Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Written by Chris Reiter on November 13, 2002

Full Review: Oh, I know the ending to this game already...there is none.

A book is a window into our imaginations. Video games are very much the same way, only that they're already imaginations, which are windows our senses dive head first into. Back when J.R.R. Tolkien wrote his epic trilogy about a ring, and its ability to possess and warp people's minds all for the sake of power, I bet he never thought he'd see the day when that same story was told through the eyes of millions in its blockbuster film format. But in this day and age, what was done can be improved upon. Universal Interactive surely believes that, starting with the arrival of that same tale of wizardry, monsters, and hobbits, they have transferred it all into one game in tribute to the original origin, one game to play like it should be played, and one game to rule them all: The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.

Being based on the novel or the film doesn't make much of a difference in story terms. It's about a ring. One ring. Forged by the Dark Lord Sauron, in the fires of Mount Doom, in secret the dark lord crafted a ring to have control over each of the other Rings of Power. These rings provide their user with signified stature to govern the lands of which they live on, Middle-Earth. Sauron's ring however was made to give him immense and terrible power. After Sauron set out to wipe away Middle-Earth's population that resisted him, a great war broke out, ultimately destroying his spirit manifestation. But his soul remained...and now it is centuries later, when Sauron is trying to rebuild his armies that were once wiped out by man and elf. All he needs now is the one ring that you carry. As the bearer of a piece of such jewelry, it is your one job to cast it into the fires of Mount Doom where it was brought to life in order to rid Middle-Earth of Sauron's presence forever. Defend it with your life, or all hope is lost for you and the rest of Middle-Earth.

Here is your average, every day hack and slash, slash and hack adventure game. Except for maybe a few frills, The Lord of the Rings wouldn't stand out otherwise if it weren't for its movie license. And that's about all there is to it. What you do in the game, or I should say just about all you do is walk around from one area to the next, fighting enemies with what few tools you have to aid your journey ahead. Sure, there's the occasional mission that lets you feel important in finding your missing hobbit friends within the density of a living forest, or protecting Gandalf from the giant squid monster while he discerns the password to that magical doorway. You'll still have to fight your own in these spots of the game with the same routine you've been using, which doesn't give much freedom within creative limits.

Where the diversity in gameplay comes in is from having to control three of the nine fellowship members: Frodo -- a Hobbit and the bearer of the one ring; Aragorn -- a ranger in his simplest form, but a descendant of royalty in another; and Gandalf -- a powerful and wise wizard, who is also one of Frodo's closest friends. Beside the point, whichever character you're using at the time of the story's direction plays very similar to the last one you've had control over. Where Frodo uses a staff weapon and rocks to toss, and Aragorn uses a sword, a bow and arrows, Gandalf comes ready with a wizard's staff, blade and magic spells to parry with. Gameplay wise, the control pattern is weaved through the same course of simply attacking with your melee weapon by pressing the square button, and using the dispensable tool (rock, arrow, magic) with the circle button. It's also possible to peer through a first person perspective and block with the shoulder buttons. Oddly enough though, Frodo is the only one of the three playable characters that can actually jump over objects. Like with moving the character sometimes throughout the gameplay areas, jumping over objects feels clumpy and only adds to the dilemma of the game's awkward difficulty from the very start. Also unlike the others, Frodo wields the power of the ring: using it to sneak past enemies for limits of time. Sneak too long, and when the time gauge runs out you'll have a Nazgul to thank for your abrupt game over.

The Lord of the Rings blends a dab of item hunting into its mix just as well, such as finding relevant items either to advance the story's flow or to aid you in your quest (mushrooms for Frodo to eat, crams for Aragorn and Gandalf to restore their health, or Miruvor to fill Gandalf's magic gauge). Finding these from fallen enemies or strolling down paths that stray from the main roadways can be easy. It's only that navigating your way back is the hard part. Because the game doesn't lay out any sort of map to guide you through towns, forests, mountaintops, caves, and so on, you'll have to rely on your seventh sense of remembrance at all times. Yet another tricky part has to do with fighting certain foes. Very vague at times, the game has you guessing a lot as to how you'll go about surpassing your route to the next level, whether it is to not come in contact with Nazgul covering almost every inch of your escape route from the Shire, having to throw rocks at a tree only to not hit the tree in order to save your friends from within, or finding out that the only way to finish off a Barrow-Wight is to search for a weapon not already in your possession.

Other famous enemies read about in the book are fearsome wolves, immense spiders, ghastly orcs, cave trolls, and even misty ghosts. Such is the fantasy world of The Lord of the Rings. Luckily for the player, the game does sport a warning system that signifies when an enemy is near. Best of all though, it's not just you out there giving it your all. The other members in the Fellowship do lend a hand from time to time. Teaming up with Gimli to traverse a cave filled with orcs, or Sam, Merry, and Pippin to take out an entire forest of huge insects is a blessing. However, those who follow in your footsteps are slow to the chase, and often at times you'll be wondering where everyone is when you're ahead of the game finishing off enemies left and right, and the rest of your team is behind still on their way over.

As gorgeous as the movie appeared on the silver screen is nowhere near the game's stage of visual attention. With that said, you can expect a mess of mediocrity to lead your eyes down one story segment after the next. Character modeling is made fairly cheap, with the bare bones attached, but not much to them. The authenticity falls short where you get the idea that they're made to look like their character, but with generic and frail setting in most places, the lackluster modeling sizes the game's characters down to a medium. Giving life to the characters, Surreal does a pretty good job with the character animations though. When Gimli swings his axe with force, when orcs leap into the air and slam their hammers down, when loose garments fly backwards in a running motion, where Frodo takes his sword and chops away at enemies as the blade gives in to gravity, everything pushes together like clockwork.

Lighting effects are about the best of what hands the game its glory. Whether it be nightfall, wandering through the dim of rustic caverns, or atop a foggy mountainside, the character becomes one with light and night. Especially in areas where Gandalf carries his glowing rod, or hacking away at a wall, sparks will fly. On the other hand you've got a starchy gameplay environment that puts a downer on the whole front. There's enough variety in environments, of trees, rivers, and rocks, piles of bones left behind encased within the gloom of Moria, picket fences lining up little Hobbiton houses...and grimy textures all over the place. In its demeanor, the craftsmanship of the novel's descriptive areas are nothing much but repetitive and standard simple shapes again and again.

Sound is another rough area the game has struggles with. Between entire collections of terribly voiced characters, don't except anything to be too near to the quality that the movie's passion driven actors produced. One line after the next, every line rings in the ear like as though the script were recorded during a practice session. While some of the voice acting does sound very similar to those actors seen in the movie (i.e., with Sir Ian McKellen's role as Gandalf), there's not much emotion to add to the dramatic story, and sometimes the lines are even laughable at best.

Fortunately for other areas of the game, the sound isn't so bad. The music for one thing is that of Irish origins in flutes and violins in certain areas, while in others can become quite ominous and moody when it fires up through enemy littered trails. However, there are times when the music is less than stellar and ultimately forgettable. Having the ability to listen to Tolkien's world is likely the best part of all when you boil everything down. Clinks and clanks of steel against steel; the cry of death from a fallen enemy; the strike of lightning directed from Gandalf's staff; the gasping of breath as Frodo jumps up and down; and even running or walking across surfaces of liquid, dirt, or wood emits difference, only adding effort to one game you mustn't turn down the volume for.