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Platform: GC, PC, PS2, XB Genre: Action Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: EA Redwood Shores ETA: Fall 2003
Related Links: Review: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (XB)
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Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
There
wasn’t much wrong with last year’s Two Towers.
The presentation and combat was rock-solid and EA is building on
that with more of everything and two-player co-op mode.
But here is the official information for your own perusal. One
Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them… Based on New
Line Cinema's upcoming film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic
fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King video game
will once again put the fate of Middle-earth in the hands of the gamer.
In the final installment of the blockbuster movie trilogy, players must
destroy the One Ring by casting it into the Crack of Doom, freeing
Middle-earth from the clutches of the Dark Lord Sauron. EA's
second "The Lord of the Rings" action adventure game, The Lord
of the Rings: The Return of the King, will allow players to journey
through multiple gameplay paths, taking control of the motion picture
trilogy's heroes. Defend the walls of Minas Tirith as Gandalf, raise the
Army of the Dead as Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli, and with Frodo and Sam,
deliver the ring to the fiery depths of Mount Doom. Based
on the environments from the upcoming movie, The Return of the King's
third person gameplay will include immersive action and adventure
elements set in rich, interactive levels. An all-new multiplayer co-op
mode will let players form their own Fellowship before embarking on
their journey through Middle-earth.
Features: Eight
playable and secret characters including Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas,
Gimli, Sam, and Frodo with exclusive voice-over provided by the actual
actors from the films. An
all-new co-op multiplayer mode will allow players to team up with a
companion. Over
twelve interactive environments authentically reproduced from the films.
Explore the Paths of the Dead, defend Minas Tirith, and battle Sauron's
forces at the Pelennor Fields before final confrontations at the Black
Gate and the Crack of Doom. Third
person action/adventure gameplay incorporates multiple character paths
for each member of the Fellowship. More
than just a backdrop to the action, the game environments are
interactive, letting players incorporate the various environments into
their strategies for both melee and ranged combat. Characters will have
the ability to jump and swing from ropes, fire catapults, kick boulders,
etc. Enhanced
control with the right analog stick allows players to perform
multi-directional attacks and combos with ease as they battle their way
through the forces of evil. Battle
vicious boss monsters including Shelob, the Witch King, and the final
showdown with the Dark Lord Sauron. Seamless
movie-to-game transitions and never-before-seen exclusive movie footage
from the upcoming The Return of the King movie. Immersive
musical score composed by Academy Award-winner Howard Shore.
More
playable characters and increased interaction with the environments jump
out from the feature list as bettered features.
The mention of attacks “enhanced with the right analog stick”
puts a different spin on combat. Nearly
every button on the control pad was used for something in Two Towers, so
how the right stick will play into things remains to be seen.
One of the other things that leaps out is the ability to jump, so
sorely lacking in Two Towers. The
upshot of it is, tons of combos. As
Return of the King marks the end of the Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings
trilogy we can expect something that aims for the epic.
And if the screens and the demo at E3 are anything to go by, it
just might hit it. - Omni (June 22, 2003) |
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