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The Lord of the Rings has made its way to the GameCube. Now gamers can see what the fuss is all about, too.
November 14, 2003 | 10:00 PM PSTby: Adrian DeHerrera
What is considered one of the greatest stories of our time has been brought to life in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by talented New Zealand director Peter Jackson To boot, Jackson seems to have done the impossible: Made the books into one of the most popular, well-made and profitable cinematic ventures of all time – something most analysts (and Tolkein lovers) would have never thought possible.
Still, as we all know, most movie-to-game titles usually, to put it bluntly, bite. To try to lift that curse, EA and New Line worked hand-in-hand to try to produce a solid action/adventure with high production values and create a game to accompany and expand on the movie. So what kind of game did the folks at EA conjure up?
Graphics:
If the graphics in Towers had to be summed up in one word, that word would be: : wow. To start, the character models (based on the movie characters) look realistic and match their movie counterparts to the tee (although Gimli is looking a bit burlier than I remember). Each model is carefully detailed with layers of protective clothing and armor which moves realistically in battle. Weapons are no different, causing fiery sparks to fly when clashing with enemies, each attack graceful and animated smoothly.
The backgrounds, whether walking through the forests, crawling through rocky terrain or running across grassy hills, are wholly atmospheric; broody and dark, they grab you by the neck and seem to pull you right into the game. Within the environment, shadows move realistically and water effects are top-notch. Observant fans of the movie will be happy to see small details much too good to point out and spoil in this review.
At some points, though, slow-down occurs when too many explosions happen on-screen, but to be fair, at other times there are more than 20 characters fighting to the death at once with no slow-down, so the occasional burp is forgivable . Still, solid enemy designs, impressive fire effects and characters with character separate the game from standard adventure games.
Sound:
One of the best aspects of the movie trilogy is its epic score by brilliant composer Howard Shore – and luckily the game retains the adventurous resonance of Shore’s original compositions. Rather than distract you from your tasks at hand, the crashing drums and soaring violins spur you on as you plow your bloody way through endless armies of orcs and goblins.
Even though the score and other sound effects are impressive, probably the best examples of sound in the game are character voicing. Expect hours worth of original voicework to show up in the game; Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortenson all lend their voices to help the game push above and beyond most movie-to-videogame adaptations. The only problem I could find with sound in the game was during FMV sequences (which are mindfully weaved throughout) which use actual footage of the movie itself, and although the sound is adequate, at times it can become tinny or scratchy.
Kung-Fu Fighting
Gameplay:
The Two Towers runs in a full 3-D environment, but the gameplay is restricted to linear missions and arena-type battles. Choosing from either Legolas (Elven archer), Aragorn (human swordsman) or Gimli (axe-wielding dwarf), players set off on missions that parallel, but also expand on scenes in the first two movies.
Realistically, you might be able to make headway in the game by mashing your buttons as hard and randomly as possible, but the designers have made it more rewarding to learn the moves and learn to defend yourself from attacking enemies. By adding a slight RPG element to the mix, Towers allows the player to “level up” their characters by earning “grades” for their battle skills. By using hundreds of different attack combos, kicking orc butt with varying special attacks and incurring little damage will win you a Platinum score. Let a cave troll turn you into a pretzel and kill him by using cheap shots? No points for you.
When facing bosses, though, just laying the smack down isn’t going to work. Taking different strategies and noticing details around you is paramount if you’re going to get to the next level, even though most of the bosses are easy to moderately difficult. Still, as easy as it may be, who can resist shooting out the eyes of a Cave Troll while tearing apart goblins with your bare hands? Well, sir, not me.
Replayability:
Whether you want to play this game after beating it is going to depend on a few things:
1) How much did you enjoy the movie?
2) Did you fall in love with Peter Jackson’s interpretation of Tolkein’s massively popular books?
If so, you’ll be immediately re-immersed into the experience and want to play again and again, if not to relive exciting scenes within the film, to hear the original dialogue spoken from the actors who starred in the movie.
3) Don’t care about Lord of the Rings?
Well then EA should supply you with a solid, memorable run-through you’ll probably play through a few times to at least beat the game using the other characters.
4) Did you hate the movie?
Well.. there’s always Star Wars. But hopefully you’ll enjoy the game anyway.
5) Do you like linear beat-em-ups?
Warning to those looking to explore the ins and outs of Middle Earth however you please: This isn’t the game for you. After playing the game through a few times, you’ll know when to expect enemy attacks, how to best take down enemies and know exactly how your environment will react. Sure, each level provides you with a certain amount of elbow room to innovate your approach to winning, but lack of sidequests and exploration may turn some gamers off. This train is firmly running on its tracks.
Death from afar
Overall:
To not rent this game is to miss out on one of the best gems the Gamecube has to offer. Where almost all movie-to-game titles fail, The Two Towers excels - and then some. The only qualm I had with it was that it was perhaps a little too short for my tastes, so if you’re wary of spending $40-$50 dollars to own it, at least give it a respectable rental. On the other hand, fans of the movie and the genre shouldn’t even question whether to get this game since the better you get at the game, the more DVD extras open up including interviews with the cast and crew of the movie.
I may be biased because I consider the movie to be one of the best in the past decade, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that The Two Towers surpassed my already-high expectations. Kudos to EA and here’s to seeing even better things for The Return of the King.
Still, as we all know, most movie-to-game titles usually, to put it bluntly, bite. To try to lift that curse, EA and New Line worked hand-in-hand to try to produce a solid action/adventure with high production values and create a game to accompany and expand on the movie. So what kind of game did the folks at EA conjure up?
Graphics:
If the graphics in Towers had to be summed up in one word, that word would be: : wow. To start, the character models (based on the movie characters) look realistic and match their movie counterparts to the tee (although Gimli is looking a bit burlier than I remember). Each model is carefully detailed with layers of protective clothing and armor which moves realistically in battle. Weapons are no different, causing fiery sparks to fly when clashing with enemies, each attack graceful and animated smoothly.
The backgrounds, whether walking through the forests, crawling through rocky terrain or running across grassy hills, are wholly atmospheric; broody and dark, they grab you by the neck and seem to pull you right into the game. Within the environment, shadows move realistically and water effects are top-notch. Observant fans of the movie will be happy to see small details much too good to point out and spoil in this review.
At some points, though, slow-down occurs when too many explosions happen on-screen, but to be fair, at other times there are more than 20 characters fighting to the death at once with no slow-down, so the occasional burp is forgivable . Still, solid enemy designs, impressive fire effects and characters with character separate the game from standard adventure games.
Sound:
One of the best aspects of the movie trilogy is its epic score by brilliant composer Howard Shore – and luckily the game retains the adventurous resonance of Shore’s original compositions. Rather than distract you from your tasks at hand, the crashing drums and soaring violins spur you on as you plow your bloody way through endless armies of orcs and goblins.
Even though the score and other sound effects are impressive, probably the best examples of sound in the game are character voicing. Expect hours worth of original voicework to show up in the game; Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortenson all lend their voices to help the game push above and beyond most movie-to-videogame adaptations. The only problem I could find with sound in the game was during FMV sequences (which are mindfully weaved throughout) which use actual footage of the movie itself, and although the sound is adequate, at times it can become tinny or scratchy.
Kung-Fu Fighting
Gameplay:
The Two Towers runs in a full 3-D environment, but the gameplay is restricted to linear missions and arena-type battles. Choosing from either Legolas (Elven archer), Aragorn (human swordsman) or Gimli (axe-wielding dwarf), players set off on missions that parallel, but also expand on scenes in the first two movies.
Realistically, you might be able to make headway in the game by mashing your buttons as hard and randomly as possible, but the designers have made it more rewarding to learn the moves and learn to defend yourself from attacking enemies. By adding a slight RPG element to the mix, Towers allows the player to “level up” their characters by earning “grades” for their battle skills. By using hundreds of different attack combos, kicking orc butt with varying special attacks and incurring little damage will win you a Platinum score. Let a cave troll turn you into a pretzel and kill him by using cheap shots? No points for you.
When facing bosses, though, just laying the smack down isn’t going to work. Taking different strategies and noticing details around you is paramount if you’re going to get to the next level, even though most of the bosses are easy to moderately difficult. Still, as easy as it may be, who can resist shooting out the eyes of a Cave Troll while tearing apart goblins with your bare hands? Well, sir, not me.
Replayability:
Whether you want to play this game after beating it is going to depend on a few things:
1) How much did you enjoy the movie?
2) Did you fall in love with Peter Jackson’s interpretation of Tolkein’s massively popular books?
If so, you’ll be immediately re-immersed into the experience and want to play again and again, if not to relive exciting scenes within the film, to hear the original dialogue spoken from the actors who starred in the movie.
3) Don’t care about Lord of the Rings?
Well then EA should supply you with a solid, memorable run-through you’ll probably play through a few times to at least beat the game using the other characters.
4) Did you hate the movie?
Well.. there’s always Star Wars. But hopefully you’ll enjoy the game anyway.
5) Do you like linear beat-em-ups?
Warning to those looking to explore the ins and outs of Middle Earth however you please: This isn’t the game for you. After playing the game through a few times, you’ll know when to expect enemy attacks, how to best take down enemies and know exactly how your environment will react. Sure, each level provides you with a certain amount of elbow room to innovate your approach to winning, but lack of sidequests and exploration may turn some gamers off. This train is firmly running on its tracks.
Death from afar
Overall:
To not rent this game is to miss out on one of the best gems the Gamecube has to offer. Where almost all movie-to-game titles fail, The Two Towers excels - and then some. The only qualm I had with it was that it was perhaps a little too short for my tastes, so if you’re wary of spending $40-$50 dollars to own it, at least give it a respectable rental. On the other hand, fans of the movie and the genre shouldn’t even question whether to get this game since the better you get at the game, the more DVD extras open up including interviews with the cast and crew of the movie.
I may be biased because I consider the movie to be one of the best in the past decade, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that The Two Towers surpassed my already-high expectations. Kudos to EA and here’s to seeing even better things for The Return of the King.
February 8, 2010
