The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Video Game Review

Platform: Playstation 2 (PS2)

Publisher: EA Games

Rating: Teen (T)

About the Game

The Lord of the Rings- Return of the King is a fast-paced, action-adventure game based on the blockbuster movie and J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel. With dramatic movie sequences and dialog, the game begins where the Two Towers ends, at the great battle scene at Helm’s Deep. You start the game as Gandalf, but play as Aragorn and Sam throughout the game. Experience the trials, challenges and adventures of some of your favorite heroes of the Fellowship of the Ring. As Aragorn, seek the power and allegiance of the deadly, ghost army. Play Sam, and help Frodo get to Mount Doom to destroy the Ring of Power. Play Gandalf and use magic and skill to stop the progress of Sauron’s army. Save Middle Earth from a terrible fate.

Difficulty Level

Return of the King is an easy game to learn, but full of challenging quests. If you have played The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the basic combat moves are the same. The game offers three levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal and Hard. Like the Two Towers, skill levels are improved by combat performance in each quest. The better you do, the more points you will have to spend to purchase new skills and abilities.

Modes of Play

Return of the King offers three modes of play: single player, co-op and on-line multiplayer play. The co-op mode allows you to play the game with a friend on your own PS2 console. The on-line mode allows you to play the game with others on the Internet, but you will need to install a network adapter (Ethernet) connection to get it to work.

Fun Factor

Return of the King is a fun game, and more challenging than the Two Towers. The quests are involving, and you get the benefit of the help of other Fellowship companions on most of the levels. Unlike the Two Towers, this game doesn’t let you choose the character you play when you play in single player mode. (the co-op mode has a little more flexibility)

Replayability

If you want a challenge, try the hard level in the single-player game mode. After completing the normal level, I tried playing it. This level is tough! You really have to be careful about taking combat damage; enemies do a lot more damage, and less health potions seem to be available.

Depth/Length of Game

Return of the King is not too short, and the quests seem longer than those in the Two Towers. I never got bored playing this game, as each quest had different challenges.

Graphics

The graphics in this game are appealing. EA games have improved since The Two Towers was released. Visually, it is not too cartoon-like, and the dialog between characters doesn’t look too phony or out of sequence.

Audio

The sound effects and music are excellent. The music and dialog is taken directly from the movie.

Movie Sequences

There are a lot of movie sequences in this game. When loading a game for the first time, they are impossible to bypass. However, when you are continuing a quest (like if you died), some of them are shorter. The movie sequences do give the game richness, and make you feel more involved with the story. It only becomes irritating when you have to constantly restart your game.

Instruction Manual

The instruction manual is useful. It describes the basic combat/combo moves, gives you a background on the story, and tells you about the different modes of play.

Summary

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, is a fast-paced, action-adventure game based on the movie and J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel. It is easy to learn, and has single player, co-op and on-line multiplayer modes of play. Experience the trials and challenges of Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf. Help Frodo in his quest to destroy the Ring of Power. Save Middle Earth from the evil Sauron.