The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"The best movie-based GBA game."

STORYLINE: If you've read the books, or watched the movie, you'd know the storyline. If not, read on. Long ago the Dark Lord forged 20 Rings of Power:9 for men, 7 for the Dwarf lords, and 3 for the Elves. And 1 ring for him, in which he put his spirit into, and ruled with it. Men and Elves fought back, and Isildur cut the ring off Sauron's finger with his father's broken sword, Narsil. Being as greedy as he was, he took it for himself, and it betrayed him to his death. A hobbit took it, and it corrupted him. That hobbit was Gollum. Many years later, another hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, found the ring on his adventure. Then, many years later, Bilbo wasn't as corrupted as Gollum. He was forced by Gandalf the Grey, an old friend, to give up the ring. He gave it to his nephew(I think, not that sure),Frodo Baggins, and he he had to bring to to Mount Doom to destroy it. 9 Riders were after him, which made it more difficult. After a long journey, he made it to Rivendell, and 7 companions joined him(5 of which were with him to Rivendell.) Then, you play the rest of the way.

GAMEPLAY: There are 5 characters(6 in multiplayer): Aragorn, Frodo, Legolas, Gimli(multiplayer only), and Eoywn. You play from 2/3 of TFOTR to the end of TTT.(Cathadras to Helm's Deep). Each character has their own path, and unique weapons. For example, Legolas can only use a bow, Aragorn can hold two swords, Gandalf can have a sword and a staff, Frodo can only use daggers, and Eowyn can use one sword. Everybody's route is from the same structure(except Eowyn, which is completely different). Some are shorter than others, and some are longer.
The game is played very much like Diablo 2. Every level, you gain 5 attribute Points, and 1 skill point. Attributes boost your health, accuracy, mana, and more. Skills are special skills that they can do. Aragorn can Duel Wield, Frodo can wear The One Ring, Legolas can Meditate, and Gandalf can use spells. Items are completely randomly generated, except some skills can help you find better equipment.

MUSIC: The music is straight from the movies' soundtracks. They sound a little different, because of the GameBoy Advance hardware. You can hear the orc scream, the war cries of the Fellowship, and more.

GRAPHICS:
The graphics are great for the GBA. It looks like Diablo 2, and it even has those little circles in the corners that show your health. Though, most swords look the same, and same with the shields and armor, which you can't see. But overall, good graphics.

OVERALL: This is a great game, a must-buy, especially if you're into Lord of The Rings, or Diablo. I give it a 9 out of 10.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/15/02, Updated 12/15/02