The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"Think of it as Rogue Leader on Middle-earth."

Movie licenses are known for having bad videogames accompanying them. Why? Because most movie-to-game licenses are taken by studios with little talent, since those that have talent usually come up with their own franchises. GoldenEye is the classic example of a movie-licensed game that's actually good. Why? Because it was handled by a developer with talent – Rare, of course. So, after the god-awful Fellowship of the Ring game, I was worried that The Lord of the Rings would never get a decent videogame to go with it. Then came The Two Towers on GameCube.

Towers puts you in just about every single big battle scene from the first two movies, plus a few that weren't in the movies. You'll have the option to play as Aragorn, Legolas or Gimli, each of which with their own unique weapons, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. For instance, Legolas use quick and is good with a bow, while Gimli uses a strong heavy axe good for close-up encounters while at the same time he's bad at ranged combat. Such favorite scenes as the fight with the troll in the Mines of Moria to the battle at Helm's Deep are all included here.

Control works great. The A, Y and X buttons are used for a speed attack, a power attack and a kick in that order, with B being the guard button and the R shoulder button used to deliver the “finishing move,” which feels a lot like the attack of the same name in <I<Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. You can either string together your own combos or purchase a wide variety of various attacks after completing each stage of the game. Meanwhile, hold the L button causes you to use you character's ranged attacks, which is the cause for one of the game's only control problems. The automatic camera, surprisingly, never gets in the way.

EA certainly did a lot to ensure that the game feels as if you're inside the movie. The character models and enemies all look exactly like those in the films, many scripted events from the two movies take place, and the characters in the game even have a full supply of voiceovers that were done by the cast of the movie. Settings, costumes, props and other such things are all authentic and will please even the smallest of Lord of the Rings fans.

Now, at heart, Towers is a pretty repetitive game, but experimenting with the various combos that you've earned is a great little touch that helps increase the replay value of the game. And Towers needed it, because it's pretty short. Still, you can go back and try to get a higher score, finish it with another character, or try to unlock the tons and tons of extras within. You'll find interviews, making-ofs, galleries and even a secret level and character within, and these DVD-like extras are definitely worthwhile. Solid efforts all around.

Pros

+ Fantastic for a movie-based game.
+ Completely authentic to the movies.
+ Different characters, and various moves and combos for each.
+ Well-made levels put you into the movies.
+ Voiceovers by the cast!
+ Tons of extras to unlock.
+ Nice graphics.

Cons

- Very short, with not a whole lot of replay value.
- Some repetition.
- No co-op mode when it could have benefited from one.

Overall: 8/10

This is one of the best movie-based games I've ever played. It would be the best if it weren't for GoldenEye and a select few Star Wars and Aliens vs. Predator games. Still, I would wholehearted recommend this game to anyone who is even vaguely interested in the Lord of the Rings franchise. And on GameCube, this is a great addition to a genre that's very lacking. So, when it comes to movie-based action game it's hard to find a better game than if. If you like The Lord of the Rings, buy this. If you like action games, buy this. It's such a wonderfully polished and surprisingly fun game that I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/17/03, Updated 08/28/04