As for every ps2 games, nostalgia tends to cloud my judgements, and this game is not an exception.

A pretty faithful journey, this game tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, and it does with a really good art direction in all levels; every level seems crafted with a precise intention in what it tries to convey, and that is something that can't be taken for granted, even in today's game landscapes, where there is often an almost absurd search for photorealism, without even considering art direction.

The combat is the weak spot of this game: as much as I liked finding all the scrolls to power up Sting and throwing rocks, it's pretty much just press square and do some jump attacks when someone with a shield appears.

In general, the gameplay is good enough, and the "stealthy" sections are pretty good for what they are.

As a whole, this videogame is good: the art direction is really good, and it helps when the gameplay is not that tight or good.

This obscure pre-movie adaption of The Hobbit book by Tolkien was the game of my childhood. The game mechanics are pretty simple and you can see how they tried to make it more interesting by adding things like little puzzles and stealth sections. The latter were my nightmares at the time (those stupid trolls!), but it's actually not that hard. I would say the weakest part is perhaps the combat, as there isn't much to do other than crush orcs and other creatures with your stick by pressing X or throwing rocks at them.
The great thing about the game is that Bilbo's journey is pretty faithful to the original, and you have a lot of variety in locations during the campaign. You see Hobbiton, the forests, orc mines, mountains, Lake-Town and so on. The dialogs and presentation are also very charming.

A very charming journey through Middle-Earth with challenging puzzle-solving, decent stealth segments (save one) and enchanting levels.

Each level are oozing with visual spectacle well aided by good landmarks/setpieces, decent draw distance and lightning effects with minimal framedrops at a generally safe 30 fps. (at least for the gamecube)

Initially the game can feel rough and clunky, but as you unlock more abilities and gain more hp as well as attack output the gameplay does get better, as long as you take your time to find the scavenged chests hidden on each level.

Amidst linear levels that also tends to be more action packed and story oriented, there are also dungeon-esque areas with many alternate paths and lots of hidden treasure, but the game backs you up with purple crystal collectibles scattered about leading you back on the right course, honestly some of the most clever handhelding I've seen done in an open zone platformer.

Arguably this game might not hold up well to today's fundamental structure, but if you're looking for a good 2000 era adventure game with lots of charm and some finicky mechanics tossed in, and for simply enjoying Lotr, I'd absolutely recommend it.

There's something special about reading a book before seeing a movie these days. Book cover aside, you get to stake your claim to its imagined aesthetic: what their voices sound like, what their faces look like, and the crown jewel of the reader's relationship to their story, the pacing. You want a long pause where Bilbo runs his fingers across the petrified trolls? So be it. You want Gandalf to cough out a kracken as he blows his little ship through smoke rings? Wish granted. A drunken kiss between Kíli and Glóin? Well... don't tell their great great Granddwarf. It's such a fucking mind hack. But getting to play The Hobbit on the PS2 as your very first introduction to one of the most ubiquitous fantasy worlds of all time? Now that is worth a trip to mordor.

And these days, it kind of has dibs on how i visualize these stories upon reading them. Its own inspiration clearly being the Ranken/Bass animated film from 1977 (a rank and ass classic). As by the time it was in development and the live action trilogy was coming out, it was probably too late to pivot art directions, but I wonder how much they did change.

Anyway - so fucking fun. never beat it as a kid cuz it actually gets really hard in that laggy and unspecific hitbox combat frustrating sort of way. Apparently there was new life breathed into it from the speed-running community. A good time, especially if you like to see different interpretations of your favorite stories.

Extra half a star for the uncanny cutscenes. Unironically a very special time for 3d animation.

Y'know, this game really isn't that bad.

The level design and areas are actually pretty good, especially Hobbiton and the Mines of Moria.

More or less an average Adventure game that will entertain any young Middle Earth fanatic.

Flat off the bat let me be clear- this game is not good. It's an action platformer that, for the most part, fails at both. The combat is hard because of crappy controls, and the platforming is bad because it feels incredibly inaccurate and clunky.

But I played this game as a child. It was one I was never able to beat, because I was, again, a child. And let me say that if you also grew up playing this game as an eight year old back in 2003, it is a fantastic wave of nostalgia to go back and replay. The game is clearly aged, but because of the cell shaded style, it's not as aged as you might think.

Oh and Smaug actually has four legs in this one so it's automatically better than the movies.