The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"Come To Me My Preciousssss......."

The Lord Of The Rings... the mere mention of this highly coveted trilogy of movies (or books depending on your age!) is sure to evoke many cherished memories from long time genre fans. Gandalf's epic battle with the Balrog in the mines of Moria, an army of Orcs numbering in the tens of thousands charging the battlements of Helms Deep, Boromir's temptation and subsequent redemption in the saving of the Hobbits Merry and Pippin... if anything screamed, ''Make a video game out of me!'' it was this series. Sadly it wasn't until December of 2002 that The Lord Of The RIngs finally received it's first credible entry into the world of video games. While many of us were expecting a RPG of sorts, EA chose to deliver instead a 3D scrolling fighter of surprising depth. With the help of trilogy director Peter Jackson and the resources of famed special FX studio Weta Workshop, EA merged actual cinema footage and sfx assets with a proven game design to produce one of the stand out titles of 2002, The Lord Of The Rings:The Two Towers...

Picking up on events depicted towards the end of the first movie, The Two Towers tells the tale of a group of brave souls destined to save the world of Middle Earth from an approaching darkness. It is their charge to drop ''The One Ring'' into the fires of Mount Doom thus denying the evil Sauron the use of it's dark magic as a means to conquer the world. In their path, countless dangers await them, from corrupt wizards and a legion of Orcs, to The Ring's previous owner, Gollum. It's an epic tale of Good vs Evil that serves as fertile breeding ground for a game of this type. Action, adventure, treason, excitement... the story told by The Lord Of The Rings has it all and finally gamers have been given the chance to explore this fantastic world from the relative safety of their very own living room. While it does follow the events of the movie closely, fans in training will be pleased to know that LOTR:TTT contains no serious plot spoilers. The care shown in avoiding crucial revelations is something to be applauded and I for one hope this trend continues in future LOTR games.

Assuming the role of either the human ranger Aragon, the elven bowman Legalos or the dwarf Gimli, the player must traverse a series of 3D landscapes while engaging any enemy troops foolish enough to cross their path. Once battle has begun, further progression through the level is halted until the current section is cleared. It's an age old game mechanic that has been seen countless times throughout the years. Taking another page from the Book of Nostalgia, LOTR:TTT borrows many of the old hack and slash genre staples and puts them though the Orc grinder to create something both fresh and exciting. Gone now are the simple one, two, three single button attacks of the past, in their place a more intricate combo system that requires the player to memorize a series of different button presses and joypad movements. Of course, if you wanted to indulge in a little button mashing then by all means go ahead, but those who learn the attacks will find that LOTR:TTT has a fairly intensive combat system. The system is so well designed that within minutes the player will find themselves stringing together attacks that combine both melee and projectile weapons into one long devastating combo of un-repented skull cracking fury.

Not surprisingly, much of what gives LOTR:TTT its depth stems from that excellent combo system. By stringing together combos, the player is awarded points that are tallied at the end of each level and are then in turn used to purchase new upgrades. With 5 different skill levels to explore and approximately 28 power-ups available to purchase, there will always be something new for the player to learn or discover! The upgrades run the gauntlet of options from the simple parry / thrust style of attack, all the way up to the more brutal, Urak-hai cleaving special attacks and life extending power-ups. It's hard to fathom such variety in a 3D scrolling fighter, but LOTR:TTT is proof of this genre's potential greatness as almost everything it does goes over and above the call of duty. Each of the 10 levels perfectly represents their celluloid counterpart thanks to the close corroboration between EA and Weta Workshop. If the style of partnership displayed here is the shape of things to come, then the future of licensed gaming is going to be very promising indeed. Fans will be delighted to know that they too can battle through authentic renditions of the Gap of Rohan or help defend Helms Deep from the rampaging hordes.

Unfortunately, all this goodness comes in a very small, single player sized serving. From beginning to end, LOTR:TTT shouldn't take much more than about 4 hours to finish. A minor concession can be made in that it's possible to go back and replay each level with a different character, but with the core game being as short as this, I couldn't help but feel a little unfulfilled once the final credits had begun to roll. Just as disappointing is EA's failure to include a multiplayer mode. For a game that carries such a strong theme of fellowship, the lack of any sort of multiplayer mode leaves a gapping big hole in the available play options...

No expense has been spared in bringing LOTR:TTT to life as both the graphics and sound really shine with a cinematic appeal so rarely seen in video games these days. Cut scenes begin as full motion video before a seamless transition brings the player into the game's world. Character animation is smooth and flawless even when performing the more involved attack combinations. Needless to say with everything looking this good, the atmosphere during some of the more intense battle sequences can seem pretty oppressive to say the least. Many of the little graphical details aren't lost on the player either as the backgrounds come alive perfectly complimenting the on screen action. Equally as well implemented is LOTR:TTT's sound track. With the booming sounds of Howard Shore's epic musical score providing the perfect base, the audio landscape has been filled out nicely with some very impressive samples. Clashing swords, war crys and numerous twangs from impacting arrows are all delivered via the use of Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound and are incredibly convincing.

Rounding out this excellent package is a veritable treasure trove of unlockable extras. In an unusual move, EA have seen fit to furnish the player with a wealth of bonus extras that relate more to the original movies than to the game itself. No one's complaining however as what's on offer really fleshes out a lot of what went on behind the scenes during the production of the movies. Documentaries, interviews, and photo galleries are all used to good effect in order to tempt the player back for just one more go. EA have even tossed a bone to the player that's only interested in LOTR:TTT for it's gameplay as they have seen fit to include both a hidden character and a secret level. Of course, these two extras can be considered to be of the premium variety and as such the player really needs to work hard in order to unlock them!

Other software developers could do well to take note of EA's obvious dedication in the handling of this license. It may have its flaws, but at the same time LOTR:TTT is a hundred times better than the rest of the regurgitated flotsam that constitutes licensed gaming as a whole. The fact that Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers can stand on its own and is an excellent game in its own right doesn't hurt matters either! It's fast combo laden gameplay laced with just a dash of RPG style character building makes it a game that almost anyone can enjoy. Do yourself a favor and check it out! In fact, why not make a night of it and rent the movies as well?

Pros
----
* DEEP combat system with many useful new attacks and upgrades to unlock
* 3 well balanced characters to choose from
* The controls are smooth and feel tight
* Each level looks and feels like what was seen in the cinema
* A fitting soundtrack that will please fans
* Many extras to unlock
* Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound support

Cons
----
* No multiplayer?!
* 4 hours from beginning to end, at least it's consistent with the movies

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/16/03