J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Volume 1

"A game that doesnt, at all, live up to the Lord Of The Rings name"

I am a big fan of the books, but this game is just...I will tell you what I mean below.

Graphics
The graphics were okay, the characters looked reasonably good, and the movement of the swords and the like was good. Most of the characters in the game were just the same model colored differently, same with some of the characters. To me that just shows laziness. The areas were well done, but were very repetitive, and I don't remember any flowery hedge mazes in the books. 3/10

Sounds
Hmm...Not the best quality of the game. The music when in the shire was good, but very repetitive, and when it plays for the sixth time it is just a drone of boring music. There are very few tracks in the game and they repeat over and over again. 4/10

Game play
What game play? ''A monster comes along, block its attack, attack back, blocks its attack, attack back.'' Same all the way through. Little to none strategy involved and will become extremely tedious. And the other characters are hardly a huge help. For some reason they enjoy wandering off, or like to stay where they are. You could go through a maze and only find yourself at the end, with no one around. And while we are on the subject, wasn't saving invented before this game. To add fun to the experience, Interplay found it amusing to make password four lines long, 12 letters across. 2/10

Story
The story of the books are brilliant, and you would expect it to show in the game, but no. For some reason Interplay found it clever to postpone your leaving of Hobbiton, by making you find the gaffers glasses in the a cave.....huh?!?! I don't think Interplay read the book, because the game ends in Moria. And is it just me, or was there a guy called Boromir in the books? 2/10

Replay
Replaying this game is not something you want to do, honestly. Playing it once, or even five minutes, would be enough for anyone. 1/10

Buy or Rent
Avoid like the plague, or get a ROM for it, for a laugh. Seriously, this game is only good if you come across a guy in the street giving it to you for free, or you find it on a web site as a ROM.

Overall
Reasonably good music and graphics is ruined by repetitive playing and a lack of a good storyline. A game that is a disgrace to the Lord Of The Rings name. 3/10

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 04/19/03, Updated 04/19/03