The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"Hack-n-slash gameplay at it's very best...."

If you plan on buying a Lord of the Rings game, make sure it's this one. Those people at the store might try to convince you to buy some horrible version based on the books, but tell them you want the one by EA games, the one based on the movies. This game is one of the few good movie-based games that have ever been crafted. In fact, I'd go as far as to call it damn good. Why? Because it successfully recreates the intense visuals, awe-inspiring soundtrack, and breathtaking battles of the Peter Jackson directed film.

Graphics-9/10
The graphics are, in a word, fantastic. Character modeling is superb, as are most of the textures, although some look a bit blurry and blocky. Lighting work is, for the most part, good, however, some areas could use some more work. Character animations are smooth, and they look terrific. Some parts show actual snippets of the movies, and, surprisingly, they look very good. One real piece of eye candy.

Sound-10/10
If you've seen the movies, and like the soundtrack, you'll like the sound in this game. Most of the audio tracks have been ripped straight from the movie. You'll be humming the tunes for days.

Gameplay-9/10
I'm going to say this right up front: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a hack-n-slash game. The only thing that separates it from others of the genre is that this one doesn't get repetitive. It has a complex combo system, and it's mad fun to slay orc after orc. You have the choice of using one of three characters: Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli. You are prompted to choose one at the beginning of each level. By using that character, you gain experience points, leveling them up, making them stronger, and getting points to buy new combos. Through out your adventure, you'll fight orcs, trolls, ringwraiths, and many other monsters from the books and movies. The Gamecube's controller works perfectly for this game, in my opinion the best of the three versions. But, like most good things, it's over way to soon. A skilled player will beat the game once in 5-7 hours. You'll probably want to use all three characters to beat the game with, though, so this ups time to about 12-13 hours total.

Replay-8/10
You'll want to replay many of the stages in this game. Most of them are very fun. Beat the game with every single character, and you'll unlock a secret character and a secret level. There are also tons of DVD-like features such as interviews with cast members. You'll want to take the time to unlock all of these things.

Overall-9/10
This game is, without a doubt, one of the best games released for Gamecube in 2002. If you have the slightest interest in the movies, you'll love this game. If you haven't seen the movies but want to, you'll love this game. If you've read the books, you'll like this game. And finally, if you like fun games in general, you'll love this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/03, Updated 01/04/03