SINGAPORE — Lego The Hobbit builds on the fine form of previous Lego games: It strikes a balance between respectfully following the source material (in this case, the movie trilogy) and making fun of it with countless hilarious tongue-in-cheek moments. But while it is a great addition to the Lego game library, it isn’t without its flaws.

Fans of the movies will enjoy reliving moments from the films. For the rest of us, there’s the always-satisfying mayhem of brick destruction from the Lego games. Think it’s more of the same? Rest assured that there are just enough new elements to ensure that it goes beyond being just formulaic.

For example, unlike previous Lego games, you can collect special bricks to help you build items that can unlock new areas. Other mini-games also help break the brick-bashing action, but PC gamers should get a controller as the keyboard controls aren’t great.

What really hurts the game is how it finishes at the end of the second movie of the trilogy, most likely because the third instalment will only be released later this year. This unexpected conclusion to The Hobbit’s journey is hard to take, and one wonders why the game couldn’t have been released when the movie trilogy was complete.

Lego The Hobbit is a fun romp through Middle Earth, but could have been more than middling if only they included the whole tale. ALVIN CHONG

Rating: 3/5

The standard edition of Lego The Hobbit is now available on PC for S$39.90, PlayStation 3 for S$64.90, PlayStation 4 for S$76.90, PlayStation Vit for S$39.90, Xbox 360 for S$64.90 and Wii U for S$49.90. The limited edition Toy Edition is also available for PC (S$44.90), PlayStaion 3 (S$69.90), PlayStation 4 (S$81.90) and Xbox 360 (S$69.90).