The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"Exhilarating and Fun"

The first time I heard of the Lord of the Rings video game I knew I had to pick it up because I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan. I wasn't expecting much from this game but upon first playing this game it blew my expectations out of the water. The first thing I noticed was the

Graphics- 9
This game is pleasing to the eye, the backgrounds fit well with the story and the characters are very well detailed. For the most part the characters look exactly like they are in the movie. I was a little let down with Gimli's face though, he looked somewhat creepy. As for the rest of the characters and enemies, they seem to be as well developed as they could be. This aspect of the game was very good.

Story- 9
The story was taken right from the movies so there wasn't much that could have gone wrong. However, at times it did seem as if it was rushed and some improvements could have been made with a few more levels to play in but all in all it was very good. Theres nothing that I like more than to play in the wonderful worlds inspired from J.R.R. Tolkien's mind.

Gameplay- 10
This is the most fun I've had in an action game in a long time. There isn't much to explore in this game but the places that you are in are filled with countless enemies. The many combo's and moves that you can use will keep you busy enjoying this aspect of the game. One problem that I had was with the camera angle, sometimes you would be fighting some enemies and you would move onto a different part of the screen and the point of view would change, thus leaving you running or fighting in the wrong direction. Despite this minor problem, the game makes up for it when you meet many of the characters that you've seen before in the movies or read in the Lord of the Rings books. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

Battle System- 9
Fighting is one of my favorite parts of this game and you get to do a lot of it. Right off the start after the opening movie you are thrown in the heat of the battle and are given instructions on what moves to use on the opponents. At first, it seems very confusing but you will get the hang of it very quick. When you gain levels you earn experience points which you then use to buy special moves, health increases, or weapon upgrades. I have to admit that remembering most of the combos are rather difficult and then performing them while you’re surrounded by enemies is extremely difficult. Nevertheless, when you finally learn the moves they are extremely useful especially against tougher enemies. When you kill an enemy, a rank is given for how well you killed it (fair, good, excellent, or perfect) and after beating the level you receive an overall rank based on your overall performance. The better your rank, the more experience points you get to spend on upgrades.

Sound- 8
I love the music in the game but the only problem is that they play it nearly all the time. After a while, you might find yourself turning on the radio, but I would rather listen to the characters talking and other in-game sounds. The music isn't all that bad though and you'll be getting used to it.

Replayability- 9
You might beat this game by just finishing all of the levels with your favorite character, and you may think that you've completed the game but you really didn't. You can beat all of the levels with the three playable characters, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. There are also many interviews, pictures, film footage and other things that you can unlock. There is a ton of stuff to do in this game and I think that you should do it all.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/26/02, Updated 02/12/03