By now, nearly the entire world knows the Tolkien story as it has been brought to the big screen by director Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema. I think it probably played at a local theater (or twelve) in just about every city. There might be a few lost souls out there who are remaining pure to the classic fantasy epic and refuse to see the movie. There might even be those who blew both off as over-hyped fantasy. Hey, I’m a fantasy nut and had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the world of Harry Potter, so what do I know, right? Well, for those of you who haven’t seen The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, go see it. Then be sure to check out the Xbox game bearing the same name.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was made for me and anyone else who enjoys a romping good battlefest. EA did an excellent job providing variety in character control, an awesome button-mashing combat system, and thirteen expansive levels showing off Middle Earth in all its gritty, blood-soaked glory.
The game rides on rails, mostly, which I didn’t mind at all. If you know the story, especially if you’ve enjoyed the movie, then you know that the weight of The Two Towers is carried by the action-packed scenes as three of the remaining Fellowship (our three characters of Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn) move mostly on rails from one incredible battle to another. This was what I wanted. Send more Urukhai!
But wait! I’m getting ahead of myself. As the game opens, you get a special treat by playing through the training level as Isildur (son of Elendil), helping this ancient king of man against the orc hordes of Sauron. In Tolkien-esque fashion, we’re offered a great prolog to the mayhem about to be served up. The controls are simple, which helps, and before you can say ‘Lothlorien’ you’re pulling off some awesome combination moves as you mash between parries, speed attacks, power attacks and knockdowns. Whip around your bow to reach out and touch someone, old-style. Or (and this I loved) move in to finish off a downed enemy with one final, powerful stroke. More! More orcs! Who wants some of this?
Right. Calm. Okay. It truly is hard not to give in to the bloodlust, especially as you are greeted into the game by a nice long intro cut right out of the big screen storyline. And with the Xbox, you just get more with the DVD quality cut-scenes that are worked in between animated movies.
So, warmed up on good video and completely psyched after your dry run with Isildur, you get to your first level where you can choose between taking on the adventure as Aragorn, Gimli, or Legolas. Ah, decisions, decisions. Don’t worry, though, because you get a second chance without restarting. Thirteen second chances, in fact. That’s right, at the start of each level, you can switch to another character’s viewpoint and (with a corresponding change in armor, weapons and sometimes height) battle onward as a new member of the deadly trio. Wield Gimli’s battleaxe in the mines of Moria. Notch arrows in Legolas’s bow looking over the Rohan battleground as orcs charge in on their wargs. And at Helms Deep …
Did someone just say Moria? Yeah. Me. And EA’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers delivers one more delicious tidbit to the inner Tolkien in all of us. They backed up the story (just a bit) to give us some time out of the first fantasy flick, Fellowship of the Ring. Two words: Bal Rog. If you aren’t licking your lips now, you’ve either smoked too much Shire leaf or you just-don’t-get-it.
How much more do you want? How much more can you handle? EA’s game adaptation of The Two Towers runs you through the gauntlet in three different ways, always with an eye toward more, more, more. The snarl of wargs, the screech of wounded orcs and the pounding march of Sarumon’s Urukhai. Gore and gibs and great epic-fantasy action. Relive some great moments out of one of the best stories of all time. And then go relive it again. And again.
