Lego The Hobbit dated for April 8

Lego The Hobbit, the Middle-earth inspired next installment in the Lego adventure game franchise, will launch on April 8 in North America and April 11 in Europe, publisher Warner Bros. announced.

The title will launch for Mac, PC, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Lego The Hobbit follows the events of the first two Peter Jackson films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy adventure, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The third and final film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, will be released in theaters Dec. 17, 2014.

In Lego The Hobbit, players assemble Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Thorin and The Company of Dwarves to play through iconic scenes from the movies. Together they will team up to complete tasks, such as reaching hiring ground to obtain treasure and taking down particularly difficult enemies, as well as explore the northern wilds of Middle-earth as they journey to reclaim the mountain of Erebor, Thorin's homeland, from Smaug the gold-hoarding dragon. Check out our hands-on impressions of the title, in which we detail how Dwarven camaraderie prevails in boss battles and navigating obstacles.

Sony announced yesterday it will be offering a PlayStation 3 bundle featuring Lego The Hobbit this spring. The bundle includes a 500 GB system with a copy of Lego The Hobbit for $269.