Super Street Video Game Reviews
Game Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Publisher: EA
Genre: Action-Adventure
Platform: PS2
Rating: 
As huge fans of The Lord of the Rings movies, we were very excited to receive a copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King from EA Games. This was one of the most anticipated titles of 2003, and everyone hoped for another great game to follow the fantastic title The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. EA's license with New Line Cinema gives the developers exclusive access to the premium assets like film footage, character narration, and music from the soundtrack. EA continually pushes to produce the very best, and this jaw droppingly gorgeous game proves that point. Even as experienced gamers we did a collective "oooh" the first time we saw the opening scenes and different level transitions in LOTR: The Return of the King. Gamers will feel instantly transported to Middle-earth ready to fight along side the Fellowship as soon as the game begins.
The action starts immediately in Helm's Deep, and players must fight their way through it before continuing the game. This is more of a "training round" to get gamers used to the controls and to get familiar with the character's moves and fighting techniques. After this mini-round, players can choose from three game paths: The Path of the Wizard, The Path of the King, or The Path of the Hobbits. Initially, each of the paths separate following the storyline of the books before coming together for the final battle to save Middle-earth. There are 12 different levels, each recreated in amazing detail, that allow characters to interact with the environment by picking up objects to throw, climbing ropes/ladders, or even activating catapults to help destroy Sauron's dark army.
Each character is equipped with their own special weapons, moves and fighting style. As players progress through the levels experience points are won which are used for weapon upgrades, to increase total health, and for better, more deadly moves. Adding to the awesome factor, is the absolutely seamless transition from movie to game. It's very cool to watch a character like Gandalf or Aragorn blur from the film to morph into a playable ready to stomp some ugly Orc or Uruk-Hai butt. Characters here closely resemble their on-screen counterparts so there is no confusion about who is who on the battlefield.
A strong added feature is the new Co-op mode where two people can fight together to help defeat the dark armies and to help Frodo and Sam's desperate race to destroy the ring. Co-op is a little different in that there is no split screen here-all action takes place on the same screen, and players must work together to get through the levels by staying near each other at all times. Communication is key between players because it's not possible to run off into two different directions at once. Each player must learn the other's strengths and weaknesses, in order to survive, since lives aren't unlimited here, and if one person is attacked the other must help out or risk dying and having to start the level over.
EA Games has done a masterful job of crating that sense of urgency and danger in each mission. Players are dropped into a full scale battle and there are no breaks from the fighting, even while trying to accomplish other goals. Battle sounds and music from the movie blasting in certified THX surround sound is going to get the adrenaline pumping like crazy, but cool heads need to prevail here. Although fighting skills are important, clear thinking is what will advance gamers to new levels, because not all the missions are intuitive and easy to master. At times it may require numerous attempts to get it right, which gets frustrating on occasion, but it's a small price to pay in the overall scheme of this first-rate game.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a fantastic, fun, adventure guaranteed to immerse players into the richly textured world of hobbits, wizards, elves, dwarves, orcs and uruk-hai. The controls are easy to learn, the enemies numerous and easy to spot, and the missions are dramatic, tense, and exciting to play. Whether it's defending Minas Tirith, escaping the Nazgul at Osiligath, or the final showdown at Mount Doom, players will be continually surprised at the realistic details and the whole "it seems like I'm there" feeling. We give it five nukes.
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