Genre: Action
Developer: Stromfront Studios
Publisher: Electronic Arts
# of Players: 1 player
Memory: 4 blocks
ERSB: Teen
Released On: December 30th 2002
Also On: Playstation 2, Xbox
Features: Seizure inducing special effects
Introduction:
It has never been a better time to be a fan of J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings literary works. With the release of the film based on Tolkien’s second book in the LoTR trilogy, “The Two Towers”, Electronic Arts picked the perfect time to release the title on the Nintendo GameCube.
The Two Towers was originally released on the Playstation 2 a few months ago due to a deal between Electronic Arts to have the game as a temporary exclusive. Since then the game has been getting tons of excellent critical acclaim, with reviewers even calling the game “the true successor to Golden Axe”, which says much on its own. Now, The Two Towers lands on the Nintendo GameCube with a practically identical port aside from a few visual enhancements and its definitely a game that any Lord of The Rings fan should look into.
Presentation:
When I first popped this disc into my GameCube I did not know what to expect. Like always, the first time I ever play a game I watch the opening FMV. I was impressed from that very moment. The entire introductory sequence is straight from The Fellowship of the Ring, where it is shown how the rings were distributed to the elves, dwarfs, and kings of men, and how one ring was secretly forged to rule them all. From there we watch the grand battle sequence from the beginning of FotR where Isildur cut the ring off the hand of the Dark Lord Sauron. That sequence immediately places the player in the shoes of Isildur, fending off hordes of Orcs which essentially acts as training stage. Though, the way it was executed must be one of the most innovative things I’ve ever experienced in a game, unless you already have a previously saved game on your Memory Card you will immediately be thrusted into the game without navigating any menus or anything of sort, making the game feel more cinematic than any game before it. The cinematic sequences that you will see in The Two Towers is most often taken right from the movies, if not that then it will be FMV blended with scenes from the movie, and that is something that proves to work quite well for a movie based game. Unfortunately, due to compression issues with the GameCube’s optical disc the cinemas in the GameCube version of The Two Towers are of much poorer quality than the Xbox or Playstation 2 versions, to most GameCube owners this is no surprise.
The menus themselves are pretty bland and inanimate, it’s almost as if the developer dismayed this little aspect as being trivial, and to some extent it is, but it is accounted into the overall presentation of the game. Luckily, that awesome Conan-like theme from the movie is featured in the backdrop so in my personal opinion that makes up for everything.
Visuals:
When The Two Towers was first released on the Playstation 2 many people were raving that the PS2 can indeed rival the GameCube and Xbox in terms of visuals. Sure, it looked great on the Playstation 2 but it looks even better on the GameCube. It has been cleaned up a bit; textures are now cleaner and thanks to the GameCube’s ability to implement aliasing we now have a jaggieless version of the game.
The Two Towers features some impressive visuals nonetheless. It’s almost shocking that dozens of heavily detailed characters can be featured onscreen at once, and without a single drop in the game’s framerate. It’s not as if something is being withdrawn to handle all the characters at once either, levels are heavily detailed and the use of textures and visual effects are heavily implemented. The Two Towers is one of the best looking games on the Playstation 2 and is one of the better looking games on the GameCube.
Audio:
The soundtrack to The Two Towers is ripped straight from the first movie in the Lord of The Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of The Ring. With that said, the soundtrack to The Two Towers is phenomenal; drums pounding, horns blowing, it just sets the perfect mood for battle. The music causes such an adrenaline rush that you’ll be tempted to blast your sound system, even in the late hours of the night when the rest of your household is sound asleep. As if the game wasn’t a good movie to game product already, the voice overs for each character in the game has been ripped straight from the movies.
Gameplay:
The Two Towers is old school, no missions, no tasks, just non stop action. To many gamers these days, The Two Towers will feel like something new, but in actuality the game uses a “tried and true” gameplay formula from the days of ole.
When you begin the game you’re put into the shoes of Isildur, in this prologue you are taught the basic controls of the game. You are taught how to defend/parry enemy attacks, execute quick sword/axe attacks, and unleash powerful fierce attacks. At first the controls seem a bit overwhelming and being surrounded by dozens of Orc soldiers doesn’t help, but shortly after you will become accustomed, using fierce attacks to shatter the shields of enemies, blocking enemy attacks, and linking attack combos which leave your enemies down for the count. Of course, you’re also equipped with projectile weapons, such as Legolas’s trusty bow and arrow. When using projectile weapons, amazingly, you always manage to aim and fire at the target you planned too, no matter how many Orcs and Uruk-Hai block your path.
In The Two Towers you are given a rating after the completion of each level, this rating is based on your performance in the heat of battle, the more attacks you link the better your rating; parrying and avoiding enemy attacks adds to your performance as well. The better you perform on each level the more experience points you earn, thus you character’s level will increase allowing you to purchase new abilities and more powerful weapons. Unfortunately, not of all of these new combos will come in handy, and it’s not because they are not useful, but because you will most likely become accustomed to using the same attack over and over and over again. Though, that doesn’t exactly detract from the gameplay experience; it is just the fact that most people will not bother to use a variety of attacks, since they find one which works every time. On the other hand, using a variety of attacks helps increase your rating substantially, so if you’re going for a “Perfect” rating each time then you’d better brush up on your sword fighting skills.
Each initial playable character in the game, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli has there own uniqueness to them. Luckily, you’re allowed to play as either of the three for most of the game, choosing whichever character suits you best. Aragorn, who is my personal favorite, is the most balanced of the three, being very powerful and quick. Legolas, on the other hand, is the quickest and yet the weakest, but when mastered he can be the most devastating force on the battlefield. And finally the Master Dwarf Gimli; Gimli is a powerhouse, even though he’s a short little bastard he really tears shit up like no other, but unfortunately his short legs make him slow and that sometimes hinders your ability to link attacks as much as you would like to.
The game itself is very linear, even though the game features brilliant 3D visuals, the gameplay has a 2D feel two it. Basically what you do is go from point A to point B on the way hacking your way though a numerous amounts of Orcs and Uruk-Hai. Oddly, the game never feels tedious and repetitive, you’re always presented with new obstacles, and later on you’ll even have to defend the walls of Helm’s Deep from invading Uruk-Hai. Speaking of the later levels, the game gets somewhat difficult when you reach the later half. I personally found myself playing a few levels 3 times over since I was killed in battle, but the game is fun enough that you won’t mind going through a level more than once. The cause of some deaths may not be due to the difficulty of the enemy AI, but in some instances it is the game’s camera that may result in some unfavorable scenarios. I found myself getting hit by enemies, that I could not see, a little bit too much, and basically there’s not a damn thing you can do about it since the camera, for the most part, stays in a predetermined position. Boss battles, compared to the events leading up to them, are a bit easy. Sure, for a few I died many times but once you learn how to beat them, by learning their patterns, they become a walk in the park.
Lasting Appeal:
It’s sad that it take longer to watch the actual Two Towers movie then the game. Personally, it took me a little bit more than three hours to finish the game just using Aragorn. Yes, yes, I know what you’re saying, “If you only beat it with Aragorn, then you did not actually complete the game”, and you’re right because you’re 100 percent correct and that’s what I’m going to tell you. It’s fun to master the game with each character, so to get the true experience to the game you should attempt to master each character. Of course, like almost every other game these days, The Two Towers has bonus goodies, such as secrets levels, interviews with the actors, and an unlockable playable character who really isn’t worth it all too much. The Two Towers is good, damn good, so you will find yourself picking it up often until Electronic Arts releases its sequel late in 2003.
Final Thoughts:
Electronic Arts has done what not too many developers can, and that is make a great, not good, but great game based on a movie/book franchise. It looks great, it plays great, and it’s a game that’s a blast to play. Star Wars fans have been getting games based on their beloved franchise for many years and now it’s time for Tolkien fans to get what they’ve been waiting for.
