Pros: Outstanding graphics, excellent game play, Tolkien fans will be awed.
Cons: Some of the game play is very difficult.
The bottom line: If you want the best computer game from Middle Earth that most reflects the movies, get this one!
Return of the King is an Adventure Video Game!

I just picked up the computer game “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” computer game, and I must say that it is a wild ride! The graphics are incredible, the artificial intelligence opponents are excellent, and the re-creations of Middle Earth are wonderful. There are even video sequences from all three films in this game. For those Tolkien fans who are not content to just read the books and watch the movies, well, now you can play the movie, or, rather, fight the enemies you see in the films! The Return of the King is available in three formats: for Game Cube, Play Station 2, and it comes in a PC version as well. Game play is more sophisticated, and the graphics are better in both Game Cube and Play Station 2 format, but the PC version is pretty good too. What follows is a brief review of game play for the Return of the King computer game.

Game Play.

Return of the King has many different levels or scenarios on which to play, and the available characters are the main characters in the film: Gandalf, Aragorn, Sam, Gimli, Frodo, and Legolas. There are three paths to take to ultimately win the game, the kings path, where you can play as Aragorn, Legolas or Gimli, the wizard’s path, where you play Gandalf, and the hobbits path, where the two hobbits are available to play. However, you cannot advance to a new scenario until you have completed the prior level. Also, there are different levels of difficulty on which to play, easy, normal, hard, and difficult.

The first scenario to play is the Battle of Helm’s Deep. I started play on easy, and had to fiddle around for an hour or so to get the hang of playing, that is, fighting as Gandalf against a bunch of Uruk Hai orcs. Gandalf fights with his staff and sword, and there are various moves he can make, from wheeling around with his staff to clobber an orc, to whipping his sword around, to parry and making a kill as he flips his sword in the air and stabs an enemy on the ground. Gandalf also can shoot with his staff, little stabs of light that can kill enemies as well. He also has special powers, and I have not yet explored these to the full extent. If the player, as Gandalf, succeeds in winning at Helm’s Deep, the other paths become available.

The King’s Path is really cool, and it starts with the paths of the dead, where Aragorn has to fight, along with Gimli and Legolas under computer control, the army of the dead. Ultimately, if he is victorious, he has to face the king of the dead and fight him in one on one combat, while also contending with his army of the dead, and the special powers of the king of the dead. So far, I have been able to defeat the king of the dead on easy, but haven’t finished the level yet. Aragorn can gain special powers depending on his last performance, and the amount of points he accumulates, at the end of a scenario, he can purchase special powers. In my game, I bought the powers of archery and swordsmanship, which come in handy for the battle against the dead army.

The path of the Wizard follows the retreat of the orcs through the forest, as the ents kill and wipe them out. Gandalf has to pursue the orcs to Isengard, where Saruman is. I haven’t been able yet to succeed in this scenario, as I always get killed trying to help the ents to break the dam and release the river at Isengard.

The hobbits path leads them out of Osgiliath. Sam is the hero in this one. Sam fights with his short sword much as Aragorn does. Of course, I haven’t finished this one either, just having gotten the game yesterday.

I am completely impressed with the graphics in this game, the difficulty of play, the relentless enemies who often overwhelm the player, and the realism and reflectiveness of the game to the films.

The other many scenarios reflect some of the important battles, such at the Pelennor Fields, highlighted in the movie, as well as the struggle to get the ring to Mount Doom by Frodo and Sam.

Other Things I Like.

This computer game was put together by EA Games in collaboration with New Line Cinema, the production company for the Lord of the Rings movies. There are movie sequences from all three films, as well as authentic dialogue as well in game play, by Ian Mckellan/Gandalf. There are also video sequences at the beginning of each level, from the films. The neat thing is that there are sequences in these scenes that are not in the theatrical release of The Return of the King. Two scenes at least I spied here in this game, that might be a preview of some of the "extra footage" in the extended release DVD of the Return of the King: one is Merry bowing before King Theoden in Rohan, as he swears fealty to this king. The other is much more stirring: during the Battle of Pelennor Fields, and the defense of Minas Tirith, Gandalf, on his horse, is confronted on the upper walls of the city by the Witch King on his Nazgul! This is an actual scene from the film, and not animation, so it's a cool preview.

I also love the computer generated characters, such as the Ents, the various orcs, the Nazgul, the armored hill trolls, and the recreations of the places in the movie (computer generated images themselves, such as Minas Tirith).

I played this on a friend’s Game Boy Advance, and loved it so much that I went out and purchased the PC version, which plays very well on my 2.7 GHz computer.

All in all, Return of the King is one of those computer games that kids, teens and adults will enjoy, especially those who cannot get enough Tolkien and especially those who wish to “play the movie”!