The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"Games based on films used to be lazy cash-ins. Not any more."

It's the ultimate role-playing fantasy, Tolkien's magnum opus on PS2. It's what beardy blokes and dungeon dwellers have been waiting years for. The chance to wander Middle Earth, slaying goblins and hacking orcs. The chance to finally exist within the pages of one of the world's most popular books. The Final Fantasy games have already provided the tried and tested stat heavy, battle filled template. It's just a matter of swapping a few angst-ridden teenagers for some elves and a fan pleasing RPG is born.

Well, that probably would have been the case had the film not turned up in a blaze of scrapping dwarves, slaughtered goblins and some of the most gargantuan battles ever committed to celluloid. It's this violent inspiration that EA has fed upon to offer a combat-packed romp in some of the most sumptuous locations I've yet seen on PS2.

EA has not only used the film as inspiration, but has also scavenged just about every significant scene and feature from The Fellowship of the Ring and its sequel The Two Towers. Actual character voices, some recorded specifically for the game, authentic cinematic sound effects along with the Oscar winning soundtrack, and large swathes of top quality DVD movie footage have been used to set the scene, flesh out the story and draw you into a greatly, expertly presented experience on PS2. Suffice to say, fans of the movies will not be disappointed.

The game's class is immediately apparent when the opening film footage seamlessly morphs into the actual game. It's a stunning achievement that never fails to draw admiring comments from impressed onlookers. It's also a trait that permeates the entire game with some of the best scenes from both films used to introduce each segment of the game. Be warned though, playing this game reveals an awful lot of the movie, so you might want to watch it first before playing this.

Your first task is to survive the epic encounter at Mount Doom where Sauron's forces are trying desperately to defend the ring. It's a frantic beginning with the game showing off its impressive ability to display hordes of creatures battling it out in smaller skirmishes all over the screen. In the midst of all this mayhem you're given a clear indication as to where LotR: The Two Towers' priorities lie, with an introduction to the game's uncomplicated controls.
Everything is geared towards letting you get stuck into the never-ending stream of blood-baying hell spawn without any complications. This game has nom pretensions for being anything other than a combat-filled action fest. One button defends, another attacks and the final one unleashes a long-range attack. That's pretty much all there is to learn before you can jump straight into Middle Earth and get hacking.

In a similar manner to Devil May Cry, you're rewarded for the effectiveness and style of your attacks. If the words 'excellent' or 'perfect' are regularly splashed across the screen you're cleaving goblins like a seasoned pro. A power bar in the corner of the screen denotes your specials meter. By unleashing a torrent of extravagant combos and avoiding taking any hits for a prolonged period, the meter will fill, enabling you to rack up some serious scores.

At the end of each level you can exchange these points for upgrades. Each of the three available characters can be leveled up in time-honored RPG fashion. Purchasing new moves adds more elaborate attacks and combos to your repertoire. Aragorn benefits from more ferocious sword attacks, Legolas wields his bow and arrows with even more lethal accuracy, and Gimli gets to lop off limbs with his axe in even greater numbers.
It's a clever way of incorporating traditional RPG elements into such a frantic game while also serving to inject some depth into your hectic battling. However, because of this I was unwilling to experiment with the other two characters because it would mean sharing out my hard earned points rather than maxing out one character's abilities. To combat this, EA has included a wealth of decent bonus extras along with the ability to play each cleared level with a different character. But, in order to unlock all of the game's secrets, you need to play through as all three characters.

Unfortunately, while highlighting the appeal of playing the game with all three characters to unlock all there is to offer, the character upgrades also serve to emphasize LotR: The Two Towers' rather shallow gameplay. Despite the addition of numerous attacks and manoeuvres to my repertoire I found myself mindlessly button bashing during combat on many of the levels. This is due in part to the absolute chaos of many of the battles.
With so much going on at the same time it can be difficult just to pick out your own character. To this end it's very difficult to judge when to defend and when to strike. With enemies surrounding you and leaving you with little time to consider your position, it just seems more effective to repeatedly hammer the joypad. Conversely to those additional moves and attacks which were intended to add depth to the combat result in doing the exact opposite. Once you've improved your character's level by purchasing a range of moves you're guaranteed to pull off some sort of lethal attack simply by whacking every button on the pad.

If this was the extent of the LotR: The Two Towers challenge it would have been something of a disappointment, but this game has another deadly string to its bow. Once again, in a nod to Devil May Cry, some of the levels culminate in a testing boss battle or sequence. This is easily the most challenging and consequently satisfying aspect of the game.

Each aggressor attacks in a particular fashion. it's up to you to identify the pattern and then combat their lethal advances while timing your attacks to perfection. Anyone familiar with The Fellowship of the Ring (the movie, not the game) will immediately recognize the Black Riders, the guardian at the entrance to the mines of Moria, the rampaging cave troll, and the hideous leader of the Uruk-hai. Each one stands in your path in their specific location from the film and it's up to you to use the terrain to your advantage. Stone pillars can be used to hide from the troll, and the flickering camp fire isn't there just for aesthetic effect when the Black Riders come calling.

Cleverly, enemies like the troll re-appear later in the game, but having them defeated as a boss they're now merely another obstruction in your path. It's an indication of your increasing skill and the masterfully balanced rising difficulty level of the game. Once you've cleared the levels based on The Fellowship of the Ring, the goblins and foot soldiers attack with more ferocity and mid-level encounters feel just as challenging as some of the earlier end of level battles. It's just a shame that the game's difficulty isn't solely as a consequence of the cunning aggressiveness of your adversaries.
On quite a few occasions I found myself fighting an invisible creature off-screen because the camera refused to pan around in the right direction. LotR: The Two Towers declines to give you a manual control over the camera, instead choosing to send you down a linear path, which on the whole chooses the best angle for each scene. Nevertheless there are still a few too many occasions when the camera switches to a completely different perspective than the desired one, leaving you stumbling about in the wrong direction trying to work out which way you should be facing.

At least you can console yourself by simply gazing at the lavish locations while the camera struggles to right itself. LotR: The Two Towers is never less than exuberantly spectacular to look at. So much that it's almost poetry; the swarming clashes, the lifelike landscapes, the stylish animation, the atmospheric lighting; every single visual facet of this game has been lavished with remarkable attention to detail and technical expertise. Mirroring the movie's visual excesses, LotR: The Two Towers propels PS2 to new heights of retina caressing-splendour and bewildering activity.

Moreover, as an accompaniment to the two films, LotR: The Two Towers is everything an enthusiast could possibly wish for; overwhelming authentic, invigorating, and consummately stylish. Thankfully, it can also hold its head high as a classy action adventure that combines elements from retro gaming favorites such as Gauntlet - only now in sumptuous 3D - with modern classics like Devil May Cry, to offer a fantastically frenzied fighting experience.
The repetitive button-bashing nature of some of the encounters may taint your gaming enjoyment a little, but the accompanying boss fights, character development and stunning presentation help to overshadow this tolerable flaw. Just be prepared for some sore fingers.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/23/02, Updated 02/03/03