Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Score: 90% ESRB: Teen Publisher: EA Games Developer: Stormfront Studios Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action
Graphics & Sound: Bringing a classic license such as Tolkien's Lord of the Ring series into any form, be it movie or game, is always a tricky endeavor. Since these licenses are held with such high regard, adapting them to a form that will be appealing to the masses and to the hardcore can be a tough thing to do. This has been especially true when it comes to game adaptations of Tolkien's works. Since the days of the SNES (and possibly even earlier on the computer), many companies have tried to bring the world of Hobbits and Mount Doom to life, but all have failed. When it came time to pick licenses, EA was able to gain the rights to base games off of the wildly successful Peter Jackson trilogy of movies in hopes of duplicating their success - a feat that EA has pulled off masterfully. This is the way movie-based games were meant to be presented. Instead of falling into the typical trap of trying to make all parts of the movie into a game, Two Towers only focuses on the most exciting parts of the movies - the battles. Whereas most movie games use clips in order to loosely tell the story, or to bridge the gap between watered down levels, TT integrates them into the gameplay, making for one of the more impressive graphical feats I've seen. The smoothness with which TT switches between introductory movie clips and the in-game polygons is really something everyone has to see. A word or warning though - as the title suggests, the game incorporates both the Fellowship and Two Towers story lines, so those wanting to keep themselves 'pure' for the next movie may want to avoid playing anything after Fellowship levels. The actual in-game graphics do an excellent job of creating a true sense that you're in the movie. This is something all PS2 owners will want to pull out the next time their GC or Xbox owning friends begin to talk smack about the PS2's graphics. As if using movie clips weren't enough to keep you happy, the game also uses all of the music and voices from the films, adding yet another level of authenticity.
Gameplay: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a fast paced, all-out action game in the vein of Final Fight or Streets of Rage, and wastes no time in showing you. From the minute you turn on the game, it's already in full swing telling you the legacy of the One Ring and the throwing you right into fray as a human warrior marching against Sauron's hordes. And to think, that's just your training mission! As previously mentioned, TT skews from the typical movie formula and doesn't try to make something out of nothing. TT doesn't waste player's time by having them run through the village to find Gandalf, or throw in levels that have little to do with the actual plot. Instead it presents players with the story and zaps them into the most exciting parts of the movie, such as Aragorn's battle with the Ringwraiths (or Nazgul for you purists), or the Battle at Helm's deep. At first it may seem that TT is little more than the second coming of The Bouncer, but it proves to be an incredibly deep and satisfying game. One of the more interesting aspects is the Devil May Cry style combo system the game uses. As you face endless droves of enemies, a meter in the lower corner of the screen fills up, encouraging you to keep beating on enemies and stringing together combos. As the meter fills, your character's hits become stronger - indicated by your weapon beginning to glow and your 'style rank' flashing above every hit. Fair hits are your standard hit, and do normal damage, but once you work your way up to Excellent or Perfect - you'll take enemies down with only a few strikes. Filling up the meter may sound easy at first, but takes an amazing amount to skill, speed, and timing to pull off just right. Also, taking hits or running away from a battle will decrease the meter and bring you back to normal levels. In addition to powering your character up, performing combos also rewards you with experience points that can be used in between levels to purchase permanent power-ups and more specialized combos. Learning these skills is imperative to your success later in the game - so keep that meter up at all costs. In addition to the combo system, TT also proves to be an incredibly smart game. Instead of allowing players to solve every battle situation with a few flicks of the sword, a majority of the battles force players to really thing about what they are doing on the battlefield. Some of the battles in the game cannot be beaten by blindly slashing foes, and require a good amount of both logic and out of the box thinking to solve. Smart use of your environment, as well as quick thinking and patience, are key. While a majority of the game's battles can be classified as boss battles, there are also a few more 'traditional' levels as well - such as the frantic battle in the forest that ends the Fellowship campaign. There are also a few different gameplay modes thrown in such as a battle against time to keep enemies from breaching the walls at Helm's Deep or protecting Frodo while he escapes.
Difficulty: Unfortunately, this is one of the stumbling blocks in TT and believe me - the fall is a big one. As great as some of these modes are, they tend to drag on just a little longer than they need to, and become more frustrating that fun. It becomes especially frustrating when you're thrown into impossible situations and forced to fight huge numbers of enemies alone. While the over abundant supply of health potions help to make these parts a little easier, there's only so much you can do when you have 20 or so Urak-Hai or Wargs bearing down on you. The game is not unbeatable, but at times it certainly feels that way.
Game Mechanics: Two Towers is a very flexible game and allows for many different play styles. Button mashers will love the easy access to powerful moves and combos, while skill players will love the amazing amount of depth the system offers. Although it's a feature not mentioned in instructions, players looking for more natural feeling swordplay, the right analog stick can also be used to attack. While this method takes a little more forethought and skill to be useful, it really adds to the game. Although TT draws on nearly every aspect of the movies, there is one area where it strays - the length. Fellowship of the Ring was by no means a short movie, and The Two Towers doesn't look like it will be short either. However, even when combining both of these movies, TT is incredibly short and can be completed in at least a week. As much as I praised the precision with which the game remains true to the movie, this is one of the unfortunate side effects. Even when playing with all three characters (Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli) and trying to max them out, the game is still way too short. The photo albums, cast interviews, and 'making of' features add some length, but there are only so many times you can watch the actors talk about the glories of bringing a movie into a game. Two Towers is definitely one of the best Tolkien licenses to come around and does a great job of using its source material. This is the way movie games were meant to be made - and every company working on a movie license should take copious notes. However, the unusually high difficulty curve, combined with the length of the adventure, does put a damper on things.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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