The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (XBox)

They didn't. Other developers take note. This is how a movie conversion should be done! Its a cliche maybe, but in this game, you really do play the movie. Quite literally infact, as one minute you're watching a key scene from the movie, and then almost seamlessly the film transforms to game graphics and you're fighting in the scene.

What you get for your money, is lovingly recreated scenes from the film, amazing graphics, the best use of sound I've heard on a game, including all of the original actors voice talents, great gameplay, hoardes of blood thirsty orcs and other middle earth denizens to slice and dice your way through.

The action is fast and furious and sometimes there are so many enemies on screen you can, forgive the pun, lose the plot. You start off with very basic moves, but in the best gaming tradition, you can learn more moves as you progress into the game, culminating in some great combos.

Add to all that character development, choice of three characters, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, all with their own strengths and weaknesses, the unlockable extras (a nice touch), and what you have is a whole lot of fun. Ok, so its not the most cerebral of games but it is a helluva lot of fun which is what gaming all about!

My only reservation is the longevity of the game but thats a minor point and the only reason I gave this 4 not 5 stars. A quality title and one of the best Xbox games around.


Style over substance   March 17, 2003
M. D. Smart (London, UK)
5 out of 11 found this review helpful

This is the perfect example of style over substance. It looks absolutely breathtaking, and the way the film clips at the start of each level fade into cutscenes is amazing. Sadly, that is the only spark of originality to be found here. The gameplay, if you can call it such, is one-dimmensional, mindless button-bashing of the most tedious kind, and no amount of good looks can save it. There's about as much depth here as in an arcade game from the early Eighties; some people might think that's a good thing, but I like to use my brain once in a while during a game, rather than let it stagnate as it did here. A half-hearted attempt has been made to add an RPG element, whereby you can improve a character's abilities by earning experience points, but it does nothing to alter the fact that 99% of this game is spent hacking and slashing and hacking and slashing... you don't even need to see the screen, really, just keep pressing the attack button and you'll be alright. Considering how much money EA paid for the licence, you would have thought they could have spared a little for the development process. It'll be a hit, no doubt, just because of that licence, but don't let that fool you into thinking this is anything other than a turgid, hackneyed piece of rubbish.


The two towers   May 9, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Ok i got this game for my christmas and thought it would be like the previous game "the fellowship of the ring" which was good for gameplay but not for fighting.But this game is simple but fun all you do is fight through a few levels which is more fun than you can possibly imagane.And the bonus level and character is very rewarding.


One game to Rule them all?   April 1, 2003
Leo (England)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Lord of the. Rings: The Two Towers incorperates the action of the first two films into one game. You can pick between Aragron, legolas and Gimli and pit them against the fowl creatures that lurk in Middle Earth...

Story

What is there to say its Lord of the Rings. The only problem is you would have no clue of the story if you had not read the books, but it does not matter to the gameplay at all.

Gameplay

Yes, it is a hack and slash game. But not only is it the best slasher to ever hit a console, it actually requires skill to beat. There's no beating around the bushes, this game is short. Despite this issue, the game has given me the most fun out of any video game this year. The beauty of the game is the combat system and how your character evolves. Basically you'll need to really learn the combo system because button mashing WILL NOT get you anywhere in this game. You have to have keen timing and a good idea of what combo to use and when. After you beat a stage, you'll earn points depending on how well you know you're combo system. You'll really need to learn how to use every move and button in this game to score some perfect kills. Any game designed to force the player to improve his skills is a great game in my book.

Graphics

Some of the best you're TV has ever seen IMO. There is just so much going on here. It's really hard not to get distracted by the background where hundreds of enemies can be seen. The level of detail on the models and stages are unbelievable.
What's also most impressive is the way EA has somehow been able to brilliantly combine and merge cut scenes from the movie with the in-game graphics. It never really looks fake and cut scenes merge absolutely wonderfully into the game to hand you control of the action. This really goes to show how great the graphics are.
There's a debate going on that the colors of this version are a ad darker than the PS2 version. I agree. They are. But the graphics are crisp and clear and can still be made out to enjoy. I also have to mention that the game runs at a fluid 60 fps and controls and moves wonderfully. Even better is that this game is well suitable to the Xbox in terms of control and the only real complaint I can give is that aiming is sometimes awkward.

Sound

Howard Shore's musical score for the films has been nothing short of a masterpiece and translates wonderfully into the game. At times the music is heroic, scary, tense and really puts you into Middle Earth. The voice acting is great and it's wonderful that the actors came back to do some original work specifically for the game.

Replay

As mentioned earlier, the game is short. But wow is there a lot of extras here to keep you going. For starters, you have three character's to beat the game with. Aiming for a perfect score in all the stages suits for a well needed challenge to those of you who are perfectionists. There are tons of video clips with interviews from the actors and filmmakers talking about the game. There are photo's as well. On top of that, there are 4 secret stages and a secret character to be found. And the biggest replay of all, is that this game is just too fun to put down.

Overall

You cannot go wrong with this game I have absolutely nothing bad to say about it. It's skillful, fun, beautiful to look at and listen to, and captures everything that the movies do with nothing short of sheer excellence. The only reason this did not get 5 out of 5 was of because how long the game was and a two-op would have made this even better. But that's what sequels are for. And our King will return next year...Buy it.


It's time to kick some orc ass   April 1, 2003
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

It's time to kick some orc ass on lord of the rings the two towers. In this action packed game you get to play as three different characters Aragorn, Legoles or Gimli who each have there own uniqu attackes using there different types of strengh, speed and weapons like Arargorn is medium stengh medium speed and has a long sword and a bow, Legoles is fast not as stong as Aragorn and has a long and a short sword and a bow and gimli is the stongest but slowest and has one big fighting axe and lots of small throwing axes.

Lord of the rings in most of the levels has a feeling that you are part of a group fighting to rid middle earth of evil, because on most levels there are other people fighting with you. Lord of the rings takes you from the beginning of the first film to the end of the second. It is cleveraly done because it has the story being told by Aragorn up to when they get to Helms deep.

Though this game has quite good graphics, there are some bad points about the game such as when you compete the game and the secret level you win Isildor but he is exactly the same as Aragorn and already on level 10. Even though there are these minour set backs still go out and bt the game today