Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - PC game review
Arbitrarily starting the third installment with a scene from the second film (the battle at Helm's Deep), it then heads back to the first (where Gandalf searches for more information regarding the ring and its legacy/curse) before coming back again to the final (
RoTK). A sure fire way to put aside linear continuity drones while feeding into the minds of those who loved the first season of J.J. Abrams'
Alias or Priest's
Black Panther.
Keep your wits when watching the opening as the game drops you right into the thick of things at the aforementioned battle at Helm's Deep. Key assignment is handled well with the onscreen subtitles showing which are used in fending off the attacks. So too are the voices of the in-game characters, often shouting out guiding hints regarding where you should be heading and what you might find available in the initially simple repertoire of moves.
Manoeuvring the characters is a pretty choppy ordeal. Forget the mouse, as there is no need for the familiar rodent in this one. In fact, better play is had when assigning the action keys to the numpad where much mashing will follow, especially given the oft-times awkward combinations needed to pull off special manoeuvres. With the game in third-person view and running along structured lines, there is never a need to worry about precise accuracy. Beyond facing the antagonist's general direction, little else needs to be done to ensure cleaving in twain is achieved.
Gameplay offers the choice of which path is taken. Still, all the threads that were interwoven in the film need to be completed before the final confrontation with Gollum. As the game is not entitled
The Fellowship of the Ring, it is foolish to believe that the other characters will lend any real help. Their mere appearance and lack of "Fellowship" understanding makes for an interesting time later on, as they come to pass helplessly under the opposing forces hellbent on killing your lot.
Cutscenes lovingly recreate the feeling of watching an actual movie, at least the first time - they are completely unavoidable, unskippable. With as much time and recognition built for the characters in the movies, the scenes often play out those sections of the film then quite effortlessly melt into the polygonal version of the playable characters. Voice dubbing is splendid. This does not relate at all to the script and what is actually said, which itself can be pretty forced into the expected style and syntax.
Along the way, the game offers great bonuses in the form of galleries and interviews with the actors and game-only clips. Saving hasn't been done with much thought to clarity or practicality. While it is easy to locate a slot, choosing which one to load relies on knowing how much was completed and at what time the progress saved. The feature becomes unwieldy when shared with a few other users.
Battles are hard fought and can be pretty damn long. Not unlike the film itself. Checkpoint-based salvations are sparsely placed, while death blows resemble a drug-induced stupor with a dazed feeling flooding the entire screen and the hero collapsing. Reason enough to invest a great deal of time just hacking and slashing your way through the throng of the enemy horde for each level lest the same thing happen to you.
Faithfully, this is a game that manages to bring about the flavour and feel of the film.
The Good: Lengthy and arduous battles with no apparent end in sight.
The Bad: Endless is the feeling of having to wait through the cut scenes. Escape? None for you!
The Vibe: Generally well done, effectively does its bit to immerse the player.
Soon Van
Published June 2004 at Vibewire.net - vibewire.net
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