The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"Diablo II/LotR mix not for the weak of heart..."

Before we begin, a word of warning for potential buyers of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Do not purchase this game unless you have an ability to sit through sometimes agonizing dialogue and suffer a few painful slow, boring times. While I don't consider this a flaw in gameplay under all circumstances, and not in this circumstance, some would. If you find yourself in this category of gamer, this game is not for you. If, however, you are the type of gamer that can appreciate a game which, though not perfect, has some interesting facets and provides a few rousing moments, this game is right up your alley. So, without further ado, here is my review.

Controls: 6/10. This game has quite a few flaws in the controls department, though it still has enough merits to merit an above-average score. The first flaw of the controls is the difficulty in cycling between various skills. For a test case, let us look to Frodo's One Ring skill. This skill gives extra damage and invisibility, yet causes massive corruption. When using the L shoulder button to cycle through Frodo's skills, one may inadvertently activate the One Ring skill. Then, when pressing A, you suddenly empty the entire Nazgûl reserves of Minas Morgul. This can also make for frustration in high-tension, high-action fighting when Aragorn begins to throw his sword when what he needs to be doing is initiating his healing spell. Other than that, the controls are quite intuitive and easily figured out even if you don't read the instruction manual.

Sound: 7/10. I could not disagree more strongly with those who say the music is uninspired and dull. To back my opinion, I would like to point out that the music is based directly on the score of The Lord of the Rings movies. I would note to those potential buyers to whom music matters that the score to The Fellowship of the Ring won Best Original Score at the Academy Awards in 2002. The music is perfectly tuned to actions that occur in the storyline. The only time the music could get repetitive is if you get stuck in one place for an extended period of time. Even the theme from Star Wars would get monotonous if that were the case. The sound effects, too, are well-scripted. While there are a few flaws in their implementation (the sound of an orc sounds suspiciously like that of a Crebain), they are on the whole utilized in a pleasing manner.

Gameplay: 5/10. The addition of five characters to play with warrants some extra points in this category. Although characters like Eowyn are somewhat uninspired, seeming as if the creators merely put the other characters in a blender and tossed out a fifth one, the presence of numerous characters allows for a deeper gameplay experience. However, major points are lost in a few major areas. First, the gameplay lacks very little in the way of variety. It is, quite plainly, a hack-and-slash. There is a minor puzzle element in the finding of artifacts and the pressing of switches, but it is neither utilized enough nor challenging enough to make the gameplay more than average. If you have the patience for it, or if hack-and-slash is your thing, then you may find few problems with the gameplay. However, if you prefer greater variety in your video games, I would recommend spending your money on Pikmin.

Multiplayer Mode: 8/10. While I admittedly have not played a great amount of this mode, I have played enough of it to know it's not all it's cracked up to be. It is great, I do not refute that. The elements of strategy and urgency, in addition to some trading and item theft, make for a richer and more varied experience. However, I would not buy the game purely based on the multiplayer mode.

Graphics: 6/10. I'll be brief. While it bothered me that the faces of characters were non-existent in most gameplay areas, and the sprites weren't inspired or brilliant, I would take with a grain of salt advice saying that all the sprites are indistinguishable from one another. The sprites vary enough -- in color, shape, size, and movement -- that one should be able to easily discern and name the different types in a group of them. The graphics aren't great, but they aren't the abysmal debacles they have been made out to be.

Replay Value: 10/10. Five characters. Five different skill charts. Different types of weapons. Bows for one character, two swords for another, sword and shield for another, staff and sword for yet another, and short swords and rings for the last. Throw in axes for the secret character, a dazzling array of arrows, special items, and accessories, and you have plenty of reason to play this game again and again in the never-ending quest to gather the best stuff and create the best character ever. If you buy this game for one reason, it should be for the sheer amount of...stuff...you can find.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/14/03, Updated 03/14/03