Coming out a whole 17 years beforeThe Lord of the Rings,The Hobbitwas J.R.R. Tolkien’s first full novel, and while it was originally intended for a younger target audience,The Hobbitbecame an immediate hit with readers of all ages. Tellingthe story of Bilbo Bagginsand his perilous journey to the Lonely Mountain,The Hobbitis a classic fantasy tale in every sense of the word, but Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations weren’t quite so universal. Video games could change that.
Following the immense success of hisLord of the Ringstrilogy in the early 2000s, Peter Jackson was approached to helm aHobbitmovie adaptation. WithThe Lord of the Rings' production being so chaotic and damaging to Jackson’s health, he turned down the offer, and Guillermo Del Toro was drafted instead. After some creative differences, Del Toro was pushed out, and Jackson reluctantly agreed to step in as director, though the studio now wantedThe Hobbitto be a trilogy. The resulting movies were met with a middling reception from both fans and critics, but a video game adaptation of the trilogy could be just the thing to redeem them.
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Peter Jackson’s Hobbit Trilogy Could Be Redeemed Via a Video Game Adaptation
The firstHobbitmovie,The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, is a pretty solid adaptation of the source material. Martin Freeman’s take on Bilbo Baggins is sincere and likable,Ian McKellen’s return to Gandalf is heart-warming, and the movie has plenty of heart and fan-service to keep audiences on board throughout its rather lengthy runtime. The real problems start to emerge with the sequel,The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
With barely any source material to draw from, the sequel feels like it’s constantly padding its runtime, whether it’s via shots that linger just a little too long, or side plots that are completely fabricated for the movie and make little sense in context. This only gets worse with the final movie in the trilogy,The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which has virtually no plot or structure at all, and just chooses to throw CGI armies at each other, with no real motivation given behind any of it.The Hobbittrilogyis filled with unappealing characters, unclear motivations, terrible CG, and runtimes that are needlessly long.
AHobbitvideo game adaptation, inspired by the movies, could help to redeem the trilogy in the eyes of fans. The first thing aHobbitvideo game adaptation should do is condense the entire trilogy down into one streamlined, 15-20 hour experience. For reference,each part ofLord of the Ringscomes in at over 400 pages long, making the whole saga over 1200 pages in length.The Hobbitis just 300 pages long, making it even shorter than just one section ofLord of the Rings.
A video game adaptation ofTheHobbitshould trim the fat, and just keep all of the bits fans actually enjoyed about the movies. The game should let players control both Bilbo and Thorin Oakenshield, offering two distinct types of gameplay. While Bilbo’s missions would see him sneak through areas like the troll’s campfire, the Goblin King’s fortress, or Smaug’s cave, Thorin’s missions could see him take on orcs and Azog. The game could even throw in a side mission with Legolas to make his inclusion in the movies feel more worthwhile, and less like fan-service. There are some good moments inThe Hobbittrilogy, and a condensed video game experience could be the way to redeem it.
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