The Hobbit Review

Developer	Inevitable Studios
Publisher	Sierra
Genre	Adventure

Translating beloved works of literature or film to the video game medium can surely be a daunting task. Fans of the original source adamantly demand that the game stay true to the spirit while still insisting on excellent gameplay. It’s tough to achieve that balance, which is why so few book or movie to game translations have succeeded.

Sierra’s game adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is a nice little game that does a decent job of bringing the book to life but unfortunately still runs into the trappings adapting an epic story into an epic game.

Gameplay - For the three of you that are unfamiliar with The Hobbit, you may have heard of a little phenomenon known as The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit is the prelude to the epic trilogy turned Hollywood blockbuster that tells the story of how Frodo’s Uncle Bilbo first meets Gandalf and comes to find the one ring of power. It is a far more lighthearted tale than the Lord of the Rings, culminating in a battle with a dragon, rather than with the dark forces of Sauron.

Now that we’re all up to speed, let’s talk about how the game actually plays in relation to the book. Starting out in Hobbiton, it’s apparent that the developers have taken a bit of creative license with the story. To start with, in the game, Bilbo seems rather eager, if at first surprised, to embark on Gandalf’s mysterious quest. Those familiar with the book know that our little hobbit friend wasn’t at all enthusiastic about adventuring and would have much preferred to sit in his house, smoking his pipe and having afternoon tea. While the developers have, for the most part, done an adequate job of attempting to remain accurate to the original tale, little discrepancies like these will no doubt irritate purists.

The game begins in Hobbiton as Bilbo prepares to meet the dwarves for his adventure by traveling through the town, familiarizing gamers with controls and techniques. As may be expected, this quickly turns into a fetch-quest, consisting of retrieving lost sewing needles and hammers, collecting apples, finding hiding children, and more. In fact, in Hobbiton alone there are in the area of twenty-five little errands to complete. Fortunately, only a few of these are actually required in order to complete the level. So if you don’t feel like scaring away the crows in the farmer’s field you can thankfully skip that task.

The game is in many ways very clever and well done. For example, Bilbo’s duty with the dwarves is to serve as burglar. Therefore, rather than finding a treasure chest and simply opening it, Bilbo will instead be required to pick the lock. Bilbo is also required to use stealth and craftiness to accomplish certain goals. This is achieved by either simply tiptoeing around enemies or using the ring to turn himself invisible. The controls are very intuitive as switching from walking stick to stone and eventually to Sting is all done with ease.

The variety of gameplay is worth noting as are the variety of locales in which to explore. They’re all there, from the lush hills of the Shire to the deep forests and tall mountains of middle earth. Mr. Baggins will encounter the trolls, Gollum, and eventually Smaug, as well as a host of other familiar characters from the book. In all, The Hobbit will have you collecting the standard baubles and items to throwing stones at birds, sneaking past trolls, and battling orcs and dragons.

However, the game does suffer from a few glaring technical issues. As is common in platform and adventure games, the camera angle will often provide gamers with a disadvantage by either being a bit too slow or simply sticking in place. The collision detection is also a bit off as at times the little hobbit will get lost in the side of a cliff or wall. Making precise jumps also seems to be a bit hit and miss as sometimes you’ll land your target and others you’ll simply fall to the ground (sometimes to your death) for no apparent reason.

The other part of the game that may be a turnoff to the hardcore is the game’s relative ease. Failing a mission or goofing up a small task will require you to start from the last save point. However, save points are almost overabundant, being placed around every turn. The challenges themselves are also not very trying. The game seems to be geared towards the younger set, so if you’re looking for an epic challenge, full of pits and perils, you may want to keep searching.

Graphics - The Hobbit is a surprisingly beautiful game that is decidedly more cartoonish in appearance than the Lord of the Rings titles on the market. The characters all have a fairy tale-like appearance to them, which may turn off those looking for realism, but truly captures the spirit of the book. Bilbo is a portly, goofy-looking character, the dwarves all look as though they were once little German garden gnomes, and Gandalf is a whimsical caricature of the hardened old wizard we’ve come to know in the movies.

And while the character models won’t blow you away, it’s difficult to not be impressed with the environments that have been created for the game. Just take a moment to stop and enjoy the Middle Earth sunset to see what I mean. The game also has a fantastic sense of scale as when running through a field of tall grass or a forest of menacing trees, it’s difficult not to feel like a tiny hobbit for whom the odds are stacked firmly against.

Sound - Walking through Hobbiton may inspire you to spontaneously break out into a hoedown. The folksy Celtic-like arrangements are straight out of the local renaissance festival, and while it’s almost hokey, it’s also very well done. Later levels also capture the feel of the moment quite well, ranging from smooth and calm to appropriately tense and bombastic.

The voice acting ranges from near-perfect to downright corny. For an early example of this corniness, look no further than the Hobbiton locals who possess some of the most generic cockney accents performed this side of community theater. The main characters, however, are all performed quite well and quite convincingly.

Overall Value - As stated earlier, The Hobbit is a nice little game that succeeds in being entertaining and in recreating the feel of the book in both look and feel. The Hobbit was never as gritty, grim, or dark as the stories that followed, and it appears as though the developers recognized that.

An otherwise enjoyable game falters from time to time due to various technical and camera issues. Its simplicity and “been there, done that” feel may also be a turn off to seasoned gamers. However, those who are either looking to simply escape into an adequate recreation of the book or interested in a game that will keep the younger crowd enthralled, The Hobbit makes a great choice.

Review by John Luedtke