The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"One Ring to Bind Them in the Darkness."

Introduction
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - an movie of epic proportions and extreme talent. Or something like that. New Line Productions decided to bring this great movie onto the small screen, and in interactive format; namely, a video game. They did a decent job at it, too, but with a few flaws. The feel of ''thousands of Urak-Hai rushing into Helm's Deep'' was still there, and that was portrayed wonderfully, but this game was lacking a few things.

Graphics - 9/10
Although the cut-scenes of TTT could have been better, the graphics during game play were outstanding. From flaming Nazgul at Weathertop to stone-hauling cave trolls in Balin's Tomb, the textures and fluidity of the game was terrific. The graphics was the high point of the game.. it all goes downhill from here.

Sound - 6/10
The music was drawn directly from the movie, which was really the only plus in the sound department. Everything else was mediocre. The sounds of swords clashing was done nicely, but the voices of the game made this category drop. Even though the creators of the game managed to bring in the actors from the movie, that doesn't compensate for the horrible quality of them. They really do sound like Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom -- you just can't understand what they're saying. Bad call, New Line.

Game Play - 8/10
Once again, one of the finer points of the game. The controls are quite simple once you get the hang of them. The two reasons why this score is below 10 is 1) because they don't tell you how to perform Bane moves, and 2) because all the characters have the same combos. Bane moves are moves in which you can kill attacking Urak-Hai, orcs, or goblins in just a few movements. The combos, on the other hand, are nicely done, but all the combinations are the same for Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. They all have the same name, just with different adjectives in front of them. Variation is the key.

Replayability - 5/10
This game is short. Really short. Thus, the score in this category. I rented the game and wrote this review right after I beat it in five days. You can play it again, sure, but it just loses its touch once you've beaten a level. Beating them all with three different characters is enough for me, so to me, buying this game now seems ludicrous.

Overall Score (NOT an Average) - 6/10
There were to major let backs: voicing and lasting factor. If this game were longer, then that score would be much higher. Maybe next time the voicing could be better.. that is, if there is a next time. Buy or rent? Rent twice. By then, you'd have beaten the game three times. It's an awesome game for hardcore Lord of the Rings fanatics, but for an actual gamer like myself, it's mediocre. It's great fun for the time that it lasts.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/13/03, Updated 01/13/03