The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Playstation 2) 12.28.02

[Rich]

So you’ve seen the movies, but aren’t sure about the game, eh? Can’t say I blame you if you’re rather pessimistic about The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, as I too was weary going into this game. How often is it that a game based on a movie doesn’t actually suck? Well, forget all of that, and keep in mind that The Two Towers is almost flawless and most likely the greatest game based on a movie in a long time.

The Two Towers starts off by throwing you right into the middle of an orc battle. With help menus to command you through, you take control of Ilsildur and learn the controls that you will most likely come to love. With the aid of scenes from the Fellowship of the Rings, you are introduced to the story of the Lord of the Rings, starting off with Ilsildur’s battle with Sauron for the ring.

Finally, you are ready to start the actual game. You take control of Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli. Through twelve missions, you will be fighting with whomever you want, sometimes along side your AI controlled teammates. Weaving in and out of cut scenes, the story of the Two Towers is told through the game. Released two months before the movie, the Two Towers contains a rather large percentage of the movie within the game.

The difficulty level of the Two Towers is a little on the easy side in all but a few spots. However, crank it up to hard, and you’ve got a game that will become frustrating. With levels ranging from kill all the enemies, to protecting Frodo, and to save the townspeople, you have a wide variety of game play and different difficulties going hand in hand.

Then you have graphics and sound, both of which are pretty damned good. Graphics in the Two Towers are almost comparable to the movie scenes, which the game utilizes in the middle of a level. The attention to detail is clearly evident while playing through the Two Towers. The sound in this game is just as good as they come. Using the real voices and music from the movies, you almost feel as if you were watching the Two Towers again. Each level has music that is perfect for it, helping provide the mood for that level.

The replay value of the Two Towers is awesome, since each of the twelve levels is different for each of the main characters, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. As you get to certain levels (10 max) and progress through the levels with each character, you unlock extras that you would expect to only find in a dvd, spanning interviews, the “making of,” photos, and even a secret gauntlet level and secret character.

As you defeat an enemy, you get a rating of “fair,” “good,” or “excellent.” If you happen to perform enough combos without taking hits, you fill up your “perfect” bar and for a limited time and get all one to two hit kills with a “perfect” rating. At the end of each level, you receive money based on how many of each rating you received, receiving more money for the better ratings. With this money, you unlock button combos to do special moves.

Unfortunately, however, the Two Towers has a rather bad camera. With paths going in every which direction, you are sometimes forced to run and battle towards the camera. It’s rather awkward to be running towards a camera, then have it suddenly turn around on you, making you turn directions. The Two Towers is such a perfectly executed game otherwise, however, that this minor detraction does not take away from the overall experience.

When all is said and done, I would recommend anyone that is a fan of the books, a fan of the movies, or just a fan of the action adventure genre to go out and, at a minimum, rent this game. This is one of the better action adventure games to come out since Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance.

[Will]

Nice review Rich.

[Jeremy]

Fantastic review, Rich. The best one I've seen for this game.

[Rich]

Why thank you, both of you.

[Omni]

best...review...EVAR!!111

[Nick]

Your review makes the rounds well enough, but knowing you, I think you could have put a lot more of yourself in it. You have a distinctive, fun personality, but it doesn't come through here as much as it should.

Another issue is your overuse of the title. You say "Two Towers" too much, which is distracting.

Your technical ability is fine, but the Rich-ness could be taken up a notch.

[Rich]

I appreciate what you've just done here, for all the reviews.

Anyways, I tried keeping the review on a more professional level without trying to add myself into it, because it would have been almost certain that a select few people would come into the thread and start bashing it.

Anyways, I'll try using the acronyms more often from now on.

[Curtis]

I second that. Nick's like the father figure EThugg and I never had.

If he were around to give us advice on reviewing games back when we were wee poster's, maybe I wouldn't be so angry... And Thugg wouldn't be... Um... Extra angry? I haven't a clue. Anyway, thank you, Nick, for taking the time both encourage the reader review clan, and bring back the classic av.

Oh, man... I totally need a nap.