The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

"Insane difficulty level hampers on otherwise good game."

EA Games has given us another game based on the Lord of the Rings movies, and while I enjoyed the previous installment (The Two Towers), this one left me with a surprisingly unsatisfying experience, to say the least.

Sound:
I don’t think EA could really go wrong here. Most of the music is taken directly from the films, making certain moments in the game more epic and rewarding. Much of the sound effects are extremely well done, whether it be the sound of sword against sword, or a catapult being fired, nothing is left unchecked. My only gripe with the game’s sound is that many of the characters’ comments can be difficult to understand during a large battle. Don’t get me wrong, I thought that the voice acting was brilliant, but on occasion I had trouble hearing certain lines over the sound of several large explosions. A few times this caused me some grief, as I was unable to understand what my next objective would be. Overall, though, the sound in this game is much better than average.

Graphics:
I couldn’t ask for much better. EA did a fantastic job (once again) bringing the world of Middle-Earth to life. From the gigantic Oliphaunts to the smallest spider, I was always impressed with the amount of detail given to the creatures. The movements of the characters are smooth and unique to each hero. The battles are large and beautiful, as are the environments. This is by far the game’s strongest point.

Gameplay:
Here is where the game trips over its own two feet and lands flat on its face. Never in my ten or so years of gaming have I had to deal with the amount of frustration that this game gave to me. The hack and slash gameplay is a great idea for the series, but the way it’s executed here makes me want to slap the developers back to the drawing board. There are three very big complaints that I have about this game. Number one; the difficulty level is so incredibly hard, that many people won’t have the endurance to get through the game. I found myself replaying levels more than five or six times – on the easy difficulty setting! Imagine my frustration after getting through 90 percent of a level only to die at the very end and have to do it all over again (not all levels have checkpoints). Secondly, in some battles I am forced to play “I Spy” with my character. Huge explosions and masses of orc armies would sometimes hide my character and cause me to yell obscenities at my computer. And thirdly, a lot of the more powerful attacks that are unique to each character are not utilized very often. I often just simply tapped the quick attack button to get out of a jam. That’s not to say there aren’t any positive points about the gameplay. The action button (used to perform certain actions such as launching a catapult) adds new objectives and strategies to battles other than the old “kill everything that moves” idea. Also the addition of a co-op mode adds to the fun as you get to slay Sauron’s forces with a friend (although I am still disappointed that there is no online multiplayer mode for the PC). However, these few positives couldn’t help me overcome the insane amount of frustration that this game caused me.

Story:
Not much to say here. If you enjoyed the movies, then chances are you will enjoy the story of the game. If you’re worried about the game giving away any important scenes from the new movie, it doesn’t.

Controls:
I strongly urge the use of a gamepad for this game. The game is hard enough without having to use a keyboard and a mouse. If you do use a gamepad (as I did) the controls are very tight and responsive, nothing to complain about. Using a keyboard and a mouse, however, would equal zero fun.

Replay Value:
This game has quite a few extras. There are 9 total characters you can play with (including secret characters). There are also 2 extra levels, although these could be considered as endurance tests rather than extra levels. The co-op adds to the replay value as well because it is not played through the same way as the single player mode. Basically, there are enough extras to keep you busy after beating it for the first time.

Overall, the game feels very similar to the Two Towers game, but the difficulty has been increased quite a bit. This leads to many frustrating moments in the game and may be too much, especially for the casual videogamer. I would not recommend spending your money on this version of the game. Instead, if you absolutely must play this game, then head to your local Blockbuster and rent the console version. Otherwise, pass this one by in the store.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/03