The Hobbit: The Prelude to The Lord of the Rings

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The Hobbit: The Prelude to The Lord of the Rings is a video game that was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, GameBoy Advance, GameCube, Xbox, and PC. It was published by Sierra Entertainment Inc, and developed by Vivendi Universal Games.

Story[]

The player takes the role of Bilbo Baggins in a third-person adventure based loosely on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, The Hobbit. Featuring an intriguing storyline, it takes players to places from the classic book as well as to completely original locales. The player experiences many of the scenarios from the book such as the meeting with Gandalf and the Dwarves (the "Unexpected Party"), the shadowy encounter with the hungry Gollum, and the battle with the dragon Smaug. The player can use the power of the infamous ring to become invisible and sneak past enemies, and can fight enemies with various weapons such as a walking stick, throwing stones, and the magical sword Sting.

"Lead the Quest that started it all. Long Ago, the Lonely Mountain trembled as the Dragon Smaug destroyed the Dwarf-kingdom in fire and rage. When the Dwarves set out to reclaim their stolen treasure hoard, I, Gandalf the wizard, sent with them the most unlikely of heroes: Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. But even I could not foresee how this choice would rule the fate of Middle-earth."

                                    —Game description

Characters[]

• Bilbo Baggins - The main character. Originally a stubborn and "well to-do" hobbit, he gets swept into an adventure to help Thorin and his company reclaim the Lonely Mountain.

• Gandalf - The wizard who organizes the Quest of Erebor with Thorin. Gandalf leads the Dwarves on the quest to Lonely Mountain, giving Bilbo missions along the way.

• Thorin Oakenshield - The grandson of Thror, the last king under the mountain. He gives Bilbo most tasks and leads the Dwarves into battle.

• Bard - The Captain of the Laketown Guard. He appears in Lake-town and the Battle of the Five Armies. Bard kills Smaug with a swift arrow to the dragon's chest.

• Lianna - An elf of Thranduil's Hall in Mirkwood. Bilbo helps her recover from a mortal wound in Troll Cave by retrieving her healing draught. She eventually helps Bilbo escape from Thranduil's Hall. She is not featured in Tolkien's original legendarium.

• Corwin - A sad, heartbroken woodsman from Laketown. He says he is the only survivor of a spider attack on his camp. Bilbo helps him retrieve a lost signet that belonged to his brother (who was killed in the attack).

• Balfor - A dwarf of the Iron Hills who was a slave of some goblins. They forced him to work the dwarven-made mining contraptions. Once Bilbo frees him, he kills the goblin guards, and tells Bilbo how to escape.

• Smaug - A large red dragon that guards the treasure under Lonely Mountain.

Chapters[]

• Dreamworld: During the Dwarves' visit to Bag End, Bilbo falls asleep and dreams he is in the Battle of Five Armies. Bilbo also has no health and is invincible in this level. The purpose of this level is to acquaint the player with the controls of the game.

• An Unexpected Party: Bilbo is asked to find provisions for the dwarf Bombur, and is made to do various tasks around the Shire for different hobbits.

• Roast Mutton: Bilbo is sent to investigate a fire-light and attempts to pick-pocket three trolls to impress the Dwarves.

• Troll-hole: Bilbo must find a way into the trolls' cave to get supplies, while dodging traps and using old lifts.

• Over Hill and Under Hill: Bilbo ends up in a helter-skelter adventure trying to get back to the Dwarves after an interesting fall.

• Riddles in the Dark: Bilbo is lost and must find his way through a now goblin infested dwarf mine, fix broken dwarf lifts, and rescue Balfor, a dwarf of the Iron Hills.

• Flies and Spiders: Bilbo is lost again, and must find his way through a spider infested Mirkwood Forest, fighting hundreds of spiders and minions of the Wight lord. He must rescue the Dwarves from being eaten by the three giant spiders.

• Barrels Out of Bond: Bilbo must sneak through King Thranduil's realm and find a way to enable the Dwarves' escape.

• A Warm Welcome: The Dwarves and Bilbo escape to Lake-town, where they are warmly welcomed. Bilbo's gratitude to Lake-town and now-famous stealth lead him to stop a conspiracy to take over the city.

• Inside Information: Bilbo must steal the golden cup of Thrór from Smaug, and then figure out a way to slay him, whilst recovering rare artifacts and heirlooms for the Dwarves.

• The Gathering of the Clouds: Bilbo must find the Arkenstone for Thorin from Erebor's royal treasury, but due to broken keys, broken ladders, lost chains, belts, and forging molds, Bilbo also needs to repair the rest of the kingdom while finding it.

• The Clouds Burst: This level is takes place during the Battle of Five Armies. Bilbo must fight or sneak his way through the battle to deliver a message to Bard of Lake-town, which warns that the goblins of Bolg's army are going to attack his army from behind. He also meets up with Corwin, Lianna, and Beorn, whom he must help to slay Bolg. His death ends the battle as well as the game.

Weapons[]

• Walking-stick: Bilbo's walking-stick is the weapon he begins with. Though it appears simple, the Walking-

  

  stick has a wide variety of uses and is his most versatile weapon. It has a much greater reach than sting and can be used to pole jump as well. Bilbo can use the walking-stick to pole vault, use a swipe and jump attack. The swipe attack is where the walking-stick strikes directly in front of Bilbo. The jump attack is a more powerful attack, because it causes enemies to be knocked backwards. This attack can only be employed when the weapon meter is fully reloaded. Bilbo uses the Walking-stick to leap greater distances than he can on his own. Using the pole jump, Bilbo does not leap any higher than he normally would, but he jumps about twice as far. 

• Sting (sword): Bilbo must first locate  Sting before he can use it. Sting is an Elvish blade was made for the Goblin Wars. While it may not have the same reputation as Gandalf's sword, Glamdring, Sting is quite a worthy short sword for a Hobbit. Although it has some non-combat uses, Sting is Bilbo's main combat weapon.

  

  Over time, there are a variety of combat maneuvers available to Bilbo while he is using Sting that cause greater damage than his Walking-stick. Bilbo can also use Sting to cut through spider webbing, although he cannot use his sword to cut the full webs of the Giant Spiders, as those webs are too large and thick for his sword to sever. Sting's most useful feature is its pale blue glow, which you can use to guide your way through the darker areas of Middle-earth.

• Throwing Stones: Throwing Stones by themselves are useful in a number of ways. You can use 

  

  them as weapons or to smash objects that Bilbo cannot reach. They are used in all attacks, including first-person attacks for precise aiming. Bilbo can use various pickups that enhance the rocks with special effects. The effects include freezing and fire, but can only last for a short time. Stones are used mainly as a weapon, but they are also very effective when smashing distant objects.

Items[]

• Save Pedestal: You can save your progress with these.
• Health Potions: These repair 6 bubbles of Bilbo's health when you take them.
• Antidote: These cure Bilbo from being poisoned.
• Mushrooms: These repair one of Bilbo's health bubbles each.
• Skeleton Keys: These keys can either be bought or found in secret areas of the game.
• Coins: These appear as shiny change in bags. The amount frequents depending on bag size.
• Gunpowder Barrels: These appear in the Dreamworld level. They explode upon impact.
• Wood Chest: A dark brown chest. These have no penalty upon failure of the lockpick puzzle.
• Blue Chest: A blue and silver chest. These poison Bilbo upon failure of the lockpick puzzle.
• Gold Chest: A orange and yellow chest. These do two and a half bubbles of fire damage to Bilbo upon failure of the lockpick puzzle.

Inventory Items[]

• Throwing Stones: 10 silver pennies
• Rock-bag upgrade: 500-1000 Silver Pennies
• Health Potion: 40 Silver Pennies
• Antidote potion: 40 Silver Pennies
• Waters of Vigor Potion: 1000 Silver Pennies
• Waters of Fortitude Potion: 2000 Silver Pennies
• Medicine chest upgrade: 500-1000 Silver Pennies

Enemies[]

• Goblin Guard: These enemies are first encountered in the Dreamworld chapter, along with the other Goblin types. They carry a cutlass and shield,

  

  and bear an interesting resemblance to Darth Vader (from the movie series Star Wars). They usually retreat between attacks.
• Goblin Soldier: Armed with bow and sword, some carry explosive arrows, and most will not back up or retreat. A mini-boss version appears in the Riddles in the Dark Chapter. The mini-boss doesn't carry a bow, but he has much more health and is very acrobatic; he is able to flip over and away from Bilbo's attacks.
• Goblin Miner: Armed with a pickaxe and blasting powder, these enemies are weak and easy to kill.
• Goblin Mage: These Goblins carry spiked staffs that can create a damage-inducing magic burst. They usually prefer to call for help (which doesn't generate a response) rather than fight for themselves. These all are first seen in the Dreamworld chapter. They can be subdued with one hit from a sword or staff.
• Carnivorous Plant: Blind plants that can be snuck up on. They will bite if you get too close.
• Wolf: First seen in the Roast Mutton chapter. They are easier to kill than most enemies, and when at ease can be killed in one hit.

  

• Vile Creature or Water Leaper: These are armless, bipedal swamp creatures with a likening to frog-dinosaur hybrids. In later levels, they gain the ability to breathe poisonous gas at Bilbo. They fight wolves in one area of the Roast Mutton chapter, where they are first encountered.
• Rock Badger: These are first seen during the first Boss fight, (on the Troll Hole chapter) where Bilbo must kill them to get the "Guardian" (A much bigger Rock Badger) to show its weak spot.
• Were-worm: These large, fearsome worms live in underground dens with exactly one entrance more than there are eels, with which they can disappear into and come out of. They are first seen after the Troll Hole chapter boss fight. They look like caterpillars and when Bilbo kills one, another comes forward to take its place. They are blind and can be snuck up upon. They make a fearsome snarling noise that sounds similar to dogs.

  

• Brown Giant Spider: Larger versions of Lesser Spiders. These monsters cannot climb walls, and they can jump and dodge Bilbo. These creatures first appear in the Troll Hole chapter, one guarding a gold chest inside a waterfall, then more frequently in Mirkwood.
• Frog People: Tiny Goblin or Troll hatchlings that first appear in the Troll Hole chapter. They seem to hate the "Vile creatures", because an army of them assemble to fight one in the Barrels out of Bond chapter. They also sometimes carry small little weapons like pick-axes.
• Werewolf: Stronger and faster forms of the wolves found in the Misty Mountains. If they see you but can't reach you, they will attack with a powerful wizard spell like that of Gandalf's.
• Lesser Spider: The smallest spiders. Like all spiders (except the giant spiders), they can climb up cliffs and walls. They are first seen in the Riddles in the Dark chapter.
• Dread Spider: These are the green and poisonous cousins of the Lesser Spiders. The Riddles in the Dark chapter marks their first appearance. When their web is cut, they will attack. They fight in the same manner at goblins as they attack and then retreat. The small ones will usually ambush Bilbo by scurrying up and down the walls.
• Fire Bat: Only three of these appear in the entire game, exclusively in the Riddles in the Dark chapter. They are bright red and spit balls of flame at Bilbo. They are the only flying enemies in the game besides Smaug.
• Spitting Plant: These plants respond the same way as carnivorous plants, but spit seeds at you. They are also much harder to kill.
• Red Dread Spider: Bigger, red, and more poisonous than Dread Spiders, these creatures first appear in the Flies and Spiders chapter. They are much harder to kill than most other spiders.
• Black Giant Spider: They have an armored body, so to damage them, Bilbo must do a jump attack to flip them over (to attack their soft bottom). They first appear in the Flies and Spiders chapter, as do the next three on this list.
• Three Spider Sisters: At the end of the Flies and Spiders chapter, just after Bilbo has saved the Dwarves, he faces three giant spiders. The first is Wild (blue colored). Bilbo can easily kill her with several jump attacks with Sting. The second sister is Wrath (green), who can only be killed with fire rocks found around the cave Bilbo fights them in. And lastly, the third sister is Wicked (red)., who is the hardest to kill. Bilbo must repeatedly acquire freeze rocks, throw a few at Wicked to stop her in her tracks, and finally jump-attack her with his sword until she is defeated.
• Undead Soldier: These as well as the next two on this page are described as minions of the Necromancer. They are much more dangerous

  

  than goblin guards, and can find you even if tiptoeing with the ring on.
• Undead Archer: Range Attack versions of the Undead Soldiers. They sometimes have explosive arrow attacks, and they hold their bows horizontally with roughly 10 seconds in between each shot. When Bilbo gets too near, like the goblin soldiers, they fight with a sword.
• Lich: These are eyeless, purple-robed beings who look more like skeletons than zombies. They shoot powerful, explosive range attacks from their hands which can pass through barriers. They use a sword for melee combat. Their first appearance is in the Flies and Spiders chapter.
• Three Trolls: These are the three hungry mountain trolls named Bert, Tom, and William. They appear in the Roast Mutton chapter. Bert is the hardest to avoid since he walks around everywhere. When the player encounters them, Bilbo doesn't have the ring yet, so unfortunately he must hide or dash.
• Goblin Guards: These guards are guarding Balfor, the dwarf in the Riddles in the Dark chapter that Bilbo must rescue. They are too strong for Bilbo to fight, so he must dodge them. However, when they reappear in the Clouds Burst and A Warm Welcome chapters, Bilbo becomes strong enough to fight them.
• Mirkwood Elves: They capture anyone who wanders in their realm without leave, and in the game, this is the Dwarves and Bilbo. But because Bilbo needs to rescue the Dwarves without being caught, he needs to wear the ring for almost the whole entire level. In the Clouds Burst, they are allies and are friendly to Bilbo.
• Lake-town Thieves and Goblins: These goblins and thieves are the ones Bilbo needs to stop from taking over Lake-town in the chapter A Warm Welcome. At the end of the chapter, Bilbo must steal back Bard's black arrow. To do this, he must avoid being detected by them. This part is challenging, especially if the player wants to get all the coins and courage points.
• Gollum: Although this character is important in the original book and the subsequent main series, he only appears in a cutscene in the game.
• Smaug: The biggest, most important enemy of the game. At first, he sleeps on his bed of gold coins and Bilbo must simply stay as quiet as possible. After Smaug wakens, Bilbo must wear the ring and hide behind pillars. When Smaug starts to breathe fire at Bilbo, he must dash behind pillars to escape.
• Stone-Giants: They don't require sneaking past, but throw rocks at Bilbo. By themselves, they are not difficult to get past, but other creatures attack Bilbo, and pits in the ground make it hard for Bilbo to dodge the rocks.
• Bolg: The son and successor of Azog, who was killed by Dáin Ironfoot. He leads the attack against the alliance of Dwarves, Elves, and Men at the Battle of Five Armies. He was killed by Beorn, the shape-shifter, and his army of goblins and wargs were utterly defeated. Bilbo gets a good sweeping view of him during the process of helping Beorn.

Plot differences[]

The game largely follows the plot of The Hobbit book, but makes several common "video game adaptations", such as added monsters, expanded "chapters" (levels), boss fights, and so on. Some of the more significant changes, however, include the absence of Beorn the shape-shifter until "The Clouds Burst" (or, The Battle of the Five Armies)*. In "Riddles In The Dark", the player needs to fix various pieces of lift machinery to open a gate and free a dwarven prisoner instead of encountering Gollum and try to escape the mountains. Also, instead of among the trees of Mirkwood, the fight with the spiders (in the Flies and Spiders chapter) occurs in a big "spider hall" with cliffs that the bigger spiders can't climb. In the game, Bilbo names the sword, Sting, after he found it in the troll cave, but in the book, he names it after he fought the spiders.

The game also portrays Bard as already the captain of the town-guard. In the book he doesn't take command of the defense of Lake-town until after the dragon starts to attack it. He also doesn't serve the Master of Lake-town until he escapes ashore after the destruction of Lake-town, but it would seem that the makers of the game wanted to make someone familiar give Bilbo important quests. 

Another great difference between the game and the book is the inclusion of a new character: a wood-elf named Lianna, whom Bilbo helps to heal when injured in the troll caverns. From that moment on, she returns Bilbo's favor by helping him break the Dwarves out of King Thranduil's prison and then giving him instructions during the Battle of the Five Armies

*The animated movie from 1977 also omits Beorn, and the game might be based on this film despite being released many years apart.

Game mechanics[]

Being a platformer, the game has a jump feature, plus rope swinging, ladder climbing, etc. The game also features the use of the One Ring, to sneak up on, away from, and past enemies. Unlike "The Fellowship of the Ring" game, the Ring's power has a cooldown of only a few seconds, making it possible to use the Ring very often. This is a good thing, since this game requires more sneaking and climbing around. Each level gives the player a series of quests, some of which may be optional to fulfill. For instance, one of the optional quests in the Unexpected Party level is to find four children in a game of hide and seek. An example of a required quest would be to save the Dwarves from the spiders.

Soundtrack[]

1. Prelude
2. Flight of the Dragon
3. A Hobbit's Tale Reprise
4. Combat in the Lone Lands
5. A Walk in the Shire
6. Lianna's Theme
7. Traveling to Rivendall
8. Dwarves at Work
9. Lost in a Cave
10. Crossing the Bridge
11. Battle of Lake-Town
12. Sneaking through Elvish Halls
13. Working at the Mill
14. The Desolation of Smaug
15. The Battle of Five Armies
16. Combat in Mirkwood
17. Among the Wood-Elves
18. Inside the Misty Mountains
19. The Spider Gauntlet 
20. The Trolls
21. Beorn Crushes Bolg
22. Smaug Awakens
23. A Hobbit's Tale

External links[]

• The Hobbit (Video Game 2003) at IMDb
• The Hobbit (2003 video game) - Wikipedia
• The Hobbit Review - GameSpot