The Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers

The mayhem of Middle-earth conflict is faithfully recreated as PS2 players go orc-hunting

	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
	By Storm Front Studios from Electronic Arts
	PlayStation 2
	MSRP: $49.95

Review by Eric T. Baker

espite the title, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers actually models battles from The Fellowship of the Ring as well as The Two Towers. Each level starts with a scene from one of the two films, which then morphs from the movie images to the game's representations of them. When the morph is done, the player takes over and the battle is joined. There are 11 levels, some very short, but other quite long.

The focus of the game is combat. Players take the role of either Aragorn, Legolas or Gimli and battle through each level against a variety of orcs and spiders and other nasties before facing several "boss" monsters including the cave troll, Lurtz and Saruman. Each character has a set of attacks and combination attacks that they employ. Quick attacks can knock down the easier foes, but as the enemies get tougher, it is necessary to employ the combinations to do damage. In addition, attacks and combinations of attacks can be "chained" together. An onscreen meter fills as the attacks pile up. The higher the bar gets, the more experience the characters earn. The player can then spend experience to improve the character, buying him better attacks or making him tougher.

In addition to all the striking and comboing, it is also possible for the characters to parry, or they can kick enemies to knock them off balance. There is also ranged combat. An enemy ranged attack must be parried and then responded to with a ranged attack of the character's own. Aragorn and Legolas have bows and Gimli throws hatchets.

The player can essentially fight through the game three times, once as each of the characters. The characters each have their own style. Players might also choose to replay levels to try and get higher experience totals to buy better attacks to make the next level easier. There are also unlockable Easter eggs such as interviews with members of the movies' cast for players to find.
Cinematic combat made real

The Two Towers is not the game for players who liked the poetry and pathos and the character interactions of the Lord of the Rings books and the first two films, and who now want to live out some of those moments in the virtual reality of a game. For players, however, who crowed at the amazing battles described in the books and thrilled to how they were portrayed in the movies, and who want to get some of that orc-bashing action for themselves, this is the game to pick up.

The clips from the films morphing into the game action is very cool, but it will bother hardcore fans who have seen the movie a lot. The reason is that the movie scenes are recut from the original and are thus jarring for players who have memorized every scene of the originals. The upside is that the clips really help set the mood, and some of them are from the second film! Yes, buying this game gives players a taste of what movie audiences will have to wait to see.

The combat is very well done. Not only does it look great, but the system is very easy to use. The player can be bashing orcs from the word go. At the same time, the need to get better at the fighting gives players a goal beyond simply surviving and killing everything in their path. Not only do they have to lay waste to the enemies, they have to do it well. It means seeing many of the threats more than once, but it also gives the repeated encounters a purpose.

The Two Towers is not a groundbreaking or genre-changing title, but it is a faithful recreation of the best battles of the two movies, giving the players a chance to ride the adrenaline rush of Middle-earth combat one more time. — Eric

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