Choosing the book, The Hobbit, as a setting for an action/adventure video game is a natural, given the intense interest in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, popularized right now by a highly successful series of movies. The novel of The Hobbit is the precursor of the trilogy, and is a more light-hearted approach to Middle-Earth, with a much more simplistic story than The Lord of the Rings. It is appropriate, then, that the game, The Hobbit, reflects the simplicity and overall cheerfulness of the novel, rather than the dark overtones of The Lord of the Rings.

I really wanted to review this game, as I'm a die-hard fan of Tolkien's books. I've read the trilogy more than ten times over the past twenty-five years, and also have read The Hobbit many times, the last time reading it aloud to my daughter. I tend to be somewhat anal about movie translations, and have to confess I had some problems with The Lord of the Rings movies, mostly to do with the portrayal of the hobbits and changes in story elements. I'm one of those people whom you don't want to sit by in the theater, if I've read the book.

However, I'm less critical of games based on books, as they have to be designed around the limitations of the genre they're based on, in this instance, a platform game. As Bilbo wouldn't be running around Middle-Earth fighting umpteen baddies and collecting items, anyway, expecting a platform game to adhere strictly to the novel would be silly. Unlike in the novel, here Bilbo is ready and even eager to begin his journey of adventure, and the beginning of the game starts with Bilbo running around Hobbiton, collecting items and accomplishing tasks.

The world of Hobbiton is huge in this game, and enjoyable to explore. The designers chose to draw Middle-Earth with a brightly illuminated landscape that emotes a basic cheerfulness, even in darker areas of the story. The colors are richly vibrant and deep, and items like grass, water and trees are well-drawn. The many characters are nicely detailed and look like what you'd expect hobbits to look like. The same goes for the trolls, dwarves, spiders, elves and of course, Gandalf and Gollum. Bilbo is drawn well, but sports a much younger look, but hey, adventuring is a tough job physically and not for the middle-aged, after all.

Movement is good, and the camera is adequate, but there are some camera control issues and angles that are problematic at times. Bilbo can get stuck in corners and behind objects, but thankfully not too often. The camera can be manipulated manually, which is necessary to look up and around for items that can't be seen by Bilbo's sometimes limited close-up viewpoint (many times the camera is just too close to Bilbo, and needs to be set further back from the action). In platform games, this is one of my pet peeves, having to stop gameplay to move the camera around, but unfortunately, many games require this. As Bilbo moves behind items, too, often the object he's behind becomes strangely transparent.

Moving around the platform elements is easy enough, and Bilbo jumps effortlessly across chasms from ledge to ledge, climbs ropes and hops across the water. Collision detection is mostly good; Bilbo won't die very often from falling, but will mainly expire from attacks by hidden enemies. The amount of jumping around can become drudgery after awhile, though.

Combat is handled simply and mostly consists of just mashing buttons to switch between items to fight with and hitting the action button to fight. The enemies are easy to dispatch in the earlier levels, but become increasingly difficult later in the game. Still, there's nothing horribly difficult about any of the bosses. The camera locks on the enemy for easy enough dispatching. The combat is more difficult when faced with several hidden enemies that keep sneaking up on him, like spiders and goblins, as often they're not seen until they hit, and there are a lot of them to fight at once.

There is a lot of stealth involved (Bilbo is a burglar, after all) and once he acquires the Ring, he can sneak around invisibly, but has to be careful to be quiet. When he gains Sting, the orc-killing sword, he is also warned about enemies close by when it changes color. There are other "power-ups" that upgrade his abilities and options throughout the game, as well, that can be gained by finding scrolls, or by purchasing the items.

As in most games of this type, there is a fair amount of errand running and item collecting. Some of the tasks are mandatory, and some optional - a handy goal list lets players know what needs to be accomplished. There are simple manipulative puzzles that require good reflexes in the timing, and also physical puzzles. The timing aspect can be frustrating at times, as it involves pressing a button at a precise moment, or death transpires. But this is alleviated somewhat by having lots and lots of save points scattered around.

This game is linear, despite having lots to explore and do in each level. Once a level is completed, there's no going back, unlike in Zelda. Still, the levels are large enough to offer a satisfying amount of exploration and discovery. As Middle-Earth is a large place, it's too bad this game wasn't more open-ended.

The treatment of the story sticks to the main elements of the book for the most part, as in the troubles the dwarves have with the trolls, elves and Smaug, but does take liberties now and then, mostly with the myriads of enemies Bilbo encounters and fights (like spiders in places they weren't in the book) and the quests. This makes sense for this type of game, though.

The music is wonderful, and we especially enjoyed the folksy style that was totally appropriate for the bucolic nature of the first level in Hobbiton. The styles changed throughout the game to reflect the moods and settings, and were orchestrated well. The sound effects are less thought out, and really don't add much to the overall atmosphere of the game. More should have been done with the sounds of nature, here, especially in light of the outdoor setting of the entire game.

This game is a typical platform game, with nothing innovative or new, but one that is designed competently and with skill. The exploration, combat, puzzles, quests and item collecting are standard fare in most games of this type, but there's nothing wrong with doing things done before, as long as they're fun, which in this case, they are.

Almost every platform/adventure game released after Zelda is hurt by inevitable comparisons, but this is unfair. A game like the genius that is Zelda only comes along once in awhile. We found The Hobbit to be very similar in game design and overall appearance to Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets, which our family thoroughly enjoyed, from young to old. The brightness of the animation, combat style and item collecting all look very like Chamber of Secrets, and the difficulty level and depth of gameplay is about the same, too.

Because of this "safe" approach to the genre, gamers looking for hours and hours of extremely challenging and deep gameplay won't find it here, but more casual gamers who want to leisurely explore, accomplish quests, upgrade abilities and buy items, while not having to worry too much about dying every five seconds, will have a good time. This game is a perfect choice for families, as everyone can find something to enjoy here. Younger gamers will be able to play, with only minimal help from older family members, and the good placement of save places makes it very accessible for all ages.