Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PS2)
By Susie Vee

Big splashy movies deserve big splashy games. Ok, maybe not, but a film event like the Lord of the Rings trilogy certainly deserves the Rolls Royce treatment when it comes to your favorite game console.

In this case, you’re in luck (if the PS2 is your favorite console, that is). The Two Towers is one of the most slavishly constructed movie tie-ins we’ve ever seen. It also sets new standards for eye-candy, and will give pause to those who say the PS2 is already over the hill.

At its heart, Two Towers is a hack-n-slash game. Covering the plot of the first two installments in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, the game plops you down in a scene from one of the films and lets you take part in one action sequence after another. In a clever twist, the game uses DVD-quality footage from the films and transitions into the in-game engine right before you get control of your character. You even get to see live-action footage from The Two Towers well before that film’s theatrical release.

As either hunky human Aragorn, fair-haired elf Legolas or the dwarf Gimli, who has kind of a Danny DeVeto thing going on, you’ll stab and shoot hundreds and hundreds of orcs, goblins and other assorted baddies.

The controls are pretty simple -- as is the gameplay. You can buy various fighting combos as you go, and upgrade a few stats, but otherwise, this is a very dressed-up version of the old Final Fight style brawler.

While it may not be the deepest game of all time, it is one of the best-looking. Besides the great-looking graphics and animation, The Two Towers also has all the art and production design from the films. It also features the voice talents of the film cast -- including dedicated gamer Elijah Wood.

There are also plenty of unlockable DVD-style extras, from production art to cast and crew interviews. You can play all the way through with each of the three characters, so this relatively short game has plenty of replay value.

If you’re a LOTR fan of even the most casual sort, you’ll find this an immensely enjoyable game, despite a few flaws. The simplistic hack-n-slash gameplay can get repetitive at times, and the controls are occasionally a hindrance, especially when you run afoul of some collision detection issues in a few of the tighter areas. The final part of the Balin’s Tomb level, for example, had us flinging our controller against the wall after we kept getting held up on some pillars on a narrow walkway.

But if you’re looking for an action-packed A-list title with big stars, big special effects and expressive grunts from Ian McKellen, then we highly recommend The Two Towers.

SCORE 9.0