The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"An incredibly excellent game, non-stop action."

This game is called The Two Towers, but it has a few levels from The Fellowship of the Ring as well. It generally involves dicing orc's heads into little pieces while they make pathetic attempts to injure you. It is pretty much hack-and-slash through the entire game, which doesn't ever get boring. You also gain experience and get upgrades with higher levels. It also has bonus levels and movies you can unlock. Overall, this is an excellent game.

Game play- 9
The game is mostly hack-and-slash. The orcs aren't really that dangerous, there aren't any puzzles to solve, and the game is incredibly easy. However, the fact that there aren't any puzzles, the orcs aren't skilled, and the easiness is what makes it so great. In the movie, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn got about 50 orcs apiece in one of the battles. That's pretty much the way it is in the game, which is what makes it so much like the movie, and so entertaining. The hardest parts involve protecting something with a million orcs around, or getting somewhere with a limited amount of time before it is dead or destroyed or something. In all, if you like action, then this is the game for you.

Story- 5
The game pretty much leaves you to kill a thousand orcs without knowing why. You should probably see the movie first before playing if you give a monkey's butt about the story. It gives little clips from the movie, but they just aren't enough. They probably could've stuck an unlockable movie in there depicting what happened, but the didn't, so see the movie if you care about the story (which was good, but the game play is so good it doesn't really matter).

Graphics/Sound- 8
The graphics are nice, but the sound could use some work. It really didn't have any good music except for that tune from the movie. The sound effects were ok, though, because they sounded like the actual characters. The graphics were very good, especially in cut scenes. In some you can't tell the difference between the game and the movie.

Playtime/Replay-9
The playtime is very short, I beat it in about 6 or 7 hours. However, I played this game for 5 weeks straight. The replay value is amazing. You never get bored with any levels. You always have combos to master and other stuff to do. There is about an hour of movies to watch as well.

Final- 8
Though the story hinders the game's greatness, the other aspects make up for it completely. The game is excellent for adults who grew up with the book, fans of the movie, and kids (because there is no blood, and the orcs aren't too scary). It's also good for a new gamer because of the easiness and replay. Overall, this is an incredible game, and I urge you to purchase it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/23/03, Updated 02/23/03