The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

"It's just The Two Towers with different levels!"

Honestly, this game is exactly like TTT. Down to the very animations. The camera, the graphics, the moves, everything. Why didn't they make something new? FotR was an adventure game, TTT was a hack 'n' slash, this game could have easily been a Dynasty Warriors type of game. Instead it became TTT with new levels and slightly different characters. I can imagine how EA came up with this...

Boss: There's another Lord of the Rings movie. Quick, make a game.

Director: Well, the last game got some good reviews, let's use the exact same formula. It will save costs and we can make more of a profit!

Boss: I like your style. But we'll need new levels.

Director: I'll call my brother. He's got some experience making levels for Counter-Strike, and he'll do it for free!

Boss: Great. This way we can make a brand new game with only 4 programmers!

Anyways, enough rambling. Onto the review!

Graphics: 7/10

Nothing special. The characters' faces are lifeless, there's sparse amounts of detail here and there, but otherwise nothing worth noting. But I don't mind the rather average graphics if it means they can put 30 enemies on the same screen, which they do... too often.

Sound: 6/10

Repetitive. Very repetitive. There's little variety in weapon sounds. Arrows and throwing axes make the same sound, as with swords and axes. The enemies all have the same few battle cries and your characters will only speak to tell you the next objective. but they're pretty vague a lot of the time. The music from the movie is present, so that is a pretty good thing.

Gameplay: 5/10

Ugh. That's the only way to describe it. Let's start with how combat goes. You go up to an enemy and mash X and Triangle until it's dead. That's it. Occasionally, you'll pull off a combo that you've bought and get more style points.

The Style Points system is pretty awkward. I can combo someone to death quickly, without getting hit, and I'll only manage a Fair or Good. Why's that? Unfortunately, the game doesn't offer any explanation, so my guess is that I killed them too quickly. My brother takes his sweet time hitting them to death with the X button without getting hit and manages an Excellent. Shouldn't killing something quickly with a combo, without being hit, garner me a Perfect? Nope, I have to be in Perfect Mode to get Perfects, which makes absolutely no sense. I can rush in and get most of my health taken away, kill one guy and it will be a Perfect. Now that's just silly.

As mentioned before, there can be up to 30 different enemies on screen, and when that happens, you're screwed. They'll gang up on you and the most you can hope for is blocking for a long time until they leave an opening, at which point you can hit one of them. Repeat 30 times. I'd also love to know how the enemies can attack me so quickly when I'm beating down on them and about to deal a lethal blow? Literally, Aragorn lifted the sword over his head to finish his combo, and BANG, the enemy I was whaling on hits me quickly and I lose my combo. Why don't I get an attack like that? The Quick Attack button is about as fast as the power Attack button in most games. The camera is a bit too cinematic so, there will also be many off-screen enemies that will deal some hefty damage to you.

There are quite a few characters to play as, from Aragorn and Legolas, to Merry and Pippin. Fortunately, they each have different strengths and weaknesses, but sometimes, they don't make sense. Why does Aragorn run faster than Legolas, a wood elf who can walk on snow? Why does Gandalf's magical orb do much more damage than Legolas' powered up arrows?

The level design is decent, but every level is very small. It seems so big because of all the enemies, but remove them and you can easily see, the levels are insanely small. It seems more fit to a medieval Counter-Strike than a game based on LotR.

Co-op mode is fun, but one player will easily overpower the other eventually. Not to mention the fact that co-op mode comes with some of the worst camera angles in history. There will be even more off-screen enemies, and movement is very limited, which will cost you your virtual life, because your teammate is too slow or knocked down, so you can't move farther or see where to attack. This is especially bad when you're running out of the collapsing cave (that's not a spoiler, that's the opening level).

Story: 9/10

It IS LotR after all. You know, the series that invented the myths of orcs and humans at war, which is present in games like WarCraft? The story that inspired many RPG's and practically invented the fantasy medieval genre? It loses a point because the game removes some of the logic. See the character strengths/weaknesses above. Also, why can Legolas and Gimli attack the ghosts? I thought only Aragorn could, since that seems to be what the book and movie say.

Length: 7/10

It should take around 10 hours to beat the game. Longer if you really want to get everyone levelled up.

If you really want a LotR game and have never played one before, get this as it is currently the best one. Sure, I've ragged on it this entire review, but it IS better than TTT, but it feels like an echo. I recommend you spend your money on a better movie based game, like Chronicles of Riddick or Goldeneye (N64).

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/15/05