14 DAY TRIAL // Google announced a cool Chrome experiment a while back, taking everyone on a trip across Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Now, ahead of the official launch of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” this coming weekend, the map is finally complete and users can take a trip in Erebor and visit the king under the mountain.
As before, visiting Erebor brings up a lot of data about the characters there and scenes from the movie, which you can flip through by dragging the screen.
The Lonely Mountain location can be accessed straight from the Middle-Earth map. The abandoned kingdom of the dwarves is now inhabited by Smaug, a dragon that claimed the treasures hidden underneath and who remained king of the land for over two centuries.
The location, as with all the others before it, comes with the option to explore further, which leads to a game of wits between you and the terrifying dragon.
The purpose of the game is not to become a crispy, hobbit barbecue by not upsetting the dragon, who will not hesitate to breathe down fire upon you.
All you have to do is pick one of the answers available for when Smaug asks you a question. The key to winning the game is deference, as putting too much sarcasm in your answers will most likely mean ‘game over’ for you.
For those who are fans of the movies (and you probably are if you’re reading this), you should know that the game comes complete with the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Smaug. His voice has, of course, been modified a little bit and it sounds a lot more terrifying than you thought Cumberbatch was capable of, but it fits perfectly with the character.
Now that all the cities are done, the experiment can also be downloaded as a Chrome extension, which means that you’ll be able to launch it like any other Chrome app, including from the App Launcher.
