trade the Mithril Beanstalk item to be able to purchase the x8 studs multiplier for 10,000,000 studs. Mithril Candle Staff schematic location: South of Dol Guldur in the forest, look for sparkling wooden bricks covering a cave entrance. Use the ring with Bilbo to destroy the planks. There is a locked altar inside that requires three hidden keys. Dig up the loose dirt on the right, shoot the target under the owl in the tree to the left, and break the bricks in the foreground left to collect all three keys.
Use the three keys to open the locked altar and obtain the schematic. Then, forge the Mithril Candle Staff item in the Bree blacksmith shop. Red Brick location: In the elven forest west of Dol Guldur, the person giving the stud quest will appear in the trees. Trade the Mithril Candle Staff item to be able to purchase the x10 studs multiplier for 20,000,000 studs. Note: Successfully complete the other optional quests first for this stud quest to become available. First, unlock and activate as many stud multipliers as possible. Then, travel to Bree to find two purple studs (worth 10,000 each at x1 multiplier) in the center square of town, and collect them. After collecting the purple studs, enter the nearby interior shop, and then go back outside to make the purple studs respawn. If you have unlocked and activated all five stud multipliers, you will earn 38,400,000 studs for each purple stud collected. Search the indicated locations to find all Minikits. Search the indicated locations to find all schematics.
Search the indicated locations to find all treasures. To get the "Lord Of The Prance" achievement, you must equip the Dazzle Wig, Mithril Rhythm Stick, and Mithril Dance Boots items. The mithril items require a schematic to forge them in Bree. The wig can be found as a special treasure item. The items can be found at the following locations: Dazzle Wig: Enter the "Flies And Spiders" level, and start at "The Elves Of Mirkwood" section to find a path near the beginning that is blocked with mithril bricks. Destroy them and enter to find a jacuzzi party. Use the fishing pole to obtain the Dazzle Wig. Mithril Rhythm Stick: In the town of Rivendell, jump down below a bridge near the lake to find a boat on a hidden dock. Go to the spire in the middle of the lake, and throw an explosive weapon at the mithril chest to get the schematic. Mithril Dance Boots: Further east in Rivendell, follow the ornate bridge into a door against the cliff wall. Inside the training cave, use an elf to climb the ropes, and jump to three switches.