mht's Full Review: Lord Of The Ring: The Return Of The King for PlayS...
**updated & improved**
Closely following the movie, "The Return of the King" doesn't disappoint. There are selected clips from the movie, which morph into the action scene that you can play. As you pick your character and path, enjoy special features, develop your abilities, and re-live the story and music, you might eventually save Middle Earth and have a load of fun doing it.
Pick Your Character
The Return of the King allows you to play a number of different characters. There are certain characters which are unlocked after you finish the game. The main characters, such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Sam, all have their own particular characteristics, such as the special power when you simultaneously press R1, R2, L1, and L2. Which player you can play is limited by the path that you take--until it's all unlocked by winning it all. After unlocking, you can play with characters like Faramir and Merry. The save feature enables you to keep the experience and level of characters as they are built up and saved.
Pick Your Path
There are 3 paths: 1) the path of the Wizard (Gandalf), 2) the path of the King (Aragorn) 3) and the Ringbearers' path (Sam & Frodo). All three paths must be successfully completed in their entirety before one may challenge the Black Gate and ultimately, the Crack of Doom.
The Crack of Doom is very different from all the other levels, and all your hardwon special abilities are basically useless in this final stage. It requires moving Gollum to an edge, pushing him off, and then keeping him from hanging on--again and again. Don't try any fighting moves or even your ranged weapon against him: they have no effect.
Special Features
A fun part of the game are the interviews of the actors who played roles in the movie. You can watch the hobbit actors playing this game. You can catch a glimpse of the extraordinary actor making the voice of Gollum--and what lay behind it. You can hear the voice of Gandalf explaining why one should play his character. Note though that some of these feature are unlocked through winning it all, such as the Palantir of Sauron and the Palantir of Saruman, both difficult 20 stage duels with hordes of enemies in each stage. The Palantir of Sauron is the only part of the game I have yet to fully finish: it's very difficult, even with a level 20 (the highest level) character.
Moves
As one gains experience, there are more and more special abilities that one can purchase with accumulated experience points. One can buy them for the whole party (more expensive) or just for that one character. The types of special abilities vary, such as ones that increase how much damage the character can endure, the power of the missile attack, and various attack combinations. For example, "Swift Justice", a level 10 ability, can be done through pressing X three times successively. It is probably the ability I used most after buying it, since it can quickly take care of numerous monsters, such as the multitude at the Southern Gate. It's also pretty simple to keep pressing that one button in a crowd of orcs--just make sure to take proper aim.
Tracking the Movie
Using clips from the movie and the voices of the actors who played it, the game does a great job of making one feel that one can enter into the movie narrative. It is like jumping into the story and getting to play a leading role in how the story unfolds. If one doesn't care much for the story, one can generally skip the story parts and move straight into the game action. You can also skip the story part that it morphs into after you finish a level, although I think that watching it is more interesting.
People such as me who really like epic stories such as the "Lord of the Rings" will find this aspect enthralling. My Epinion on "The Return of the King" book would give you some idea of how much I like the story--and how much there is to like in it.
Music
The music is heroic and inspiring. It fits well with the noble quest of the story. The music also varies with different scenes and stages. Rather than functioning as a distraction, as in some games, the music enhances the overall experience in this one. The music is quite recognizably drawn from the movie--in line with how closely the game follows the movie in general. I think so even more after just watching the longer version of one the movies on DVD.
Intensity & Battle Fog
As a caveat, the battle scenes can be pretty intense although generally not gratuitous. I wouldn't recommend it for kids, and those who don't separate fiction from reality well.
There are times where one's view of what is happening is obscured by various visual and auditory distractions that seem to try to mimic "battle fog". Such distractions can be rather disorienting--so it's important to stay focused on what is relevant (where you are and what you have to do) rather than letting the distractions mess you up.
You Too Can Save Middle Earth
Although Shelob was pretty tough to beat at first (that huge spider can provoke arachnophobia!), the Top of the Wall was mysterious in how to breakthrough (it took a while to figure it out), the Black Gate seemed impossible at first (and I failed many times before prevailing) and the Crack of Doom took much experimentation to master, it's all possible to do without consulting any outside source. You too can save Middle Earth and if you want, you can do it together with a friend in the 2 player mode. Fans of the movie and those who like this type of game will find much to like in the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Have fun while rescuing Middle Earth!
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